The Other Mount Ishizuchi I Encountered as a Beginner Who Started Looking for the Next View After Climbing Mount Ishizuchi

My First Mount Ishizuchi

I had wanted to climb Mount Ishizuchi for years.
My first mountain climb.
I had no room to spare.

I was doing my best just to watch my step.💦
I didn't even have the luxury of enjoying the scenery.
"Don't slip."
"Don't fall."
I was only thinking about moving forward one step at a time.

Looking back now, perhaps I was inside Mount Ishizuchi but still couldn't see the whole mountain.

Why am I so curious about Yoake Pass?

Even after I descended and returned home, Mount Ishizuchi never left my mind.
As I looked back at the photos I had taken over and over, there was a place where my eyes would stop for some reason.

Yoake Pass.

It is a flat, straight path on the way to Mount Ishizuchi.
It is not a flashy view like the summit.

But for some reason, it stayed in my heart.
Even though it was a place I walked for the first time,
"Nostalgic"
I had that kind of feeling.

A strange feeling, a little lonely.
I don't know the reason.

It was pure white with fog when I descended.
I want to walk that path again.

Next time, I want to take my time and look at the scenery.
That's what I thought.

Where is the best view of Mount Ishizuchi?

From there, my perspective on Mount Ishizuchi changed.
Before I climbed it, Mount Ishizuchi was just a mountain to climb.

But as I researched it, I realized something.
Mount Ishizuchi shows a different face depending on where you look at it from.

Mount Ishizuchi seen from the Ehime side.
Mount Ishizuchi seen from the Kochi side.

Even though it is the same mountain, it shows a completely different appearance.
I look at the mountain I desperately climbed from a little further away.

For the first time, I felt the scale of Mount Ishizuchi.
The scenery that I couldn't see while climbing becomes visible by looking at it from the outside.

Mount Ishizuchi was not just one mountain

When I researched further, I was even more surprised.
Mount Ishizuchi was not just a single mountain.
Many mountains are connected around it.
A mountain range spreading around Mount Ishizuchi.

That is the Ishizuchi Mountain Range.
Mountains exceeding 1,500 meters in altitude are connected, and the mountains continue to the east as well.

Among them, there are representative mountains.
The Three Famous Mountains of Iyo.

• Mount Ishizuchi 1,982m

• Mount Kamegamori 1,897m

• Mount Sasagamine 1,860m

I thought Mount Ishizuchi was just one mountain.

But in reality, it was a vast world where many peaks are connected.
Climbing is not just about standing on the summit.

Walking the mountains that surround it,
and seeing that mountain from a different place.

Perhaps that is also a joy of mountaineering.

Mount Ishizuchi, which changes its expression with the seasons

Mount Ishizuchi, which changes its expression with the seasons.

Mount Ishizuchi at sunrise.
Mount Ishizuchi covered in snow.
Mount Ishizuchi wrapped in clouds.

Even though it is the same mountain, it shows a different appearance every time I see it.
There are photographers who continue to capture Mount Ishizuchi throughout the four seasons.

I didn't understand that feeling before.
But now, I feel like I understand it a little.

I want to see the mountain I once saw again.
I want to see how it looks in a different season.

Mount Ishizuchi might be a mountain with that kind of charm.

Next, I want to see Mount Ishizuchi from Mount Kamegamori

I want to know more about Mount Ishizuchi.
As I was researching with that thought in mind, I encountered a certain view.

Mount Ishizuchi seen from Mount Kamegamori.
In the foreground, there is a bamboo grass field that continues forever.

Beyond that, Mount Ishizuchi towers majestically.
That mountain I climbed with all my might can be seen in this form.

I thought, 'I want to see it from here.'

Mount Kamegamori has a different charm from Mount Ishizuchi.
A vast bamboo grass field spreads out near the summit, and there is a sense of openness that makes it hard to believe you are in Shikoku.

And the road leading there is also one of its charms.

UFO Line.
Also known as the Road to the Sky.
The single road running along the ridge seems to continue right into the sky.
Enjoy the superb view by car, and then walk the mountain on your own two feet beyond that.

Driving and mountain climbing.
It is a place where you can enjoy both.

Even for me, having climbed Mount Ishizuchi for the first time, I thought, 'I want to go to the mountains again if it's like this.'

That was the kind of scenery that made me think so.

Living in Shikoku and not seeing this scenery...

Two to three hours by car from home.
There is a sky road there.

There is a superb view.
And there is a place where you can walk while gazing at Mount Ishizuchi.
It would be a waste to live in Shikoku and end up never knowing such scenery.
That is what I thought.

Before I knew it, I was researching mountains

Before I knew it, I find myself researching mountains on my days off.
Checking the time to the parking lot.

Looking at climbing routes.
Checking how long the roads will be open.
I am looking for the next view to see.

I could not have imagined this from the person I was before climbing Mount Ishizuchi.

Even my NOTE has changed

Originally on NOTE, I wrote about:
Cancer.
Money.
Electrical equipment.

I wanted to make my experiences useful to someone.
But now...

Before I knew it, my mountain climbing articles have increased (laughs).
Mount Ishizuchi.
Yoake Pass.
Kamegamori.
And Sasagamine.

From meeting one mountain, I started looking for the next view.
Climbing to the summit is not the only way to hike.
Heading to another mountain just to see that mountain.

Perhaps that, too, is one of the joys of mountain climbing.