Mount Kita

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Mount Kita 北岳
Mount Kita (July 2005)
Elevation	3,193 metres (10,476 ft)^[1]
Location	Chūbu region, Honshū, Japan
Range	Akaishi Mountains
Coordinates	35°40′16″N, 138°14′31.3″E
Topo map	Geographical Survey Institute (国土地理院, Kokudochiriin^?) 25000:1 仙丈ヶ岳, 50000:1 市野瀬
Listing	List of mountains and hills of Japan by height
Translation	north peak (Japanese)
Pronunciation	[kita-dake]

Shiranesanzan (from left to right: Mount Nōtori, Mount Aino, Mount Kita), view from Kenashiyama in Shizuoka Prefecture (November 2006)

Mount Kita (北岳, Kita-dake^?) is the second tallest mountain in Japan, after Mount Fuji, and is known as "the Leader of the Southern Alps". It is included in Japan's hundred most famous mountains. It is situated in the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") in Yamanashi Prefecture.

1 Geography
2 Origin of the name
3 Climbing
4 External links
5 Images
6 References

[edit] Geography

The Kitadake Buttress (北岳バットレス, Kitadake Battoresu^?), a 600-metre tall rock face, is on the east side of the mountain.

Alpine plants grow abundantly, especially on the mountain's south-east slope along the route to Mount Nakashirane (中白峰山, Nakashiranesan^?) and along the Kusasuberi (草すべり, kusasuberi^?) and Migimata (右俣, migimata^?) courses along Shiraneo Pond (白根御池, Shiraneo-ike^?) on the mountain's northern side. Large clusters of plants can be seen from huts near the top. The species Callianthemum hondoense (キタダケソウ, kitadakesō^?) is endemic to this mountain.

[edit] Origin of the name

The main mountains of the Akaishi Mountains are Mount Kitadake, Mount Aino and Mount Nōtori (農鳥岳, Nōtori-dake^?). The three mountains together are called "Shiranesanzan" (白根三山, shiranesanzan^?), which means "three white summits". The name Mount Kita literally means "north mountain," referring to its being the northernmost peak in of the three mountains.

[edit] Climbing

The mountain area around Kitadake is one of the most popular in Japan, reputedly second only to the Mount Yari and Mount Hotaka area. Access points for climbing are at Hirogawara (広河原, hirogawara^?) to the east and at Ryōmata (両俣, ryōmata^?) to the west—most people choose to climb from Hirogawara, where facilities are better. Two mountain huts near the top provide accommodation for up to 150 people, and there are campground facilities nearby.

There are three main access routes to the summit of Mount Kita. 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 Mount Aino, Mount Nishinōtori (西農鳥岳, Nishinōtori-dake^?), Mount Nōtori, and continues further south. An alternate route, (Ikeayama-tsurione (池山吊, ikeyamatsurione^?)), has been built, which connects the viewing platform at Jusenzan (鷲住山, Jusenzan^?) to the summit, via the head at Bōkonzawa (ボーコン沢, bookonzawa^?). This approach is not very popular, except in winter, when the path gets greater use. Kitadake Buttress is a classic route for free climbing in Japan.

The main mountain huts in the vicinity of Mount Kita 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^?).