K and I had the most incredible fortune during our week away. The North Alps rarely have more than two consecutive days of fine weather and we enjoyed a full week of it. Though throughout the heat of the day clouds would rise up from the valleys below and engulf the peaks by late afternoon (by late morning on one day), we were blessed with no permanent cloud cover and no rain. People we met everywhere up there were saying that the weather was indeed strange. I guess God was giving us a break so we could focus on the trek that helped tie our relationship even tighter.
So, you wanted some photos. I can't show you my best because I think there might be some copyright issues if I get them published somewhere else, and I can't show you any close up views of us because there's a privacy leakage fear on SC. But I hope you can enjoy this offering below.
Here is K (I call her Special K or Mountain K now) at the upper stream of the Azusa River. The river is known as one of the cleanest and most beautiful in Japan. I say it just hasn't been exploited and dirtied up there yet. The lower parts have at least three dams and anywhere people live you can be sure the river is dirty. Thankfully up here it is still pristine.
Testing the underwater housing for my new compact digital. I would love to show you the best of the photos from under the waters of the Azusa River but I am thinking to submit them to a magazine and I don't want copyright issues.
Mt. Yari is Japan's fifth highest mountain and possibly the second most well-known peak. It's a 3,180 metre high "Matterhorn" type peak. Yari was carved out from the rock by glaciers during the last ice age. There are no glaciers in Japan now but glacial cirques filled with permanent snow can be seen all around Mt. Yari and its neighbours.
Every day the sun would warm the air and moisture vapour from the valleys below would rise and cool, becoming a sea of clouds that would rise over the mountains and flood the highest peaks. We didn't see many sunsets but a couple of hours into the night the clouds would recede and settle far below in the valleys again.
Just below the peak of Mt. Yari is the Yari Dake Sansou (Mt. Yari Mountain Lodge). From the lodge one can climb up the final stretch to the summit of Mt. Yari. As we discovered, from an hour before sunrise to a little after sunset there are always people going up, and during the morning and afternoon there is a line up to reach the summit. Though it is steep there are ladders and chains to help climbers up the most difficult part. Seeing the long line of people trying for the top made me think of a mountain Disney Land!
The lodging is co-ed group bunk style with people sandwiched together during the busy season. It's hard to sleep at night because people are snoring and moving around all the time. One guy woke me up at midnight because he had to go out and look at a meteor shower and then came back in to tell his wife about it. Life in the mountains is to bed after sunset and up at 4AM! The food up there is good - simple but with the dietary needs of the active mountaineer in mind.
