How NOT to climb a mountain in winter
Forget Hakuba. Forget Hokkaido. White-Boy Mountain is where it’s at.
Think you know Japan? I don’t. But I LOVE learning about it and sharing it with you. Kia ora Koutou, Tim Bunting, Kiwi Yamabushi here on the Japan you never knew you wanted to know.
White Boy Mountain
My article for Shirotaro-yama “White boy mountain” is out now. It’s too long to fit in a single substack email, so here’s a teaser for you, or you can read the whole thing here.
Forget Hakuba. Forget Hokkaido. White-Boy Mountain is where it’s at.
Some background:
This winter, I climbed three mountains here in Yamagata, north Japan. One in particular, Shirotaro-yama, was an especially tough climb that didn’t end as expected. If you get the chance, I highly recommend checking out this peak. Before you do, be sure to read on so that you don’t make the same mistakes on winter mountains I did.
And the last rule applies to climbing any mountain, and is arguably the most important!
Forget Hakuba.
Forget Hokkaido.
Like a cocaine addict, Shirotaro-yama is not itself until it snows. Tucked away deep in the mountains of Yamagata, Shirotaro-yama is the winter wonderland of your dreams.
Only it’s real.
Even the name is real. Shiro (white) taro (boy) yama (mountain).
White boy mountain.
When all around you turns to white and the snow starts creeping in through the windows, you’ll know it’s time.
Time to climb Shirotaro-yama.
And climb it we did.
Or tried to, at least.
I usually write guides about how to climb mountains. But in the case of Shirotaro-yama, well, let’s just say it nearly made a white boy out of me.
Nearly.
There were quite a few things we (I) learned in the process I think you should know too.
So, here’s the Kiwi Yamabushi guide to:
How NOT to climb a mountain in winter (FEAT. Shirotaro-yama)
Climbing Kinbo
On Saturday, as part of my work for The Yamabushido Team (tell them I sent you), we climbed Kinbo-san, Mt. Kinbo in Tsuruoka. We were testing a new route, from Yutagawa and then back down to Shoryuji, and I must say it was as good as I expected. Kinbo-san is only a small peak of 450 or so metres, but it is a Shugendo mountain, and one with a deep history at that. We newly added Kinbo-san to our Basic Yamabushi training, and I must say I can’t wait to get up there again later on in the year!
Kinbo-san was the first mountain I went to on Yamabushi training. It was also the first mountain I climbed for the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata project, so it has a special place in my heart. Plus, our experience was eerily similar to climbing Shirotaro-yama! As you can see in this video:
Shugendo: Pilgrimage and Ritual in a Japanese Folk Religion
People often ask me for book recommendations on Yamabushi / Shugendo.
I’d probably start here.
A friend of mine recently sent me a link for a book on Shugendo, the belief system we yamabushi practice. The book is called Shugendo: Pilgrimage and Ritual in a Japanese Folk Religion. I bought it, and read it, in less than an hour. Although they fail to mention what Master Hoshino and The Yamabushido Team are doing, the book gives a good overview of Shugendo, including in modern times. Well worth it if you have a little time!
Daily Yamabushi for This Week
Daily Yamabushi posts for the week of March 22 to 28, 2024.
Read Daily Yamabushi for free at timbunting.com/blog or Medium.com.
Mountains of Wisdom: Tell Your Friends!
Get more content on the Japan you never knew you wanted to know on my blog, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Threads, or Medium.com (yes, I’m probably doing too much).
If you like what I do, you can really help out by sharing:
Or if you haven’t already:
Ka kite ano.
Tim.