2014-08-30 白水沢左俣右沢

Sawanobori between Tochigi and Fukushima prefectures.

NB: the smartphone is clearly not smart and overestimated the elevation gain by a factor close to 2 this time...

A bad weather forecast forced a sudden change of plans from a stream in Niigata to this one. I was looking forward to the former but the latter turned out to be fantastic. As we got rain on the way to the place where we slept the morale was not so high with talks about cancelling the event, however the rain stopped and eventually we had good weather while climbing up the stream, then it got cloudy again and it rained on our way back too.

The trail starts almost immediately in the stream, we just have to pass one large waterfall, it proved to be particularly time consuming. The lead climber got stuck in the middle of a rock wall with no more holds to proceed and rocks falling very easily. About 30 minutes later we decided to give up this approach, came back to the trail (just 15 meters in distance) and roped up to climb on the side, it was more comfortable and we quickly made it past the first waterfall without really the need for the rope.

The second big waterfall was very straightforward to bypass on the left and no time was wasted there. It was followed by the biggest fall of the day, that one too was not climbable but it posed no difficulty to bypass it on the left side. There were conspicuous holds everywhere and no ropes were needed.

Just after we found another big waterfall, it was impressive in terms of water being projected in the air. The other members of our party of 6 decided to bypass it on the right side using a fixed rope after the top climber went to the top to fix it. I inspected the waterfall and thought it would be easier and more interesting to climb on the left side as there was much less water and clear holds. I did just that and it was quite easy, I got to the top very fast and much before the others.

Immediately after followed another large fall, smaller but more technical. The leader ventured on the right side after discussing the possibility to climb it, it was quite cold and she gave up. I was determined to try but waited to get a rope after all other members bypassed it from the left. I carefully packed my camera and made sure everything was secure in terms of waterproofness and also wore another layer of clothes. I had inspected the fall for holds and found there was just a spot where I would have to decide once there. Before getting there it seemed like I wouldn't get too much water after I passed the first 2 meters, however I was wrong, I got under so much water I couldn't breathe if I tried to look up. I couldn't hear nor see anything, my only functional sense being touch I groped for holds and ascended as I could. After 30 seconds I was very cold and asked myself why I decided to do that.
After one delicate hold I managed to emerge from the water and made it to the top. I was then shuddering intensely and hope for some warmth. Luckily that feeling of cold didn't last long as we had some sun passing through the holes in the vegetation and so a few spots were exposed directly to the sun.

Following that there were no more waterfall exposing us to severe drenching. One big waterfall had to be bypassed by the right, the rocks were unstable and we had to be careful not to drop anything on the person following. After it there was no good spot to attach the roped so the lead climber connected two ropes together and we climbed a series of waterfall all attached to this long rope.

After that the final delicate part presented itself, a large waterfall with no way to pass on its side, fortunately it was not as powerful as the one I climbed alone and so we didn't have to get the upper body completely wet. The bottom section was straightforward and we all passed on the left side of the stream, as there was less water. Then the route went on the right but the rocks were falling apart and when my turn came I tried to go on the left instead, however there was too much water and I asked to a sling to help me with the last 2 meters.
There was just one spot to attach a carabiner on this waterfall, I'm glad I didn't have to go there first.

After that fall the stream got smaller and smaller and nothing exceeded 2 meters in height. Fallen trees and bushes made progression harder and at one point it was easier to make it straight to the ridge. Dense bushes blocked the view and hampered progress, it was necessary to push the vegetation aside to advance but it was not too much of a hassle, I've experienced much worse.

At 3:00 PM we made it to the trail, and after changing I decided to run back to the car as it was indicated to be just 2km away. It took me 17 minutes to get to the road, some large fallen trees barring the trail at multiple spots. There were massive red mushrooms on the trail but I had a time objective in mind (20 minutes). My poor reading ability in Japanese caused me to miss the turn and I did a bit of a detour but got to the car about 30 minutes before the others.

Overall it was a great stream, dense in waterfalls and luckily the weather held as long as we were in the water.

More pictures here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ao28d88muk3eqdw/AACIz9R0651b_0YRfrIlgsvka?dl=0