Training Report - Mt.Tokachidake (Mt.Tokachi) 28

Super cold tendency is continuing from Mt.Tokachidake 27. One of the members wanted to participate in the training of this week, but K refused this members' participation. Because K was convinced that this member didn't have enough experience and equipments to resist to such a cold condition and it might be dangerous for him and for the group. If there is someone without proper experience and equipments, even only one person, it would jeopardize the party. K told him "You are not ready yet".

It was minus 26 degrees Celsius in Nakafurano and it was minus 24 degrees Celsius in Kamifurano. It was super cold at the foot of the mountain. A cold air lake was formed on the Furano Basin because of strong radiative cooling. It would be dangerous to ride in a such cold condition. So if the temperature had been too low at an elevated area, the start would have been postponed for few hours. But the upper end of the ground inversion layer was situated at the altitude of 7-800m. So it wasn't too cold at elevated areas although it was going to go down 2 or 3 degrees around the sunrise. It was minus 19 degrees Celsius at the altitude of 500m. So he decided not to postpone the start. This time he wore disposable hot packs on the back of hands, on the instep and also in the pockets to warm the batteries fo cameras. As he felt cold during the climb of the last training on the Mt.Tokachidake, this time he wore one more base layer.

The mountains are slightly cloud covered.

The moon is still shining.

Heading for the mountains.

The Furano Basin.
He feels hot as he wears a little too much.

He heard the sound of frost crack about 15 times. He drunk all liquid content in the bottle before reaching the altitude of 800m.

Conifers are heavily snow covered.

The city of Kamifurano.

The summit of the Mt.Furanodake (Mt.Furano) is covered of clouds. He was asked to test a taillamp of Knog by a retailer if it fonctions without problems in a cold condition after the problems of electronic switch (cf. Mt.Tokachidake 27).

He has just changed the battery of CatEye's taillamp which had problems with electronic switch. This time, it doesn't shut down but only one mode fonctions properly. You can't change to the other modes from the beginning in this cold in spite of brand new battery. The CatEye's old taillamp fonctions reducing the brightness. You can use its all modes. On the contrary, the taillamp of Knog fonctions perfectly. You can use its all modes without reducing the brightness.

After passing the bifurcation, he enters the KTV (katabatic valley) where the temperature is super low and he hears the sound of frost crack several times here. He's climbing in a super cold katabatic wind of minus 30 degrees Celsius. Everything began to freeze. The display of cycle-computer is now covered with frost which originate from the water in the expiration. Upper part of jersey is frozen. The brake cables are frozen. It's too cold and he has to raise the facecover to under the nose. He tries not to fog the glaces exhaling carefully. But it's still to cold to the top of the nose which is still exposed to exterior air. He raised the facecover until it covers the top of the nose. But it was a mistake. The glaces got fogged and frozen instantaneously. He can't see nothing through the glaces any more. As it's completely frozen, you can't wipe out the fog without heat. So he has to see now through the interstices of the glaces.

Leaving the KTV, as the temperature goes up, the frozen display became normal but the glaces are still frozen. He continues climbing seeing through the opening of the glaces.

He did sprint training at the summit. But it's awkward doing training with the frozen glaces. So he soon gave up the sprint training.

The frozen glaces.

When he was talking with a Australian skiers there, he met the director of one of hotels at the Mt.Tokachidake Hot Springs. She invited him for a cup of coffee. In exchange, he provided with English / French -Japanese interpretation for foreign guests. He melted the ice formed on the surface of the glaces' lenses inside the hotel.

After recovering the glaces, he went to the sprint training again.

When preparing for the descent, he met a group of German-Speaking Swiss skiers. K lived in French-Speaking part of Switzerland for 2 years. So he has a little knowledge of Swiss German but he doesn't speak Swiss German. Therefore, at the beginning, he spoke some words of Swiss German but the rest of the conversation, he spoke with them in High German. Recently, almost half of the skiers here are Foreigners. Before, only Australians have been coming here for skiing as the seasons are inverse. But now, many Europeans and North Americans come to ski here.

Snow monsters (conifers heavily covered with rime and snow) are formed.

As he got frostbite during the last training on the Mt.Tokachidake (cf. Mt.Tokachidake 27), this time, he wore the face cover without letting interstice. He has to breathe carefully not to fog the goggles.

Snow monsters on the slant are beautiful.

The road surface status isn't bad. The velocity easily attained 70km/h. As the tires of Ice Spiker Pro are light (cf. Mt.Tokachidake 25), you can speed as summer road bikes if the road surface condition is good (these tires aren't suitable for bad road surfaces (cf. Mt.Tokachidake 26)). However, a car caught him up in the middle of the descent. It's incredible. Usually bikes are faster than cars on the descent covered with snow. Only drivers who know the route well can drive at this spead. K thought the driver would be a local. Yes, no wonder, the driver was one of personnel of the Mt.Tokachidake Hot Springs and K knows one of passengers.

This times as well, like the last training on the Mt.Tokachidake, his left eye hurts. The frozen contact lenses might have injurred the conjunctivae.

Pictures taken after the training. It's still minus 17 degrees Celsius at noon on the Furano Basin. The cold air lake isn't dissolved yet.