We’d passed up the opportunity to do this Bozu-yama trip last year, because the snow was just too good elsewhere (we ended up skiing near Kiroro instead). This year, however, we committed to it, and we were glad we did. The snow was better than expected (but expectations were low anyway), and the hut was a lovely oasis surrounded by snow fields.
Our original planned group was going to be eight people. In the end, a few dropped out due to having colds, so it was a troupe of five – me, Haidee, Grisha, Anton, and Sean.
Those five included Sean, from HutTripper.com. We’d been in contact for a while, and it was great to finally meet. Also in the line-up was Anton from Sakhalin – good to catch up with him since meeting six years ago in Tokyo.
The plan was for Haidee, Sean and me to stay two nights. Grisha and Anton would only stay for one.
The trip started with everyone arriving at the trailhead and getting the sleds packed up. We had about 20kg of firewood split across two sleds, plus far too much food.
It was about 9:30am by the time we got away from the trailhead. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the snow was still cold. The sleds were gliding well.
This was the first time we’d skied this route. As usual, there were some unknowns. One unknown that was high on my mind was how flat, or not, the forestry road was going to be. The worst-case scenario was that the road would be mostly flat until we hit a steep climb up the approach ridge. The better-case scenario would be the road would climb at a decent gradient all the way, facilitating a quick exit on the descent.
In the end, it turned out to be the latter. We were happy to be pulling the sleds up a good incline all the way to the end of the forestry road – a solid 2.8km.
From the end of the forestry road, we dropped down to the creek, hoping for an easy snow-bridge crossing. Anton chose a good snow-bridge, and crossed the stream with ease. I didn’t, and my sled dropped down into the shallow creek. Sean came to my aid, and we got it up onto the snow again.
Across the creek, it wasn’t long before we had to pull the sleds up the steeper ridge, up to the summit plateau where we would find the hut. The ridge was just mellow enough to make it practical for the sleds.
Once we had finished the short steeper section, we finally had views of the mountains around us. The large plateau-like western face of Yubari-dake was staring us in the face.
As we were getting close to where the hut ought to be, we came across two other skiers, descending the way we’d come. I explained we were planning to stay in the hut.
“The hut’s locked tight!” one of the skiers said.
This was shocking news. I’d been told a year ago by the Mukawa Town Council that the hut was open for use all year round. “Just make sure you bring your own wood,” they said.
Perhaps something had changed over the last year. Perhaps the hut was locked now.
The skier went on. “I tried the front door and front window, but they were both locked securely. I didn’t try the rear window, but I think you might find that one locked too,” he said.
I thanked him for the information, and we carried on, now very concerned that we’d hauled up 20kg of firewood for nothing.
We rounded to the front of the hut, and tried the door. Sure enough, it was locked tight.
It was then that a year-old memory stirred in my brain. Vaguely, my mind told me that I’d been told by the Mukawa Town Council representative a year ago about getting into the hut in winter.
“You need to climb into the hut in winter using the rear window – there’s a ladder for the purpose.”
I peered through the front window at the window at the back of the hut. Sure enough, the window latches were oriented downwards. The locked front window had the latches oriented upwards.
“The back window is open!” I called out.
We rushed to the back of the hut, and sure enough, were able to open the back window easily.
It was sweet relief to have access to the hut. We dropped our gear and got ready to take a walk to the summit of Bozu-yama.
It was sweet relief to have access to the hut. We dropped our gear and got ready to take a walk to the summit of Bozu-yama.
The snow was better than expected. But I’d expected mega-breakable-crust, so anything was going to be better than that. Indeed, the chalky old snow was better than breakable crust.
We decided to try to find some better snow by skiing back down the way we’d hauled the sleds up earlier in the day, on the northern aspects. The snow was passable, but the terrain was messy. We very soon found ourselves in a mess of deep gullies and small spurs. We gave up and headed back to the hut.
The evening was spent eating way too much cheese and crackers, and then copious shabu-nabe.
The hut was cosy with five people, and the wood stove was amazingly efficient. Our 20kg of firewood we’d hauled up was going to last just fine.
The warmth of the hut didn’t last long once the stove went out. When we woke in the morning, everyone was wrapped up tight in their sleeping bags. It was about -10°C in the hut, maybe even colder.
Grisha was the first up, having headed out to try to watch the sunrise from the summit at around 4:30am. He reported back an average sort of sunrise, but the companionship of a curious fox.
First order of business for the day was for Grisha and Anton to get packed up and away. They had to catch a flight to Sakhalin later that day.
A few hours after Grisha and Anton left, Simon and Alex arrived at the hut. Since they live only 30 mins drive away from the trailhead, Haidee had contacted them last-minute to see if they wanted to join in on the hut trip. They decided to come up for a day trip.
After they arrived, we all headed out again to the summit of Bozu-yama. Once again, the weather was stellar.
The downhill terrain for skiing around Bozu-yama is almost really good. It’s mellow from the summit, and there are some short steep-ish sections. Once off the summit plateau, however, the terrain tends to deteriorate into miniature spines, gullies, and bluffs.
We did one decent downhil run, and were skinning our way back up when the snowmobilers arrived. Cue two-stroke noise and fumes.
I can see why this is a popular place for the sledders. It would be a great place to practice skills on various terrain.
After this first run, Alex and Simon decided to head back to the trailhead. They reported it only took about 20 minutes along the forestry road. “Super quick exit,” Simon reported.
Sean, Haidee, and I carried on scouting the downhill ski options around the summit.
Snow conditions were chalky at best. On the southern aspects, the modest snowpack had given away completely, leaving large patches of exposed sasa bamboo grass. In the right conditions, all aspects of Bozu-yama would provide some reasonable downhill terrain, but today, we were limited to northerly aspects.
Our final run for the day was west of the hut. This provided some OK snow.
Despite the smooth-looking contour lines on the map, however, the lower sections were a mess of steep gullies and bluffs.
We cut our losses and called it a day. It was almost 4pm and we had plenty of food and firewood in the hut.
The rest of the day was spent trying to get through the copious amounts of food I’d over-bought for the trip.
The mission to consume the food continued the following morning for breakfast. Sean and I made a gallant effort before we packed up the hut and sled for the return to the trailhead.
The lack of photos of the return to the trailhead should provide evidence of two things:
- It was fast
- It was chaotic
My makeshift sled design needs refinement to prevent it from running away from the skier when skiing downhill or side-hilling. The sled did a lot of those things while descending the short steep forest section just below the hut. It would get snagged on trees. It would careen past the skier. It would have a mind of its own.
Once on the forestry road, however, it was smooth sailing, apart from one flip.
Overall, a super fun hut trip, and great to have been able to share it with another bonafide hut geek, Sean.
