2015-06-21 マスキ嵐沢

沢登り (sawa nobori) Masuki arashi sawa course in Nishi Tanzawa.
Annual shower climbing training organized within Ota alpine club.

Access: Bus from Shinmatsuda station, get off after about 1 hour.
Topo reference: 東京起点沢登りルート120　pp108-109

As a group of 19 we were divided in 3 subgroup and though I had not been asked to be a subleader I-san asked me to take the lead. I had done the same stream last year so I knew the way and also I was confident I could climb my way up the waterfalls without rope but it was the first time for me to lead so I was grateful for the invitation and led my group. Taking pictures at a leisurely pace was not possible but since it was my second time I didn't mind taking less shots than usual. The Manfrotto mini tripod I just acquired proved very convenient yet it has a very limited range of possible angles and it must be placed on a surface almost flat. The solution is to crop pictures in post processing to have vertical pictures.

Thanks to a full year of indoor rock climbing practice as well as several multi-pitch routes I found that climbing this stream was much easier than last year. I set the rope twice for others to follow but anyone with a bit of climbing experience would find any help entirely superfluous. Besides the last 10-meter wall, which was dry, the entire stream has a low volume and it's possible to keep one's upper body dry even when climbing directly in the middle of the multiple waterfalls.

The final stretch to exit the stream and reach the ridge is comparatively easier than most places I've seen so far, there are no trails so it's still more technical than the average hike.

It rained the whole time but never too hard and overall it was cool and enjoyable with just one layer of clothes.

More pictures here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8dPS_LBwxeLfnQyOTJ2TkN6Tm4zbHhKeEZUZEo0cXNfek5SNmlZcEJXQ21NUUtGdEVaVkk&usp=sharing

Last year's trip report: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=7137822