Our summit attempt was made on 16 Jan 2018 from the SW approach. At the time the northern and eastern approaches were not available as the roads leading to the base were buried under 1.5m of snow.
It took around 4 hours to reach the top of the crater with a short break. We climbed from 310m to 1840m. There was a moderate westerly wind which brought moving clouds across the mid elevation of the mountain. Once we have punched through the cloud band it was a mostly clear day with very strong wind at the rim of the crater.
You can decide on how many turns you would make on the way into the crater, I was first in to set some lines so the rest of the crew could see. It was less than a minute of down with a very quick skin back out in relatively calm condition inside the crater. It was well worth it.
The ride down was expectedly variable with the treeline being the best – soft, smooth and protected. It took just under an hour to return to base.
This trip was led by Jethro @AlpineBackcountryGuides & JourneyIntoJapan.com
Make Friends On A Powder Day 