Abstract
The Shirouma-Daisekkei Valley Route to Mount Shirouma-dake (2932 m ASL) is one of the most popular mountain trails in Japanese Alps. Every summer, more than 1000 climbers pass through this route a day. Along this route, however, serious accidents involving climbers have been caused by a wide variety of geomorphic changes such as rockfall, slope
failure, supranival block slide and debris flow during the period from summer to fall. For establishing safe mountaineering along this route, geomorphic changes and other physiographic conditions (e.g., microclimate) should be evaluated quantitatively. Safety supports and general education for the climbers in partnership with the public administration, tourist agents, mass media and researchers are also required.
