Kitadake

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Kitadake
Kitadake
Elevation	3,193 m
Location	Chūbu region, Honshū, Japan
Range	Akaishi Mountains
Coordinates	35°40′16 N°138′14
Translation	北岳 (Japanese)
Pronunciation	[kita-dake]

Kitadake ( 北岳, kita-dake^?) is a mountain in the Akaishi Mountains or Southern Alps of Japan reaching 3,193 metres above sea level. It lies in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi. Kitadake is the second tallest mountain in Japan after Mount Fuji. It is listed as one of Japan's 100 famous mountains, and is the most famous in Yamanashi Prefecture. Once, it was thought to be 3,192 metres high, but a new survey conducted by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan resulted in a 1 metre increase. It is known as "Leader of the Southern Alps".

1 Geography
2 Origin of the name
3 Trails
4 External link
5 Images

[edit] Geography

The mountain area around Kitadake is one of the most popular within Japan, said to be second only to the Mount Yari-Mount Hotaka area. Access points for climbing are at Hirogawara (広河原, hirogawara^?) to the east and at Ryōmata (両俣, ryoumata^?) to the west, with most people choosing to climb from Hirogawara where facilities are better. Two mountain huts near the top can provide accommodation for up to 150 people, and there are campground facilities near these huts. On the east side of the mountain rises the Kitadake-buttress (北岳バットレス, kitadakebattoresu^?), a 600 metre tall rock face.

Alpine plants grow in abundance here, especially on the mountain's southeast slope along the route to Nakashiranesan (中白峰山, nakashiranesan^?), and along the Kusasuberi (草すべり, kusasuberi^?) and Migimata (右俣, migimata^?) courses on Shiraneoike (白根御池, shiraneoike^?) on the mountain's northern side. Large clusters of plants can be seen from near the campgrounds next to the huts on Kitadake's shoulders. The species Kitadakesou (キタダケソウ, kitadakesou^?) is endemic to this mountain's environment.

[edit] Origin of the name

Shiranesanzan (from left to right: Nōtoridake, Ainodake, Kitadake. view from Kenashiyama in Shizuoka Prefecture. November, 2006)

The mountain range consisting of Kitadake, Mount Ainodake (間ノ岳, aino-dake^?) and Mount Nōtoridake (農鳥岳, noutori-dake^?) is called Shiranesan (白根山, shirane-san^?). The name Kitadake refers to being the northernmost peak in this range (kita means "north" in Japanese). Today, every peak is treated as a separate mountain. The name Shiranesan signifies "mountain covered in snow". The three mountains together may also be referred to as Shiranesanzan (白峰三山, shiranesanzan^?).

[edit] Trails

There are three main access routes to the summit of Kitadake. The first starts out in Hirogawara and follows the river Ōkanbazawa (大樺沢, ookanbazawa^?) up through the valley Daisekkei (大雪渓, daisekkei^?). Another route leaves the river valley earlier and emerges from the forest at Shiraneoike-Kusasuberi. A third trail runs from Ryōmata from the trail head at Nakashiranezawa (中白根沢, nakashiranezawa^?) to the summit of the mountain.

From the summit a trail runs along the ridge via Nakashiranesan to Ainodake, Nishinōtoridake]] (西農鳥岳, nishinoutori-dake^?), Nōtoridake, and continues further south. An alternate route (Ikeayama-tsurione (池山吊, ikeyamatsurione^?)) has been installed which connects the viewing platform at Jusenzan (鷲住山, Jusenzan^?) via the head at Bōkonzawa (ボーコン沢, bookonzawa^?) to the summit. However, this approach is not very popular, except in winter, the path gets greater use. Kitadake-buttress is a classic route for free climbing in Japan.

The main mountain huts in the vicinity of Kitadake are the Kitadakekatano hut (北岳肩ノ小屋, kitadakekatanokoya^?), the Kitadake mountain cottage (北岳山荘, kitadakesansou^?), the Shiraneoike hut (白根御池小屋, shiraneoikekoya^?) and the Ryōmata hut (両俣小屋, ryoumatakoya^?).