Snow Monsters

The Japanese people have no need to fear dehydration at any time. I went on a trip with the scouts this past weekend up to the Hakkoda mountains. These mountains are not terribly high (1350 m) but they are some of the snowiest I have ever seen. One of their defining characteristics are the "Snow Monsters" of the Hakkodas. These are formations made by covering the densely wooded mountainsides with thick, wet Japanese snow and then blowing on it with icy Siberian winds.

The only way to get up to the snow monsters is by snow shoe or cross country skiing. We opted for the snowshoeing. It was not terribly far but it was quite long especially with a couple of short legged decons. Fortunately, the weather going up on the first day was quite nice, right around 2C, sunny (with some clouds at times) and no wind


As you can see, they get a fair amount of snow. This is how they have dug out the parking lot, notice the snow level next to the cars.




This picture I took later but it shows the snow level from another angle.



Everybody gearing up for the long hike.

This is the pathway down to the bathrooms before you leave the onsen area. I would hat to have to shovel this everyday.

Ok, this is the last picture of snow levels. In this picture is a torii gate, which are generally 6-7 ft tall at the top.

The line of snowshoers heading up the side of the mountain. Going up was slow and I really didn't appreciate how steep it was until we came back down. If I had realized that going up, I might not have made it.

Jumping of the 15 ft cliffs is much funner with 4 ft of powder below.

Me and the snow.

We are almost to the top and the monsters are coming out.

A good view from the top of some of the formations below.

Some of the other formations going up to the summit.

This is the cabin we stayed in (note it is 2 stories). Really quite nice cabin available to anyone crazy enough to hike up there. It was well stocked with furnaces and some kerosene, blankets, matts, some basic tools and other odds and ends. It had 3 large triple decker bunk beds that could fit about 27 hikers (or 40 Japanese hikers....they are very tiny)

Also, there were lines strung all over with hooks and hangers, great for drying out clothes.

The next day was much colder, around -10C and very windy. By the time we started hiking, the wind and snow had completely covered any tracks. The visibility for the first bit was about 5 ft. If it wasn't for St. Garmin, the patron saint of lost hikers, we might still be there.

Actually, the hike back down was quite enjoyable too. The foot of new snow and icicles forming instantly on your face made it feel like you were blazing new trails through the wilderness. I took this last picture I took as we got back to the car (I didn't stop to take many pictures on the way down). I wanted to capture how cold and snowy it was but it is not well represented on the film.