Skiing Asahidake (Mt. Asahidake)

Today started out gorgeous. Snow had fallen throughout the night, and the morning was clear and crisp.

The view from the dining room, with Asahidake poking through the clouds.

Walking to the gondola.

By the end of the day it was snowing furiously. Donette in front of our hostel.

Throughout the day it alternated between overcast and decent visibility, to strong winds, snow, and zero visibility. I didn't get too many pictures during the latter conditions. Temperatures were in the low double digits, with wind chill near 0 F.

Asahidake flag

A brief view of the summit in the morning. We climbed about a thousand feet up the gulley in the center, and skied a couple of laps. The powder was light, dry, and knee deep. Both times we skied it turned to whiteout while we were descending, making for some challenging conditions. By afternoon the wind was blowing constantly, and it was just too nasty too stay up high on the mountain. We turned tail and descended into the protection of the trees.

Donette enjoying some powder in the relative shelter of the trees

Yesterday we skied up in the afternoon and skied next to some large fumaroles, continuously venting steam and sulfurous gasses into the air. An impressive reminder that we are skiing on a volcano!