御嶽山

S'up?

Earlier this week, I went for a road trip to the Hokuriku and Chubu Regions to bang out two mountains. The first one was Mt. Haku in Ishikawa. This report is about the second mountain, Mt. Ontake, which straddles Gifu and Nagano Prefectures.

. . . about Mt. Ontake

Maybe I wrote enough in the title. This is a lovely mountain that last erupted in 2014. The name Ontake (御嶽山) means something like "honorable" "high peak." It is not only one of the 100 Famous Mountains, but it's listed as one of Gifu's 100 Famous Mountains, one of the 100 Famous Flower Mountains and one of Shinshu's 100 Famous Mountains. It really is kind of a big deal.

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:

Tanohara Base Parking Lot

Beward of Bears

Bear Information kumamap

Probably not a concern here. The last sighting on the mountain was a month prior.

Peaks bagged: Mikasa (三笠山) ~ Otaki (王滝頂上) ~ Ontake Kengamine (御嶽山・剣ヶ峰)

(First-time) peaks # 1,142~1,144

100 Famous Mountain #67

Getting there/getting around:

I drove. It's a long drive.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Mountainforecast.com

Tenkura (Japanese)

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 5:35 Distance: 7.2 km

The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 4:53 Break time: :38 Distance: 7.6 km

Elevation: Lowest: 2,185 m Highest: 3,067 m Total Ascent: 963 m Total Descent: 963 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

Steep. Chains. Ropes. Several places you need both hands and feet. That said, there were grandparents with grandchildren on the trail.

Facilities:

Make sure you pee before you start out. You won't see a restroom (or an unobservable tree) until you get to the top.

No water on the trail.

There are emergency huts at the 8th, 9th and 10th stations.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

As with almost every other mountain I've done, I am glad I did this one. The scenery was great. I enjoyed looking back at Hakusan, which I had climbed the day before. I also enjoyed seeing Mt. Fuji and many other mountains I've climbed.

I was particularly surprised to see Yatsugatake and Mt. Asama, which I live near.

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

A helmet. I'm not sure if it's mandatory, but they really want people to have helmets in case of eruption.

Picture time

The stars from the Tanohara Parking Lot were beautiful all night. There were several photographers with serious cameras recording the sights.

I slept late and didnt leave until about 4. First, I walked up the small hill next to the parking lot to bag the peak called Mikasa (三笠山).

There is the mountain. The highest peak is hiding behind the visible peak, though.

This is considered a sacred mountain, so there are shrines everywhere.

As a Christian, I see mountains as sacred also--but in a very different way. I worship the Creator that created these creations. To me, they are sacred because of Who made them. Shinto worships the mountains for themselves.

I think of it like this--the Japanese love the gift. I love the gift giver.

I honor the fact that the Shintoists see something spiritual in the beauty and majesty of the mountains, but I think they're mistaken in their perception.

I am definitely acclimated to hotter weather these days. I needed to wear a long sleeve shirt and a fleece in the morning. Usually, I would hike in shorts and a t-shirt at these temperatures.

(The first screenshot is Fahrenheit. The second is Celsius.)