Snowshoeing the Hakkkoda Mountains 八甲田山系

About a 2.5 hour drive away is the Hakkoda mountain range.  Like all mountains in Japan, they are volcanic in origin.  The Hakkodas are a very popular destination for backcountry hikes year-round.  Of course, in the winter there's so much snow, the only way to traverse the mountain is with snowshoes.  Usually there is from 20 to 30 FEET of snow.  This year, apparently, has been a dry one, so there was only about 10 or so feet.  Still, it was surreal to walk through the forests and realize that your 10 feet above the ground and in some areas, only the very tops of trees can be seen.

This was my very first snowshoe trip.  I went up with four other guys on Friday, and we planned to spend the night at a cabin at the top.  The cabin is open to anyone.  There's no running water or electricity.  Essentially it's just a wooden shelter.  But it has emergency supplies, kerosene heaters (you have to pack your own fuel) and wooden bunks (3 high).  Enough to uncomfortably sleep 30 or more.  We didn't know if there would be anyone else there spending the night with us.  But that's part of the adventure.

Here I am at the base, ready to go.  Slight drizzle in the air.  Yes, it was actually raining when we started.  But that didn't last long.

We hadn't travelled far before I took this shot.  You will notice the fog up ahead.

You can definitely see the fog now.  We hiked most of the way in this.  You could actually see about 100 (normal) paces ahead.  

Yay!! (or is it Yea?) I reached the top!! Okay, truthfully, this isn't actually the top.  This was simply where we turned to go to the cabin.  The cabin was buiilt in a saddle between two peaks.

Welcome to the Comfort Inn. Usually the snow is so deep you have to dig down to the door at the top of the ladder.  We went through the lower door, through the hole to the far left.  Notice the fog is gone; this pic was taken the next morning.

5 guys and 2 kerosene heaters.  Make sure you turn those heaters off before going to sleep or you might not wake up in the morning.  

I worked hard for this next picture, so don't scroll by too quickly.  About 9:00 Friday night, after hanging out in the cabin for a few hours (and playing an oddly enjoyable game of Skip-Bo), we went outside to check out the view, if any.  To our amazement the sky was completely clear and the 7/8 full moon was shining bright.  15 minutes later we were snowshoeing up to the highest peak in the Hakkodas, Mount Odake:  1,584.4 meters high (I read the sign).  We reached the top at 10:00, took a few well-deserved photos, enjoyed the breathtaking view of the cities all around the mountains, froze off our noses in the wind-chill, then went back down.  Usually the hike down is easier, but not when you're wearing snowshoes, it's the middle of the night, and the snow is frozen solid.  Add in trees, rocks, and rebar (do not confuse with rhubarb) sticking out of the snow, and you get a rather treacherous descent.  Multiple falls, slips and slides later we were safely back at the cabin for a good night's rest.

Good night's rest?  Here's my bed.  Although there were blankets in the cabin for padding (and covering up your head in the middle of the night in case you don't have enough hair on your head to keep it warm), it was difficult to forget you were sleeping (or in my case not sleeping) on bare wood. 

Here's Mount Odake in all its glory (Saturday morning).  If you could zoom in on the picture, you'd see our tracks up to the peak (the highest one on the right).  You can tell the tracks going down because they zigzag through the trees and occasionally go from snowshoe tracks to sliding on our backside tracks.

I wish I had a sled (I'm much better at sledding than skiing).  Many people actually take skis or snowboards up with them and then sail on down.  This is one of the many amazing views from just outside the cabin.

 

Tree well.  While attempting to take a picture of a tree well (essentially a hole in the snow around a tree), my pole jumped into it.  So I ended up taking a picture of my pole at the bottom of a tree well.  I got it back.

We took a different way down initially, then intercepted our tracks from the day before.  Here's looking back up toward the top.  I was happy to see the snowman I built (on Friday on the way up while waiting for the other guys to catch up) survived the night.  Look closely.

Back at the base, looking up at Mount Odake.

I'm definitely going again next year.  Anyone care to join me?