At 5 in the morning, I was back at the Kokuminshukusha, which is the base of not only the climb to Hiuchi, but also the entrance to Oze National Park. With this being Mizubasho season, coaches and cars were disgorging hikers in the hundreds. Argh! But mercifully the majority of them were heading off toward the marshes, and the climb up Hiuchi was relatively quiet.
Perhaps my “summer has arrived” conclusion on Tanigawa was premature. Aizukomagadake was still very firmly locked in winter, much to the delight of the dog, who loves to rub her face and scratch her back in the snow, and then charge around me in loops of ecstasy.
Following is the snow condition on top of Hiuchi on June 8, 2008. There was a very solid set of steps kicked into the snow. Being cautious, I put on mini-crampons just for the final 30 meters, but it was not a dangerous long slither in the worst case. In contrast, Aizu was blanketed in snow, albeit completely safe.
Hanameizan 
Wow, still a fair bit of snow up there! Mind you, this feels like the coldest June I can remember in Japan…
Yeah, I think Aizu-koma probably has more snow than Hiuchi this year. There was still 2 meters when I climbed during Golden Week!
How was the final climb to the high point of Hiuchi? Was most of the snow gone, or did you have to kick-step to make it up there?
Wesu, I immediately thought of you when I reached the first peak and looked across to the true peak. One month ago, I would have been distinctly uncomfortable! I took this photo for you as I thought you might be interested to see the difference.
wow, what a difference! i think you were literally following in my footsteps because that’s the exact route we took up to the summit. No switchbacks, just straight up. the picture doesn’t do it justice, because it’s a lot steeper in person. it’s also difficult to tell the scale without people in the picture. i’m glad the cloud wasn’t in when you did it and that you made it back safely.