笊ヶ岳 (Mt. Zaru) -- 南アルプス (Southern Alps)

Download

Trail photos

Photo of笊ヶ岳 (Mt. Zaru) -- 南アルプス (Southern Alps)

Author

mepjd

176 58 196

See more trails from this author

Trail stats

Distance: 17.08 mi
Elevation gain: 8,018 ft
Technical difficulty: Very difficult
Elevation loss: 8,018 ft
Max elevation: 8,635 ft
TrailRank: 35
Min elevation: 1,611 ft
Trail type: Loop

Time: one day 11 hours 32 minutes
Coordinates: 2461
Uploaded: March 21, 2017
Recorded: March 2017

Be the first to clap

near Hayakawa, Yamanashi (Japan)

Viewed 180 times, downloaded 9 times

Trail photos

Itinerary description

At more than 27km and +/- nearly 2,500m of elevation, this is a tough hike even in perfect conditions, but snow conditions (deep, soft, powdery snow) that even our snowshoes were helpless in, very steep slopes (up to 49.4% gradient), and the fact that we were the only ones on the entire route and had to break the trail for the entire time made this especially hard. This peak is one of the "200 Famous Mountains" of Japan, and as such does see a fair bit of climbers during the summer, but the trail does not show it - narrow, not especially well maintained, with several hazards including a precarious crossing of a wide track of loose rock and dirt - the aftermath of a large landslide. Furthermore, it seems that very few climbers undertake this trek outside of the main trekking season. There are, also, almost no views to be had until just beyond the peak of 布引山 (Mt. Nunohiki), along the same ridge as 笊ヶ岳 (Mt. Zaru) - so it is a long, thankless slog for most of the trek. However, the views from the later half of the ridge and the summit are superb, with a full sweeping panorama of the entirety of the Southern Alps and Mt. Fuji. From the ridge or peak, the sunrise would be viewable in the direction of Mt. Fuji, and the sunset behind the main peaks of the Southern Alps. Plus, this comparitavely less-traveled area of the Alps offers a genuine wilderness experience - be prepared for possible sighting of deer, rabbits, Japanese Serrow (カモシカ), wild boar (イノシシ) and even bears (we saw one in the forest just before the "Old Homestead" marked on the GPS track.)