A couple of hours later, we reached the top of the ridge that had kept us sheltered from the wind that was busy shuttling the occasional cloud over our heads at breakneck speed. I look longingly up at the summit, still a good 600m elevation-gain away, yet tantalisingly close. "No-one has summited Rishiri this winter," Toshiya said. The strong winds kept the peak off-limits that day as well.