Mostly Japanese Mountains: Mt. Morai snowhike. Gorgeous snowy vistas of the Southern Alps, Yatsugatake and Asama.

S'up?

I got to put on my snowshoes and hiked Mt. Morai the other day. I was quite happy about this. We have had a cold snap, and there were a few snowstorms recently, so the scenery was nice.

. . . about Mt. Morai 茂来山

This is one of the Shinshu 100 Famous Mountains. It's 1,717 meters high and is located in Sakuho. The emperor climbed it back when he was a single prince and there is a monument on top commemorating that. This mountain isn't that difficult and is popular with novice climbers. I'm told this mountain is famous for matchmaking and people come here in hopes of finding a bride or groom. That puzzles me. I've been there twice and haven't seen anyone there, never mind someone attractive enough to marry.

There are two main trails, the Makizawa and the Kirikubozawa. They are both quite close to each other and about the same length but the Kirikubozawa has waterholes and one or two more spots with good views. The Makizawa trail is a little bit harder--it's one of those dotted-line trails on the map--and there really are no views until you get to the top.

Area:

This is in Sakuhomachi on the eastern side of Nagano. To the north, Saku-shi, Mt. Asama and Karuizawa are visible. So is Arfune. To the south is Mt. Ogura and Mt. Kinpo, or Kinpu as it is called on the Yamanashi side. Mt. Kita and the Southern Alps are visible and Yatsugatake is prominently laid out to the west of Mt. Morai.

Location:

Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map of this area.

Starting and stopping point:

Makizawa Trailhead Parking Lot

Peaks bagged: Mt. Morai 茂来山

(First-time) peaks # ---

Getting there/getting around:

Car.

A taxi from Yachiho Station would take about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you could walk to the trailhead from Kaize Station in about an hour and a half.

Helpful Info

Weather Information: Mt. Morai weather forecast by Tenkura (Japanese)

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 3:17 Distance: 4.1 km

The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 3:13 Break time: :31 Distance: 4.4 km

Elevation: Lowest: 1,111 m Highest: 1,718 m Total Ascent: 601 m Total Descent: 601 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

Parts of it are steep, and there are a few narrow ridges with steep slopes but this hike is all beneath the tree line and there aren't any ropes, chains or ladders. Actually, maybe there could be some hidden under the snow, but I didn't see any. Near the top, I had to crawl on hands and knees at some points. I wished I had an ice axe on this hike. Not for ice climbing per se, just to give myself a better handhold on the slope.

Facilities:

Nothing.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

This is a nice mountain. It's not that high but has a bit of prominence being the first big peak south of Saku. I do think it would be a nice spot to try some wild camping. Shhh. Don't tell anyone I said that.

Don't lose anything. Use dummy cords for important stuff. Back when I was private in army basic training, they made me tie my rifle to my body so that I wouldn't lose it. That string was called a dummy cord. At the time, it seemed humiliating, but it was wise instruction. I apply the same principle in my life now. I try to make sure my gloves are attached to my jacket sleeves because it would really suck to lose a glove in an arctic environment. I try to dummy cord anything really important. Car keys and my wallet always get stashed inside my ruck sack. I try to remember to zip up any pockets so that nothing (think smartphone) can fall out and so that no snow will get into the pocket in case of a fall.

Think about water. I'm a cheapskate and have never purchased a camelback or anything like that for water. I just recycle whatever plastic bottles I have around. I typically have one big one in my pack and a smaller one in the outside pocket of my backpack. The other day, the smaller one froze solid. The one inside had enough insulation that it never froze. I don't typically bring a stove for dayhikes. In the case of overnights, I bring a stove and melt snow to get water so I don't worry about freezing.

(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:

I'm a fan of bringing extra gloves, a hat and socks in case I do lose one or in case I get wet feet somehow.

Let's look at some pictures.

For this hike, I opted for my wakan. There was a fair amount of snow, but I knew it would be steep and that I would have to navigate some gnarly spots. Regular snowshoes would have been tough to get around in.