climbing – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

Chapter 7: Fear Is a Liar

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 16, 2020August 17, 2020100 Summits, climbing, Hakkoda, Hakkoda Ropeway, hiking in Japan, hyakumeizan, Japan, mountains, Mt. Hakkoda

Aomori Prefecture, on the northern end of Honshu (Japan’s largest island) is famous for its apples. Hirosaki City, in particular, is so proud of its “ringo” that it puts them on city mailboxes.

CLIMB

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog May 14, 2019May 14, 2019#100Summits, Climb, climbing, Japan, memoir, mountains

I’m thrilled to announce that the memoir about my #100Summits journey, titled CLIMB, will release on January 2020 from Prometheus Books! From the jacket: After more than forty years of living “safe and scared,” California attorney and mystery author Susan Spann decided to break free by climbing one hundred of Japan’s most famous mountains, inspired by a classic list of hyakumeizan peaks. But when an unexpected cancer diagnosis forced her to confront her deepest fears, the mountains of Japan became the setting for an even more transformative journey from pain and fear to a new life fueled by hope, confidence, and strength.

Riding the Haruna Ropeway

Susan Spann Blog February 27, 2019February 24, 2019climbing, gondola, hiking, Japan, ropeway

Japan has many mountains, and many ropeways (often called “gondolas” in the States). While some go all the way to the top of mountains, others–like the Haruna Ropeway in Gunma Prefecture–carry visitors only most of the way to the top. On the day I visited (February 23, 2019), windchill dropped the temperature well below freezing–so cold that my fingers went numb in the seconds it took to remove my gloves and snap even a single photo. I have seldom been so glad that, in Japan, a ropeway-assisted “climb” still counts as climbing the relevant mountain. (As one Japanese climber told

Fujisan Decides

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog October 21, 2018October 21, 2018100 Summits, climbing, Fuji, Japan, mountains, Mt. Fuji

Anyone who climbs mountains regularly knows that the climber gets to plan, and to attempt, but the mountain has a say–if not a deciding voice–in whether or not you stand upon its peak. In some cases, that also goes for whether or not you even see the summit.

To Hokkaido . . . In The Wake of the Quake

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog September 9, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbing, Hokkaido, Japan, mountains, Yotei

I started planning the 100 Summits Project a year ago, and even then I knew the most difficult region of Japan in which to climb would be Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost major island. Most of Hokkaido lies beyond the northernmost terminus of the Shinkansen (bullet train) which ends its run at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto terminal, 1,099 kilometers from Tokyo but only at the southernmost end of Hokkaido itself. From there, it’s almost a full day’s ride by express train to the northern end of the island – and the hyakumeizan peaks are scattered across Hokkaido like a handful of dice flung down by an angry

Hiking Sangenyama, Gongenyama and Kōbōyama (Part 1)

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog August 20, 2018August 19, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbing, gongenyama, hiking, Japan, koboyama, mountains, sangenyama

Last week I braved the 90-degree temperatures in Kanagawa Prefecture (south of Tokyo) to continue my 100 Summits journey with a “station to station” hike that included a traverse of three different mountains: Sangenyama, Gongenyama, and Kōbōyama. Since these three peaks are separate mountains, rather than a single “compound peak,” they count as three toward my 100 Summits Project goal and bring the current total to 22. (The August heat has slowed me down, largely for safety reasons but also because I’m working on finding a long-term rental apartment, which is challenging in Japan when you have a cat! But I

Climbing Mt. Fuji (#15/#18)

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog July 25, 2018100 Summits, climbing, climbing Mount Fuji, Fuji, hiking, Japan, Mount Fuji

On July 19-20, 2018, I fulfilled a lifelong dream and stood atop the summit of Fujiyama, the highest mountain in Japan (3,776 meters). And this time, I did not climb alone.

Climbing Mount Daisen – Hyakumeizan #13

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog July 1, 2018100 Summits, climbing, Daisen, hyakumeizan, Japan, Sanrakuso

Yesterday (Saturday, June 30) I traveled from Tokyo to Mount Daisen – a distance of almost 750 km – to prepare for this morning’s climb of Mount Daisen. It rained all afternoon, but the weather forecast suggested a two-day clear weather window approaching, and I wanted to be in position when it arrived. I spent the night at a lovely, welcoming temple – Sanraku-so – which sits immediately adjacent to Daisen-ji, at the base of Mount Daisen. Although I fell asleep listening to the wind howl around the temple, I awoke to a spectacular sunrise/moonset that promised a beautiful climbing day.

Zao, Kumano, Jizo, and the Sixth of the Hundred Summits

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog June 8, 2018June 8, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbing, hyakumeizan, Japan, Jizo, Kumano, mountains, Zao

On Tuesday, I completed my sixth hyakumeizan – 1,841-meter Mt. Zaō in Yamagata Prefecture. As a complex volcano, Zaō-san has many peaks, the highest of which is actually Kumano-dake (hence the name on the summit sign in the photo). As the most active volcano in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu, Zao continually emits volcanic gases (and the summit smells of sulfur).

Climbing Mt. Iwaki

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog June 1, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, adventure, Aomori, climbing, hiking, hyakumeizan, Iwaki, Japan, mountains, Tohoku

Today, I climbed Mt. Iwaki in Aomori Prefecture – my first Tohoku hyakumeizan. Tohoku is the northernmost part of Japan’s largest island, Honshu – the same island where Tokyo and Kyoto are located, but many hours’ travel to the north, via shinkansen (bullet train). It took me almost 7 hours to travel from Tokyo to Hirosaki, the closest town to Mt. Iwaki – four hours on a high-speed shinkansen, and another 2:45 on a local train. These mountains are spread all across Japan, which means I get to travel the entire length of the country while I’m climbing.

← Previous