Iwaki on April 19th 2009

Iwaki on April
Originally uploaded by Mihai Japan

The weather was GREAT!
Left the city at 7 a.m. and parked the cars at the bottom of the Yayoi course at 9:30. After all the gear and accesories were prepared we left towards the bus stop (15 minutes walk). The bus schedule was different from the one we knew; 1 hour and a half to wait for the 11 o`clock bus ?!?
The lady that owns the shop located near the bus stop, was so kind to tell us that a taxi can pick us up and take us to Iwaki Skyline for the same price, and so we did. The 50 minutes hike, up to 1500m was hard enough, but it was worthwhile. The clear sky gave us the chance to see the 360 degrees panaorama over the Tohoku area.
There were 3 degrees on top but because the wind was almost absent it felt warmer. After we had lunch( some of us had HOT noodles- prepared guys), we packed and prepared for the long ride. It was hard to leave the beautiful view from that altitude( an airplane was flying under).
The long ride on the Yayoi Course slope was more than we were aspecting and went down slowly enjoying every bit of it.
The traverse we had to take down the mountain put our legs to work, but we had to do that in order to avoid falling into the river that goes underneath the snow on the valley. Compared to other years, the snow melted faster- we took a 15 minutes walk throw the forest to arrive at the cars.
To finish the day properly, Dake Onsen was the next stop for a hot spring.

Today's photos- Hiking Iwakisan on April 19th, 2009
Iwaki mountain Map 岩木山地図 (pdf)
Spring Ski Courses Iwaki mountain 岩木山春スキー コース情報 (pdf)
Thank you よっちん

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.

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.