On January 5th, 2024, Ms. Sachi and I climbed Mount Karamatsu-dake, which stands at 2,696 meters in height.
Plan for the Trip
On Thursday, January 5th, I plan to drive to Hakuba Village in Nagano. It will take around an hour and a half from my place.
From there, I will ride the Gondola Adam, Alpen Quad, and the Great Quad to reach Happo-Ike Hut, which should take about 20 minutes.
The climb will begin with the goal of reaching the summit of Mt. Karamatsu-dake, which is 2,696 meters high. The climb is expected to take approximately 5 hours.
Climbing Route:
Happo-Ike Hut ➡ Mount Happo Cairn ➡ The 2nd Cairn ➡ Happo Cairn ➡ The 3rd Cairn ➡ Maruyama Cairn ➡ Karamatsu-Sancho Hut ➡ Mount Karamatsu-dake
What actually happened on that day:
It was a beautiful day for climbing, with a clear winter sky of deep blue – perfect conditions for ascending the mountain. I felt confident about reaching the mountain’s summit, at least until I reached Happo Ike Hut at 1,860 meters. However, as I ascended further, the wind on the upper terrain of the mountain was blowing quite hard.
As we ascended further the 2nd to 3rd cairn on the ridge of Happo, The wind with snow was blowing harder and harder. We had to stop moving upward and wait for the gust to weaken sometimes.
A stronger gust of wind swirled around Maruyama Cairn, the further upper ridge from the 3rd cairn, almost pushing us off balance. Climbing became challenging on the mountain ridge due to the powerful winds. Ultimately, I decided to descend, unfortunately, choosing to turn back at Maruyama Cairn.
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