Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

槍ヶ岳 is the 3,180 m rock spire at the head of the Northern Alps, and the last stretch to its point is climbed on fixed ladders and chains rather than walked — the descent uses a separate down-ladder so the traffic runs one way. Iron chains were first hung on that rock in 1840, forged from scissors, kitchen knives and sickles donated by followers of the monk Banryū, who had made the first ascent in 1828. From Kamikōchi it is normally a two- or three-day trip with a night at the hut on the shoulder, not a day walk; the huts open in late April and close in early November, and crampons and an ice axe are still wanted into June. In August, the busiest month, the queue for the summit rocks can back up down the ridge at a weekend.

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