Sahoro-sanso Hut

佐幌山荘
Free Hut
Has stove/heating
Mobile reception

Posted on Sep 30, 2018
0

Posted on Sep 30, 2018

0 0
Sahoro-sanso Hut at the summit of Mt. Sahoro is a bunker-like shed, built to withstand the brutal winter conditions that the Hidaka Ranges gets. In summer I have heard it described as a dark, humid, musty shack, so I'm not super confident about its prospects in the non-snow season (please let us know in the comments below if you have any intel on the hut in summer!). In winter, however, it is essentially a glorified snowcave, and very much worth the effort to dig the entrance out for a cosy (albeit dark) night over in the hills.

Location

Near the summit of Mt. Sahoro, here at around 43.1736314,142.7792166.

General notes

Sahoro-sanso Hut is a very basic shelter with no running water and no toilets. It will sleep ten people comfortably, 20 people in a pinch. It does have a wood stove, however, with wood provided (use sparingly). It can become completely buried during the winter months; be prepared to locate the hut with your GPS and/or a probe. The hut’s official contact point is the Shintoku Village Tourism Department (新得町商工観光課, TEL: 01566-4-5111). The hut is owned and maintained by the Shintoku Mountaineering Association (新得山岳会). This association was formed in 1951, and has about 60 members. The hut was repainted in 2017.

  • Entrance to the hut in winter: In mid-winter the hut will be half-buried, or possibly completely buried in snow, so you’ll need to have shovels to dig your way into the entrance and/or a means of locating the hut under the snow (such as a GPS with map and/or probes). There is mobile reception at the summit of Mt. Sahoro. The entrance is on the southwest corner of the hut. If you can find the chimney first, then just start digging about 2m left of the chimney, facing north northeast towards the chimney. If the hut is completely buried, you’ll likely have to dig about 3m down in order to clear enough snow from the entrance – budget on at least 2 hours of digging in this case.
Capacity
Sleeps 10 people.
Official contact
Shintoku Village Tourism Department (新得町商工観光課)
TEL: 01566-4-5111
Maintenance
Shintoku Mountaineering Association
新得山岳会
Booking

No booking required.

Hut Fees

Free. There is a donation box inside the hut. We donated 500yen each for the night we stayed there.

Facilities

Heating: Wood stove, with some wood available. It is essential that wood is used sparingly; the hut is officially an emergency hut in the winter, so the wood has to last the whole winter. Bring fire-lighters, as there is no newspaper or kindling in the hut. There is an axe to split wood into kindling. The fire is quite slow to get going. In winter, make sure that the top of the chimeny is free from snow and ice before trying to light the fire.

Water: There is no water source. In winter, there’s obviously copious amounts of snow outside.

Kitchen/cooking: No dedicated kitchen area.

Bedding: No bedding or mattresses are provided. Sleeping quarters are basic bunk-like platforms.

Elecricity: There is no electricity in the hut.

Toilets: There are no toilets, but portable, disposable toilet-in-a-bag are provided (waste must be carried out).

Cell reception: Yes. Softbank and Docomo tested.

Hutkeeper

There is no hutkeeper.

Related Maps

NOTE: For number references to official printed topographical maps, check the main route report ( Sahoro-dake and Sahoro-Sanso Hut ).

Special Sahoro-sanso  Hut Notes

The hut is classed as an emergency hut in winter, so keep non-emergency stays short (one or two nights), and as always, clean up after use. Like most huts in Hokkaido, Sahoro-sanso Hut is maintained 100% through passionate, volunteer time and effort. Always leave a hut cleaner than you found it.

Sahoro-sanso Hut Trip reports

Sahoro-sanso Hut Photo Gallery

Comments | Queries | Reports

Have you visited the Sahoro-sanso Hut? Thinking of visiting? Please post any feedback or queries here. Thanks!

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Sahoro-sanso Hut Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

D

25

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

D

0

Hazards

D

Navigation

D

Totals

25/100

GRADES range from A (very difficult) to D (easy). Hazards include exposure to avalanche and fall risk. More details here. Rating rubric adapted from Hokkaido Yukiyama Guidebook 北海道雪山ガイド.