2009.12.25 East-face 9.5 km / 6:14 hours / 1,029m Bits of ice and snow pelted my Gore-Tex shell from above. I raised my gloved hand to brush my knit cap clean, and saw the glint from Izumi’s crampons as she kick-stepped her way up, dropping more bits of ice and snow.
2010.1.27 Nishizen 21.7 km / 12:27 hours / 1,838m Izumi and I zigzagged up a steep ridge that arced towards the peak of Nippaku-san. The snow lost its earlier luster.
2010.02.17 / 14.6 km / 10:34 hours / 1,421 meters 600 meters / 4:55:41 Mid-February Yuzawa. We agree to a 5am start, which means getting up two hours earlier for breakfast and a short drive – one of the luxuries of living in a snow town. After 20 minutes along dark empty roads, we pull …