Mt. Hakkoda

Last year in September I was asked to help with a project by starring in a short 3 minutes movie about Aomori.  I was overwhelmed with the offer especially because I was asked to talk about one of my favourite places in Aomori Prefecture, Mt. Hakkoda.

We started filming in October 2015, one day at 5 o'clock in the morning and continued filming for a few days for the next 5 months. 

A total of 10 short movies were made by  a local filming company called teco LLC. 

If you' d like to see all of them please visit Aomori city hall homepage.

The result came out like this. A short movie about "My Hakkoda".

teco LLC.

青森市の魅力を動画で配信。

大岳ー小岳ー谷地温泉ルート

今日は八甲田のバックカントリー３人のベテランと一緒に大岳に登ってから小岳に登って谷地温泉に向かいました。



朝９時位に八甲田ロープウエイからスタートしてお昼後の12:10に谷地温泉に到着しました。信じられないくらいの速さで登って、あっという間に到着してもう一回登りたかった。



風邪が強くて、気温も低かったが八甲田の冬景色は相変わらず素晴らしい！
大岳から降りた時に八甲田ガイドクラブの皆さんも気持ち良さそうに滑りました。

ラーメン、お湯を温める道具、２ｋｇの水のタンク、りんご、バナナ、おやつも準備してリュックにずっと入ってましたが、おやつだけ食べました。そのくらい早かった！

スタートしてから天気はちょっとずつ回復して、滑った頃にいい天気で滑ることが出来ました。
谷地温泉に近づくころに雪が降り始めて、4月なのにクリスマスの気分でした。

今日の小岳から谷地温泉までのルート
ビデオと写真は近いうちにアップしたいと思います。

Mr. Osanaiは素早く今日の動画出来上がりました↓

tsugaruzuke2014 八甲田　大岳・小岳04.06　last　powder

一週間かかりましたが、この日の動画出来ました：

八甲田　大岳　小岳　谷地温泉ルート

ありがとうございました　m(_)m

八甲田山ー３月の樹氷

「桜は昨年より三日早い！」っとこの間ラジオで聴きました。
それは４月２５日です。

３月２日のビデオの編集が出来ました！
八甲田のダイレクトコースです。
http://youtu.be/irjOZr1V7-M　part ②

http://youtu.be/vegXT-NZYaQ　part ①

Snow monsters on Hakkoda, March 2nd 2014

This is the Direct Course on Hakkoda with an 8 year old snowboarder.

If the sky is clear you would like to show the beauty of Hakkoda to everyone, but if cloudy, snowy or foggy( that is maybe 80% of the time) you should put on your warm clothes and enjoy the courses with caution! 

酸ヶ湯温泉積雪- Sukayu's hourly updated snow depth

Famous for being the snowiest inhabited place in Japan, and why not maybe in the world, with a record of 566 cm snow depth recorded on February 2013, Sukayu 酸ヶ湯 is one one of my favorite places in Aomori Prefecture for many reasons.

One of them is that in collaboration with Toonippo, a local Japanese newspaper, they offer an hourly updated site- 酸ヶ湯・毎正時の気象 where one can check the depth of the snow, temperature, wind speed and direction and precipitation amount at Sukayu.

Today it started to snow for the first time this year in Aomori and after almost a day there are already 33 cm snow piled up there.

As a child, I used to put my nose on the window at the beginning of winter waiting for the snowflakes to cover everything. Nowadays technology helps me to be closer to this cold but wonderful season!

