2015 Climbing season starts at Hakusan National Park
Posted on 02/08/2015
Access to Hakusan National Park
During the summer climbing season, special buses run from Kanazawa Station to Bettodeai, a starting point for climbing from Ishikawa prefecture (contact Hokuriku Railroad for information). From the beginning of July to the middle of October, there are restrictions on vehicular access. Visitors must park their cars at Ichinose and take a shuttle bus to Bettodeai if travelling on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or a national holiday.
Dawn from Gozengamine Peak Photo: Ishikawa Prefecture
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Hakusan in the morning from Onanjigamine Peak Photo: Ishikawa Prefecture
On July 1, Hakusan National Park (at an altitude of 2,720 meters) saw the opening day of the summer 2015 mountain-climbing season. Unfortunately, the weather was not so great, meaning that not many climbers left Murado plateau (2,450 meters) in the early morning to view the sunrise from the summit. At 04:38, the estimated time of the sunrise, only two climbers and the press had arrived at the summit.
Like Mt Tateyama, there is actually no mountain called Hakusan or Mt Haku. Hakusan is the name of the mountain range containing three dominant peaks: Gozenga-mine (Gozenga crest, altitude 2,702 meters), Ohnanji-mine (Ohnanji crest, altitude 2,684 meters), and Kenga-mine (Kenga crest, altitude 2,677 meters), along with other smaller surrounding mountains. The area around the foot of the mountains, which straddles Ishikawa, Fukui, Toyama, and Gifu prefectures, was designated as Hakusan National Park in 1962. A large number of climbers visit the park from the beginning of July to the middle of October every year.