Training hike #4: Tanzawa-san

Who: Snailwalkers: Paul W, Simon , Arita-san. Others: Eddie & James from Ocean Park Capital

Distance: 20.3 km

Max elevation: 1564m

Accumulated elevation: 2001m

Moving time: 6 hours 17 min

Stopped time: 2 hours 46min

Moving average: 3.2 km/h

Overall average: 2.2 km/h

tanzawa-san.20100227

It was with equal measures of  trepidation and excitement that I checked the weather out the window this morning  -the [...]

Training hike #3: Takao-san and Jinba-san

Who: Paul W, Paul M, Simon, Joe, Aditya, Prateek

Date: 20th Feb 2010

Distance: 19.2km

Moving time: 5 hours 11 minutes

Stopped time: 2 hours 11 minutes

Moving average speed: 3.7 km/h

Overall average: 2.6 km/h

Total Ascent: 1277m

Max elevation: 868m

Paul M’s report here

Takao-san to Jinba-san

And now for something completely different

Attempting to completely disorientate Simon and his Gore-Tex acquiring frenzy, this weekend’s hike was in gloriously clear weather. Takao san guchi by train from Shinjuku in central Tokyo, and in less than than an hour, you’re in mountain-ville. Six of us set off up the 稲荷コース ( Inari-mountain course ) from the station, towards Mount [...]

CP1 - CP2 in the winter

Found a couple more shots, both taken at the highest point on the CP1 – CP2 route. We sat down for a minute or two, no longer as it was freezing and getting dark. Not many photos on this last part of the day as my fingers were frozen and working the camera was hard. [...]

Promotional Movie

Whipped these up for some fun

More …

Jacket in

After the near-death experience from stupidity exposure earlier this week, I gave in and bought some proper clothes. Well, a proper Gore Tex jacket. Bewildering choice so I decided the only thing to do was rate the various brands on how light, expensive, garish and ridiculously named they were, and the winner on all four [...]

Training Hike #2

Date : February 11th 2010

Who : Paul M and Simon

Where : Odawara to CP2

Conditions : Cold, Rain, Fog

Report : Fairly challenging, fairly miserable but character building slog through the rain and fog to CP2. Simon was testing his new boots, GPS watch and Gore Tex stuff. I was trying to remember the trail, and largely [...]

Hike-oo

Ghosts on a mountain
Rubbed thin by mist, fog and snow
Pale faced, shivering

Santayana's Law

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Attributed to many but let’s claim it for Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, or just plain old George Santayana. Writer, philosopher, traveller, Cambridge student and Harvard lecturer, counting among his students T.S. Eliot ( famously an anagram of “toilets” but that’s another [...]

Training hike #1: Odawara to Ashinoko

Date: Sun 7th Feb 2010

Attended: Paul W, Kevin, Arita-san, Miyazaki-san (Small but tough!), Aditya

Start: Odawara Station

Finish: Lake Ashinoko, CP3

GPS track: (to be uploaded)

Route: Odawara Station - Shiroyama  Track and Field (Trailwalker Start) – CP1 – CP2 – CP3

Distance: 24km

Max elevation: 870m

Total ascent: approx 1300 m

Time taken: 7.5 hours

Weather: Beautiful alpine conditions from start to finish - Sunny, cool [...]