初雲海、初細氷ー八甲田

朝起きるといつもの曇り空が青森市内から八甲田山まで広がっていた。
八甲田ロープウェーのホームページを見ると6:30から八甲田山の天気は晴れと書いてあった。。。
迷わずに準備をして9:30に出発。向かってる間いつの間にか、青空になって太陽がピカ～ン！




八甲田に着くと、ヘリコプターや救急車は何台か有りました。一日前に遭難した方を発見して、山から病院に連れていく作業が10:00位まで続けました。
一本KSで滑って、二本目は何人かでパウダーを楽しみました！



三本目山頂に上がると岩木山も白神山地もくっきり見えてた。山々の間に白い雲が下の方に広がっていた。初雲海！

息子と一緒にラピュタに似ていた風景だけど、これは八甲田の雲海！
夕方まで天気とパウダーで滑って、今年の最高の一日の思い出になりました。



夕方はもうちょっと長いコースで滑って、休むと空気の中に細かい雪が降っているみたいに見えるけど、雲がないのでこれは。。。ダイヤモンドダスト




初雲海に初細氷、良い天気で無風ー今年もありがとう　

まさかのいい天気!

八甲田山の12-13年シーズンスタート！
今日は昼くらいのゴントラに乗って、今シーズンの初滑りでした。
山頂の駅は相変わらずの冷蔵庫で、天気も曇り空でしたが、ちょっと降りると素晴らしい景色。お久しぶり(^^)/
二回目ゴントラで上がるとなんと！
小さく見える青森市まで八甲田山の足元が広がる。
三回滑って満足して帰りました。
P.S. 滑る気持ちが溢れて、手袋を下の駅に忘れました。手が冷たかったと思うけど、楽しかった！
やっぱり八甲田山大好きだ～ヽ(^0^)ﾉ！

Hakkoda Odake- Hokiba

Hokiba from Oodake
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan

My face is sunburned, my muscles are sore, BUT! It felt so good to be hiking again Hakkoda. Met Olivier in the morning, parked his car on the other side of the mountain at Hokiba. Took the 9:20 gondola and hiked up to the cabin. After the hike that squzzed the cigarettes out of me, we arrived at the cabin at 11:30. We had lunch and a 10 minutes break. On the way up Oodake（八甲田大岳ー日本語）, Mr. N was kind enough to tell us about his hikes on Hakkoda and the Hokiba Course((箒場岱コースー日本語)
More photos down this set.

Hiking with the Hakkoda Guide Club

Hiking Hakkoda& Guide Club
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan

After the busy weekend at Aoimori Arena with Kids Campus, I was prepared for two days of staying around the house... But no, the weather was just perfect for visiting Hakkoda. The previous days new powder covered the icy bottom. Went straight to Hakkoda Sanso where Hakkoda Guide Club is located. They gave me the beacon and asked to be ready for the 9:00 a.m. gondola. I was soon introduced to the guides and we were ready to hike. I was one of the three snowboarders that joined the group.
On top the visibility was very low but almost no wind.
We had a few breaks, put on the snowshoes 2 times and arrived on the spot after a very pleasant hike. The guides were very friendly and made everybody feel comfortable in their presence on the bad weather conditions.
We shreaded the sweet powder on the Tashiromotoyu Course and Kamosika.(Hakkoda Ski Course Map)
On the lunch break meeting Mr. Waka's family and talking about common hobbies was a pleasure. Hope to meet them again this year.

Monsters

The sky looked funny on the mountain today. Even it was 9 in the morning, the sky was orange at the horizon. We were lucky to find no tracks courses and the weather helped us- almost no wind. It was smelling like spring, even the spring bugs came out. In a month or two spring snowboarding is coming up next.

Today National Foundation Day is celebrated in Japan. The holiday was established in 1966 as a day to reflect on the establishment of the nation.

Colors

Colors
Originally uploaded by Mihai Florin Apostu Oota

Inca o sapatmana de engleza a luat sfarsit si va incepe una noua peste cateva zile. Se anunta o saptamana si o luna plina- Setubun(節分) este una din sarbatorile japoneze care semnifica venirea primaverii. Copii si adultii obisnuiesc sa arunce cu boabe de soia catre iesirea din casa, invocand cantecul " Oni ha soto, fuku ha uti" ceea ce s- ar traduce prin "Raul sa iasa din casa, sa intre norocul in casa".
Sunt Ok cu sarbatoarea insa cu venirea primaverii... nu prea. Iarna ar trebuii sa mai dureze cateva luni.

