Rick, Hiro, Quentin and I had arrived in Rishiri two nights ago, and had made an attempt on the summit via the Rishiri Classic Northern Ridge Route the previous day. Ferocious winds and a worsening forecast had turned us back at the Rishiri-zan Hut, while we still had at least 500m vertical to climb. Today, with a better forecast, we’d certainly be guaranteed a summit if we tried the same route again. However, we forewent standing on the summit for a vague promise of good views from one of the more dramatic ski tour routes on the island.

As the owner of the Green Hill Inn Hostel was driving us around the island, the weather on the eastern side of the island was perfect blue skies, with hardly a breath of wind. When we left the hostel, it was grey, dark and overcast. “This is pretty typical of Rishiri weather,” he explained. “On the windward side, we’ll get cloud, and on the lee side, it will be brilliant clear skies.” As we drove further and further around the coast, clouds started to appear in view. The very ridge we were planning to ski up was shrouded, whereas other ridges just a few hundred meters closer to us were basking in sunlight.

“The wind direction is supposed to change in your favour as the day goes on,” the hostel owner said. “But there’s no guarantee. You might end up just on the border with the clouds, with no view all day. Do you want me to drop you off here, where the skies are clear?”

It was an agonizing decision. We’d all heard that the Hosenzawa-gawa Gorge and views from high on its southern ridge were some of the best in Rishiri. But if our driver dropped us off here, we’d still get OK views – guaranteed. Should we take the risk of cloud, but the possible reward of the better views, or cut our luck?

In the end, I suggested we stick to the original plan. We didn’t have a planned route for any of the other gorges or spurs, so safety and planning dictated that we’d better stick to what we’d scouted out on the topomap in advance. The hostel owner was confident we’d eventually see clear skies, so we gingerly set off from the original planned location under cloudy skies. Clearly the local guides or snowmobilers weren’t using this route today.

By the time we got to the bottom of the ski area, however, the skies were clearing up.