It was mid February and the weather was still a little up and down. We have been waiting for a large enough dump to cover the wind packed base and a thick enough soft layer to settle on. What we got in reality were sprinkles of snow less than 10cm at a time. The only place … More The Only Way Is Up
I had been looking forward to this trip with Rob and Buzz. They were already at the Sky bar in Asahikawa when I turned up. Over a beer, we soon established the theme of the coming week – Maximum RER (Reward to Effort Ratio). With the idea that we ski different locations to where Buzz had skied … More 3 is the Majik #
We were still waiting for snow, but it wouldn’t come for another three days. Our crew of four high calibre skiers and a solo snowboarder gathered in Asahikawa for the start of our trip. A welcomed mix of urbanism, restaurants and sky bar. Without any refreshment of the snow cover compounded with the recent wind event, expectation of … More The Great Expectation
Foreword: This is a true story, but don’t expect this when you come calling. It was fair to say blue bird Asahidake days were rare in mid winter, and to have 3 out of 4 days in the sun was definitely a rarity. With low snowfall and low wind forecasted, we turned back to HQ … More The Top Of Hokkaido – Asahidake 2291m
The season’s first full mission with Alpine Backcountry Guides started on 8JAN. I have had plenty of time to warm up since Christmas. It was always nice to feel somewhat ski fit before hammering out some mileage on the mountain. Skiing with youngsters almost half my age was always going to ask the best of … More The Father, The Son & The Ski Guide
Sitting on a long haul flight home is always a good time to reflect on the season which all of a sudden seems to have flown pass. This season was filled with plenty of thrills and a few spills to keep us emotionally involved. We had lots of sunshine and much reduced snow falls this … More Season Summation
25Feb2017 A classic Asahidake day after almost a meter of snowfall in the previous 36 hours. The mountain was closed for most of the morning the day before with a handful of die hard skiers/boarders hiking up for a run. Condition was still a bit on the edge with low visibility and decent amount of … More Asahidake Powder Day
22 Feb 2017 was one of those days Hokkaido is famous for. The previous day was snowing heavily and the wind had stopped the gondola service and transported all the snow from the NW face to the SE aspect. No point for guessing where we were lurking about the following day. The snow was stable … More Tomamu Powder Skiing
If you are going to have a coffee in the backcountry you might as well have a flat white with foamy milk. Must have backcountry equipment for your pack!
This is the inaugural snowboard clip on this website. We were scouting new terrain to ski on an off day and found this gem near Horokanai. Thanks you Hiroyuki, Kenichi, Pat & Sammy for a fun day!
Make Friends On A Powder Day 