I got really fed up with sitting at home because of covid. So instead I rented a car and went for a snowy hike where I wouldn’t be likely to run into people: Mt Asama, an active volcano. In fact I only ran into 1-2 people on the way.

The route was pretty trivial at first. At lower altitudes it was already spring, warm and green. Early in the morning there was some frost on the ground, but there was hardly any ice.

Higher up though I entered the realm of snow and finding the right way became harder. There was only one person ahead of me, so I was following their footprints. Thus I ended up going straight up on a steep, rocky-snowy slope instead of following the path that goes in an easier climb up the mountain. I made it to the top, but it wasn’t as easy as it could’ve been.

When I say top I mean the lower peak of Maekakeyama. Mt Asama is an active volcano and the smoking true summit is off limits. The views (and the weather) were still great. It was pretty cold and windy up high, but lower in the forest it was warm spring already.