Oct 11, 2017 - 2 min read

Hiking the Central Alps: Day 1

Missing the halfway point

By Steve Morton

Community writer

One of several picturesque mountain huts which you will encounter

On the approach to Mount Kisa-Koma, (Kisa-koma-ga-take) you will encounter a barren and rocky terrain

Towards the summit of this peak, I passed this small wooden prayer box

When walking along this route it become easy to understand why the Central Alps are so famous for their heavy cloud cover

Despite the heavy mist and thick fog however, many of these mountains rocky features are still very prominent

The Central Alps contains many mountains with razor sharp edges

Reaching the summit to Mount Hinokio-dake

With daylight drawing to an imminent close my only option was to pitch a tent. This was several hours short of my original target

For anyone hiking along the Central Alps from Mount Kiso-Koma, (Kiso-koma-ga-take) up to Mount Utsugi-Dake, the first thing you will need to decide is where to stay overnight! Since this hike takes about 10-12 hours to complete it’s almost impossible to do in a day. Unless of course you’re superman!

For most people, the best place to start is from the top of Senjoiki Cable Car Station. From this point you can do the 6-8 hour hike up to the peak of Kisondo Sanso where a mountain hut awaits you.

Naturally, this is what I had originally planned on doing since this option allows a shorter and more comfortable hike on the second day. Unfortunately, I arrived several hours later than expected. Consequently, this meant having to shorten the first days hike to 4 hours in order to make it in time for the last hours of daylight. This change of plan now involved staying overnight at the closer peak of Hinoki-Dake where a small emergency hut and tiny campground awaited me.

Although a fairly low-key spot, this area proved to be an excellent place for staying overnight as it strategically overlooks several valleys below and is perfectly placed to catch sunrise