Yatsugatake (八ヶ岳) ice-climbing – Hirogawara-sawa (広河原沢) No3 gully (3ルンゼ)

Route Name: Hirogawara-sawa (広河原沢) No3 gully (3ルンゼ)

Mountain:  Amidadake (2805m 阿弥陀岳)

Map sheet:  33 [Yama-to-kougen-chizu (山と高原地図) series]

Time:  1 day round trip

Grade:  WI4 / Overall Grade 3+ alpine route

Of all the winter routes in Hirogawara-sawa on the southwest aspect of Amidadake, No3 gully might be the best of them. Deep and committing, it has a remote alpine feel to it, requiring the full skillset of ice and mixed terrain. And when you get to the top, as an added bonus you then get to climb the South ridge (Nanryo, 南稜) from its crux at the P3 gully up to the summit… A big route with big satisfaction!

Getting there:

There is no public transport to the trailhead for this route. As a pre-dawn start is required, it is therefore necessary to travel by car.

If travelling by car from Tokyo (東京) take the Chuō Expressway as far as the Kobuchizawa (小淵沢) interchange. After passing through the ETC barriers, turn right and drive uphill on route 11 for around 5 minutes to a set of traffic lights. Turn left and continue until route 11 changes into route 484. Stay on route 484 for around 10 minutes, and then turn right onto a narrow road uphill in the direction of Funayama-jūjiro (船山十字路). There is space for around 15-20 cars to park here.

Description:

From the carpark at Funayama-jūjiro walk up the road for several minutes and pass through the gate. Continue up the forestry road in the direction of Hirogawara-sawa. Eventually the road becomes less defined as it narrows into a valley path.

After about an hour of hiking the path crosses to the right bank of Hirogawara-sawa. Another 20 minutes will bring you to the Futamata junction (二俣), the point where the left and right forks of the river part ways.

Take the right fork here into the Migi-mata (右俣), and continue up the stream. Some way up you will come to a short ice step that is usually not formed, so you may need to scramble up a sort of natural staircase in a cave on the right side.

At the top of this is another fork in the stream. The right fork goes to Christmas runze (クリスマスルンゼ), and the left fork continues up towards No3 gully.

As you get further in you will begin to find short frozen ice steps, which can be climbed unroped.

Eventually you will reach the junction where No2 and No3 gullies part ways. Take the right fork and head up into No3 gully.

Depending on when you are climbing, this next section might involve wading through some deep snow that has accumulated at the bottom of the main gully. Once through this, continue up the steepening slopes until you reach the crux 30m 3-step Ōtaki icefall (大滝).

In early season conditions (Dec) this will probably require a rope due to the exposure, and there is an anchor midway up it. In later season (Jan) with more snow on the ground, you may be able to solo it, but you must decide based on conditions.

Above the Ōtaki continue climbing slab ice and steep snow slopes. You will eventually see an icefall on the right, which is often not fully formed. To bypass this, continue up the slopes on your left in the direction of P4 on the Nanryo until you reach the rockface.

From here traverse rightwards and cross back into No3 gully, and ascend up to the foot of the P3 gully on the Nanryo.

Climb the P3 gully up to the Nanryo, and then continue up the Nanryo to the 2805m summit of Amidadake. The views up there on a clear day in winter are outrageously beautiful!

Descent:

Take the trail to the west off the summit. A short walk along a narrow ridge brings you to some rocks, with a ladder and chains. Climb over these rocks and down the other side to a signpost.

From here you can see your descent down the Okoya ridge (御小屋尾根) stretching out below, and the top section has a fixed rope in place down the first 100m. Pick your way carefully down it, and after around an hour you’ll come to a sign for a water source off to the left (不動清水) at about 2206m. Keep going down the ridge and after another 1h10mins of map-time you will arrive at a fork in the trail just after the 2137m summit of Mt Okoya (御小屋山).

The right fork goes to Minotoguchi bus stop, and the left fork will take you back to Funayama crossroads. The car park at Funayama crossroads is another 1h20mins of map-time down the ridge.

Overall:

A first-class winter alpine route to a major summit in the Yatsugatake massif. Bring 5-6 ice screws, a selection of nuts and quickdraws, and expect to be alone for most of the day.