Total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected at the west-facing slope (altitude 700 m) of Mt. Moriyoshi in northern Japan, from 24 – 27 June (non-snow-clad period) and 11 – 14 December (snow-clad period) in 1996, with a one-hour sampling interval. The elemental composition and particle shape of TSP samples were determined and/or observed by Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) combined with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. In the hourly TSP samples collected during the non-snow-clad period, 27 elements were determined. Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Ca and Fe were found to be the major elemental components. On the other hand, 25 elements, excluding Nd and Mo, were found in the snow-clad period samples, and Cl is a dominant element, i.e., a major element, of the snow-clad period samples, unlike the non-snow-clad period. Comparing the arithmetic means of concentrations of major elements in TSP for non-snow-clad and snow-clad periods, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca and Fe levels in the snow-clad period are 2 – 4 times as much as those in the non-snow-clad period, and 30 times for Na. S is similar. For temporal variation patterns of element concentrations, the non-snow-clad period is different from the snow-clad period. Al, S, Ca, Ti, Fe, Zn and Pb are similar throughout the non-snow-clad period, and Al, Si, Ca and Fe are similar throughout the snow-clad period. With the aid of SEM and EDX analysis, aggregates of car exhaust particles, soil particles and plant spores were observed in the non-snow-clad period samples. In the snow-clad period samples, small silicon-rich spherical particles, aggregates of car exhaust particles and soil particles were observed.