Garbage Gaijin do Rishiri
I'll front load this trip report with two things:
First, I apologize for letting it sit on the computer for so long. I sent it to Powderguide back in March, then meant to post it here in April, but sprained my ankle and had to do my best to forget about winter for a while.
Second, I mention guiding season. I'll be back in Hokkaido this winter, and am still looking to fill some dates this winter. Giving me work helps make trips like this possible. Shy of putting in too much of a personal plug, if your travels bring you anywhere on Hokkaido, feel free to send me a message. If nothing else, my floor in Kutchan is always open to skiers and snowboarders passing through.
Z
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Skier: David Ellison
It had been on my radar for a while. Five years I think. Rishiri was first mentioned to me over a whisky induced conversation on a rainy night in Honshu. Plans that year fell through, and since then the arrival of spring in Japan meant my departure for adventure elsewhere. It turns out ski and adventure partners in March can be tough to come by.
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Luck, destiny, bad planning, something happened; this year was different. I was fortunate enough to live with one of my main ski partners, and two coworkers expressed interest. A good friend put us in touch with the local guy who rented us a car with no papers whatsoever. It was sketchy, but it would work. With a couple phone calls and lots of neglected loose ends from the winter in Niseko, the traveling junk show left the first day it could. The group consisted of David Ellison, Brandon Hartwig, Matt Wiseman, and myself.
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Hokkaido makes up for the hectic crowds of Honshu, being a quiet island that southern Japanese view to be full of rednecks. Despite everyone’s enthusiasm to ski, there is very little happening outside of the ski towns until summer. Wakkanai, the port for the ferry to Rishiri was no exception. Most hostels were still under a meter of snow. With little going on, we took the first ferry to Rishiri and were treated to a small sampling of the ‘Sea of Japan Sway’.
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Rishiri Green Hill Inn was our cozy home for the next ten days while we explored the mountain. It’s a smoothly run operation that is very quiet in the winter. Call a day or two before showing up. Despite few restaurants being open during the winter, the kitchen here is fully functional and the grocery stores are reasonably priced.
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Skier: David Ellison
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Snowboarder: Brandon Hartwig
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Snowboarder: Brandon Hartwig
The first several days consisted of mediocre weather at best, so we explored options of several trailheads around the island. We settled on two trailheads: one from the east side that was plowed with a relatively short approach for casual day skiing, one from the north that provided the easiest climb to the summit.
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Brandon Hartwig
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Matt Wiseman
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David Ellison
Amidst exploring and enjoying being done with employment, I managed to catch the infamous Hokkaido Plague that had been going around all winter. I’m not sure exactly what triggered it, but it definitely wasn’t a result of the heavy drinking we did during the last two days of employment to celebrate the conclusion of the guiding season. A few down days started bringing me up to speed before the asthmatic cough kicked in the day before good weather promised. Needless to say, the alpine start was painful.
On the summit day, we started hiking from the Rishirifuji Onsen at 530. The weather forecast was calling for things to clear around 10, though steady snow was falling all morning. ‘It took a lot of motivation to hike through sickness in that snowstorm’ is an understatement. I owe a lot of thanks to Dave, Brandon, and Matt for their patience with me. They were all nothing but tolerant and accepting of my slow hiking and constant hacking. I must have lost two deciliters of fluid just in flem along the way up.
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David Ellison
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Brandon Hartwig
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Brandon Hartwig
As luck would have it the weatherman was surprisingly correct that day. Shortly after we reached the hut at 1240m, the weather began to break. Dramatic views of the sharp terrain contrasting the ocean were just what the doctor ordered and I began to feel a lot better. Snow eventually turned to the classic volcanic ice-rime and proved too difficult for skins just above 1500m, and we used crampons to cover the remaining distance to the 1721m summit.
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David Ellison
