毎年恒例、県道白馬岳線冬季通行止め解除日初日の猿倉〜馬尻間コンディションレポートであります。今年は例年にない小雪ゆえの雪消えの早さもまた格別！この時期、いつもなら駐車場からスキーにシールで歩き出す……なわけでありますが今年はイケマセン。林道上に雪が無い……。僕なら長靴にしてスキーをぶら下げて歩く、の作戦かしらね。なんなら馬尻までそのまま歩いてもいいな、が今回の感想でした。

さて、そんな最初の関門の長走沢はスノーブリッジが健在。GW明けまで無問題と思われます。続く林道は雪で寝た木が中途半端に起きており結構邪魔。それは御殿場まで続きます。御殿場から一段登った沢の上部のスノーブリッジはおそらくは近日中に崩壊の様子。夏に掛かる木製の角材もまだ雪の下。ここを渡るのにはひと展開ありそうですね。ATブーツでグキッと行かないよう、要注意。膝までの長靴が一番安全かしら。

そこから先はスキーをつけて歩いても大丈夫。まぁすぐに登山靴で歩くラインも出来るでしょうからそのまま長靴で歩き続けるのも手ですよね。馬尻に大きな雪崩跡のようなものは今のところは無し。スッと上部の大雪渓まで、割とフラットな状態で続いてます。まずは一安心ですね。

今回はXPLOREのブーツで終始歩きましたが感覚は靴底の硬い登山靴のよう。何度も言うようですが、長い長靴がフィットかしらね。長靴を用意するにあたっては、踵がきちんとボックス状で付いているものが雪上ではおススメです。そしてそこそこの渡渉で水が上がってこない長さ。僕はいろいろ使ってこれに落ち着いています。

さて、猿倉の大きい駐車場の復旧工事は今夏から2年の予定で始まります。ゆえ、大駐車場が使えないで不便なのは来シーズンも同様と。そうはいってもあと2シーズンの我慢です。路駐などせずマナーよく不便な期間をやり過ごしましょー。

と、そんなわけでGW期間中、そしてその先、白馬大雪渓／馬尻付近でステップソウルフルを行います。猿倉までのアクセスはアシスト自転車か、杏さんの送迎にて。もう激混みは無いので、そこらへんは逆にありがたいかも。長靴と、ブーツの入るザックを用意していらしてください。お待ちしておりまーす！

This is the annual first-day condition report for the SarukuraーBajiri section following the winter closure reopening of the Hakuba-dake Line Prefectural Road. This year, with unusually low snowfall, the speed of snow melt is remarkable, even by comparison to other years. Normally at this time, you’d start walking from the parking lot on skis with skins… but not this year. There’s no snow on the forest road. Personally, I’d go with rubber boots and carry the skisーmaybe even just walk all the way to Bajiri. That was my impression this time.

Now, the first obstacle, Nagashirisawa, still has a solid snow bridge. It should be fine until after Golden Week. The forest road that follows has trees that were pressed down by snow now half-standing back up, which makes things surprisingly obstructed. This continues as far as Gotemba. The snow bridge at the upper section of the stream just beyond Gotemba will likely collapse in the near future. The wooden beams used in summer are still buried under snow. Crossing there may require a bit of problem-solving. Be careful not to twist anything in AT bootsーknee-high rubber boots are probably the safest option.

Beyond that point, you can put skis back on and continue. That said, a walking line in mountaineering boots will likely form soon, so continuing in rubber boots the whole way is also a valid option. There are currently no major avalanche debris fields at Bajiri. The route continues relatively flat up toward the upper Daisekkei, which is reassuring.

This time I walked the entire route in XPLORE boots, and they felt like stiff-soled mountaineering boots. As I’ve said repeatedly, tall rubber boots are probably the best fit here. When choosing boots, I recommend ones with a properly structured heel box for stability on snow, and with enough height to handle moderate stream crossings without water coming in. I’ve tried various options and settled on this setup.

As for Sarukura, restoration work on the large parking area is scheduled to begin this summer and will take about two years. That means the inconvenience of not being able to use the main parking lot will continue into next season as well. Still, it’s just two seasonsーlet’s be patient and get through this period without resorting to roadside parking.

So, during Golden Week and beyond, I’ll be running Step Soulful sessions around Hakuba Daisekkei / Bajiri. Access to Sarukura will be either by e-assist bicycle or with transport from Kyoko-san. The usual extreme crowds are gone, which is actually a bit of a blessing. Please come prepared with rubber boots and a pack that can carry your ski boots. Looking forward to seeing you!