今日は栂池自然園方面へ。

ゴンドラ／ロープウェイが動き出すグリーンシーズン開幕は6/6。まだ少し先。そんなわけで、誰も居ない静かな自然園を歩きつつ、残雪の様子見でもして、写真でも撮れればいいかなぁ…くらいの軽い気持ち。まぁ、もしかしてコンディション良かったりするとアレだから、一応スキーもぶら下げてまいります。ブーツは歩きやすさ重視でCRISPI Sydpolenを選択。そんな軽めの心持ちなのでありました。

自然園入口付近。やはり今年は雪少なめ。雪面もやや凸凹。でもブーツ歩きより、長さのあるスキーのほうがむしろ歩きやすい。楠川はすっかり露出しており石伝いに渡渉。「この先のルートどりは大変かなぁ…」と心配するも、残雪がうまく繋がっておりスキーを外さずに展望まで。

展望デッキは双方とも完全露出。あぁ、ここでテント張って一晩過ごしたい…。

そこから上はそのままステップカットにて。で、現れる斜面がどれもこれも良コンディション！凸凹なし、縦溝なし。「ムムっ、これはやっぱり滑らないとダメでしょー」とステップソウルフルへと突入した次第。

あー、楽しい〜。

まさかここがここまで良いとはねぇ…。やはり来てみないと分からないものですね。

結局、自然園入口から最後までスキーを履いたまま。なるほどー。自転車から即スキー。いつもの“登山道＋長靴歩きセクション”が無いわけです。これはこれでかなりアリ。そのぶん自転車区間は長いのだけれど…。

そんなわけでまたひとつ「まだ滑れる場所」が身近に増えてしまった、という顛末。いやはや、アシスト自転車さまさまですよ、ホントにね。

合掌〜

Headed up toward Tsugaike Nature Park today.

The Green Season opening for the gondola and ropeway isn’t until June 6th, so it’s still a little early. With that in mind, I figured I’d just wander through the quiet, empty nature park, check out the remaining snow, maybe take a few photos… that sort of relaxed mood. Though, well, just in case the conditions happened to be surprisingly good, I brought the skis along anyway. For boots, I chose the easy-walking CRISPI Sydpolen. That was about the level of seriousness for the day.

Near the entrance to the nature park, there’s definitely less snow than usual this year. The snow surface was uneven too. Still, skis were actually easier than walking in boots ー the extra length helps. Kusukawa Creek was already exposed, so I crossed by stepping from rock to rock. I expected route-finding beyond there might be troublesome, but the remaining snow connected nicely, and I was able to continue all the way to the Tenbou-deck without taking the skis off.

Both observation decks were completely melted out. Ahh… made me want to pitch a tent and spend the night there.

From there, I continued upward with step-cutting. And every slope that appeared was in beautiful condition ー no bumps, no runnels. “Hmm… well, I guess I have no choice but to ski this,” and naturally drifted into some step soulful skiing.

Ahhh… so good.

Who would have guessed it would be this nice up there? You really never know until you go.

In the end, I kept the skis on from the entrance all the way back out. Interesting… straight from bicycle to skis. No usual “hiking trail plus rubber-boot walking section.” This setup definitely has its advantages. Though, of course, the cycling section becomes much longer.

So now, it seems I’ve once again added yet another nearby place where skiing is still possible. Truly, all thanks to the magic of the assist bicycle.