Ramkanian a fost pe Hakkoda saptamana trecuta pe munte impreuna cu cativa amici si au prins o vreme superba cu zapada asa cum trebuie rmkmovie heart&ryoma09 on Youtube

In poza este o amica pe cursul Mokko- Hakkoda.

Snow Monsters

Snow Monsters
Originally uploaded by Mihai Florin Apostu Oota

Am fost norocosi sa ajungem in varful muntelui si sa avem parte de o zi asa cum rareori am intalnit pe Hakkoda. Cer senin, fara vant si zapada cum trebuie. Am urcat in telecabina pana ne- au spus ca s- a oprit pentru ziua respectiva.
Am urcat de 7 ori si am reusit sa megem pe cateva din cele mai bune rute de pe munte. Am adunat cateva poze si 2 filme pe care le- am pus in graba impreuna.

Hakkoda- Janaury 26th 2008 on Youtube

Din casa iarna pare atat de rece, insa aici simti ca te poti bucura de Ea.

Burton Supermodel `72

Burton Supermodel `72 Originally uploaded by Mihai Florin Apostu Oota

For almost 3 years I`ve been using the board that made me love powder and Hakkoda. Lately I`ve been checking the internet for THE powder snowboards and looked at several boards like: T. Rice Banana Hammock , Burton Supermodel, Burton Fish , Gentem and a few others. I was about to buy the Banana Hammock to enjoy the powder 100%- but then I thought what will I do on the slopes.

Yesterday, the weather in Aomori changed and today was really cold. It won` t be long until the snow will be here. :) Where will you snowboard this year?

Good Morning April Powder!

Clear sky in the city and warm, -5.2 C at top station of the gondola- perfect for skiing. But it is April, April the 13th and yesterday it was snowing on the top of the mountain. There are a few cm of new snow on the top... and on the street too. I changed my tires last weekend and I am driving carefuly up the hill.

Met my friends and started to go uphill at 9:15. Beutiful weather, almost no wind.

Warm up before a long hike

We are passing through a valley and on the left side we can see the beginning of an avalanche.

Is this a rainbow? There was a round circle around the sun that seems to be a rainbow? What is it called?

Just before a 10 minutes brake

Skiers and hikers coming from different directions( Sukayu and Akakura) to enjoy the back side of the mountain.

Me and Mos san decided to test the powder on the left side of the mountain. The mountain that we are going to climb next is the one you can see in the photo.

And there is Mos San starting his 1 minute fun ride.

Finally at the top. It is cold and my wet T- shirt is giving me shivers. But something amazing is about to come.

We are served Hot Corn Soup on top of the Oodake. Delicious and starting to warm up! Thank you Mos San! Amazing treat!

Going around the crater and prepare for the long ride.

They are ready to go, I am still taking photos. Can` t stop.

Small Yamahai group on top of Oodake on April the 13th 2008.

Playing with the zoom.

Ready, GO!

This is what us and other 2o skiers did on the back of Oodake. It felt like winter.

いただきま～す！

Unknown skier scratching the hill all by himself.

Yotin San is sliding and posing. Nothing stops her to have fun.

Sizu San is enjoying this day in silence. Her suit and clothing are so good for taking pictures on this weather.

Mos San didn` t stop taping all the way down. I am looking forward to see his video.

She had the camera with her all the time. Smiling and enjoying spring snowboarding.

We came from the top of that mountain and still have to go down for a few minutes before we arrive at the car.

Stopped for a while to take this video

Next goal is in the photo below.

Didn` t take care of my face before going up, and now my face is all red.

Thanks to Mos San, 20 minutes of that day are on video. You can see it down here:

Have a nice week.

1.20 metres of powder in two days

Today` s weather conditions

Temperature on top: -11 ℃
Temperature at the bottom: -5 ℃
Wind speed: 22 m/s
Visibility: 20m
Ammount of snow: 355 cm
New powder: 65 cm

Thank you Mos San

Thank you Olivier for the video

Have a good week!