BLOG槍ヶ岳山荘のスタッフブログ

English down below.

こんにちは！
三年ぶりに槍ヶ岳山荘のアルバイトに戻って来させていただきました、
YOKOです。

コロナパンデミック真っただ中だった前回と比べて、
連日沢山のお客様とお会いできて仕事の楽しさが増した夏でした。
特に海外からのお客様の増加には驚くと同時に、
日本アルプスの魅力が広がっているのを肌で感じて素直に嬉しいです。

　という事で！
七年間海外に拠点を置いていた経験を活かして、
本日のブログは以下英語で書かせていただきます。

The Yarigatake Sanso lodge. Simply the best mountain hut in the world for me.

Hi all.
I’m Yoko who is working at the Yarigatake Sanso Lodge for the summer.

I just finished Uni in Sydney and decided to come back at my favorite place on the mountain for the summer cuz why not?

I feel so privileged to have spent the two most memorable summers here.
Sure, spending two/three months on the mountain is challenging,
and days can get very hectic especially at this lodge.
But what you get from this experience is incomparable to anything
you can imagine or at least it was for me.

I learnt a lot from my co-workers who are among the most talented people I’ve ever met.
Surprisingly I also learnt a lot about myself and what I value in my life.

Not to mention the daily joy of witnessing the beauty of the nature while working, days up here are full of energy and excitement.
I always get inspired by the people I work with.
Every single one of us have different career and is an expert in our own field.
For this reason I respect them all.
This should tell you how the duties at the lodge is unlike any other job you can think of.

Here, everything is ran by us.
The lodge awakes with us, and sleeps with us.

If we lack any one of us or one duty,
the lodge won’t work properly and cannot perform at its best.
We’re not just the accommodation providers on the mountain.
Far from that.
We maintain the trails, provide the safety places,
give advices when needed, and be the centre of mountain climbing culture domestically and internationally.
Everything is for dear mountain lovers and the future of the mountain climbing community.

As my first season here was during the pandemic,
one of the most notable changes I recognised this year is definitely the great increase in the number of guests from all over the world.
Which means I’ve been giving a lot of advices in English regarding the trail conditions and our guest’s health concerns.
The most common question would be about the Dikiretto ridge trail
which is one of the many trails connected to Mt Yari
and probably the most famous one among the climbers.
Sadly, due to the lack in English information on the internet,
I had to discourage many of the guests to do the Dikiretto trail.
It is one of the most challenging trails in Japan
and everyone must be prepared properly as even tiny mistakes cannot happen.
You definitely need to be experienced, have proper gears which includes a helmet,
proper hiking boots, and rain jacket/pants, and most importantly,
have to be confident to do such a trail.

I also got many complaints about the rules on Japanese mountains.
Yes, at the moment, most of the huts only accept cash and bookings are required.
This is due to the many facts such as that we cannot rely too much
on the electricity in case of the harsh weathers.

Also, every mountain area has a unique environment even if they have the same altitude or similar geographic features.
The strict rule of getting to the destination by 3pm in Japanese mountain is respected by the climbers for years for a reason.
The summer weather conditions can get very rough after 3pm
on Japanese mountains and often these cannot be expected.

So please don’t push yourself and enjoy the culture of Japanese mountain so we,
the mountain hut workers will have less to worry about.

I love welcoming our guests which is increasing in diversity nowadays
and all I want is that you get to experience the best parts of the Japanese mountains.

If you’re considering climbing Mt Yari. I say just do it,
come here and experience for yourself.

I guarantee that you won’t regret it.
And You’ll find the most amazing lodge right next to it.
We’re looking forward to see you up here!

Finally, dear everyone at the Yarigatake Sanso.
You guys are the Best and I’m very grateful that I got to know all of you:))