after third unsuccessful attempt at the Yari-daikiretto-hotaka circuit, i had to take out my rage at some other mountain! i aimed kita-dake the second highest peak in japan. the journey tokyo→koufu→hirogawara took almost 6 hrs on public transport and i was finally at the Kita-dake trailhead at 13:00. it was a late start. very very late start considering the fact that i was climbing solo! it indeed is a wonderful feeling to be in mountains alone, the ultimate solitude! the climate was very humid and in no time i was fully drenched into sweat. it was tiring! on the way i teamed up with Satoshi a 27year old climber and fire fighter by profession. we talked so much as if we knew each other for months! with fast passed climb, we reached Shiraneko-ike, Satoshi's destination. ate some farewell dry fruits and waved each other a goodbye with a promise to catch up in tokyo very soon.
Climbing mountains is like traveling together; one makes strong links! - Daiba
From this point i was on my own again. it was 15:00; time when all the climbers are usually at the campsite and have a tent pitched;i hadn't even began with the main climb. cold wind was picked up and clouds filled the valley. made my way up through thick forest and thicker fog. it was already more than an hour seeing human presence. slowly i could feel fear gripping up my mind. it was my first solo climb in real mountains. what was the fear about? a young japanese girl with long hairs dressed in white !? really!? but there was no turning back! as if all this wasn't enough it started to rain! fighting the urge to take break i kept climbing. fear makes man achieve unreal things! reached the top ridge just in 1.5 hrs instead of 3! the view was unreal, beautiful and breathtaking! In less than 30min i arrived at the camp site right at the bottom of the summit. the tent was pitched in no time and i laid on the floor tired and shivering. what a fantastic climb it was. total climb time from the start was 4hrs including the lunch time and breaks! 2.5hrs earlier than average time mentioned at the map! felt kinda proud. cooked myself some dinner and went to bed 2100ish. i thought i would dream about being on the summit the next morning. However to dream one needs to fall asleep first! night was cold. very cold. had a good sleeping bag but no sleeping pad. the cold ground was draining every bit of the warmth. to make it even worse tent ground had a slight slope and whole night i kept sliding down to side of the tent, return to position and slide again. what a long sleepless night. next morning came up with disappointment. thick fog had enveloped the mountains. Packed the tent and started the summit climb. as expected all i could see from the top was clouds, fog and some rain drops. it wasn't sad at all. the journey till this point had been fantastic. spent half an hour at the summit and started descending towards Mt. Aino dake. there was a continuous battle between winds and the clouds. strong winds would blow the clouds clear off the deep valley and the next moment another army of clouds will march in. the sun didn't have any say in the whole game. he did make a guest appearance for few minutes. i walked passed few absolutely scenic spots! why am i walking passed them when i can stay right here! this is the best part of climbing solo. its just you... ! i took a break at many such beautiful spot. at one spot warmed my stomach with spicy hot cup-noodles. Yumm! at other sport warmed my mind with meditation. it was no doubt the most serene place to meditate ! from the ridge i descended into the valley, passed by the glacier, entered the forest. it was already 6 hrs downhill. knees wobbled, toes hurt and finally i was back at hirogwara. nearly a perfect climb. will always remember this one ;)