, or stream climbing (sawa = stream; nobori = climb), is a type of
mountaineering
Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
in Japan that involves going up mountain streams to their source.
Description
The sport consists of ascending a tributary of a river along with its features, including climbing
waterfalls
A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge
of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several ...
, traversing
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...
walls, and swimming through
gorge
A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...
s. Shower climbing of waterfalls in the summer is a highlight. The difficulty of the climb can be judged by the level involved in
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
, with the use of ropes and
protection
Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...
, the amount of swimming involved, and the strength of the current. Many climbers pursue the target tributary until they reach its source, or the ideal finish is considered as such.
As a rule, the climber moves in the direction opposite the direction of the waterflow.
Although people used to climb with
waraji
() are light tie-on sandals, made from ropemaking fibers (usually straw), that were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan.
Use
resemble other forms of traditional Japanese footwear, such as zori and geta, with a few key ...
(straw shoes), commonly used gear now includes special shoes with a felt sole, a
climbing harness
A climbing harness is a piece of equipment that allows a climber to tie in (climbing), tie in to the safety of a rope. It is used in climbing, rock and ice climbing, ice climbing, abseiling, and lowering; this is in contrast to other activities r ...
, a helmet, and ropes.
See also
*
Canyoning
Canyoning (canyoneering in the United States, kloofing in South Africa) is a sport that involves traveling through canyons using a variety of techniques, such as walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling (rappelling), swimming, and raft ...
External links
Kurobegawa, Japan Alps
{{Authority control
Mountaineering in Japan