25,633 views
Mt. Karamatsu (Hakuba Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture and Kurobe City, Toyama Prefecture) I took paid leave on Friday and went to Mt. Karamatsu! This time, I planned to climb Mt. Karamatsu as a day trip, so I had to descend during the lift's operating hours. So, I had planned to leave from the Kurobishi No. 3 lift first thing in the morning, but the lift didn't open until 8:15. I had intended for it to open at 8:00, so I was already starting to get anxious, which was an unpleasant development... And I thought it would close at 17:00, but it turned out to be 16:30, so it seems my advance information gathering was not good. Still, since I lined up from the morning, I got on the lift as soon as it opened, and then took the Grat Quad to climb up to Happoike Sanso. From Happoike Sanso, I finally took the mountain trail to Mt. Karamatsu. The mountain trail to Mt. Karamatsu is difficult to walk on because of the many rocks underfoot, which makes it twice as tiring. I managed to get close to Happoike Pond, but I was worried about time, so I decided to prioritize climbing Mt. Karamatsu without making a detour there. By the way, I was thinking of stopping by Happoike Pond on the way back from Mt. Karamatsu if I had time, but it was foggy on the way back. The path to Happoike Pond was easy to walk on because tourists also go there, but once you pass Happoike Pond, the hiking trail becomes more difficult. I had heard that Mt. Karamatsu is for beginners when I looked it up beforehand, but it was a pretty tough route... Mt. Karamatsu is for beginners in the Northern Alps. After passing the Ogiyukikei and Maruyama Cairn, I managed to climb to the fork just before the summit of Mt. Karamatsu. However, it was the most difficult when I had to descend from the fork and climb back up to Mt. Karamatsu. The climb just before the summit was so hard that even I, who usually have plenty of physical strength, stopped moving. I was also sleep-deprived, but it seems that the climb on the way there had worn down my strength considerably. But we managed to reach the summit of Mt. Karamatsu! From the top of Mt. Karamatsu, we could see Mt. Goryu, Mt. Tsurugi, Mt. Tateyama and other mountains. Combined with the sense of accomplishment of having overcome all the hardships, it felt really good!! On the way back, we managed to get back within the lift's operating hours, so we were able to safely descend the mountain by lift. It must be pretty tough mentally when there's a time limit. I guess a leisurely climb suits me after all lol