PowderPeople | Makenzie Robson

Klara: Hey, Mak, Thanks for your time today. First we want to get to know you a little bit. You and Jac founded summit ski school and guiding. You operate in Furano and Niseko - Japan. Tell us a bit of your history and how you got here. You're from England. How did you get into skiing? Because England is not really known for its skiing tradition.

 Makanzie: It isn't? No (laughing). When I was younger, my family and I would often hop on a plane for one, two, or even three weeks to enjoy ski holidays together. And I guess I have a really big family. So it was nice that we all went together. I guess that's how I started skiing.

 Klara: That sounds like a cool family tradition! When did you make the decision to becoming a professional ski instructor?

Makanzie: I never really wanted to do a traditional job. I tried it and it just didn't work for me. So I went over to St. Anton and got a job as a nanny and... I know, don't trust me with your kids (laughing). And when I was over there, that's where I met Jac among other friends. They were already instructors and I knew that's what I want to do! So then at the end of the season me and my friend signed up to the level one Ski Instructor “Anwärter Course”. And yeah, that was the start of everything. The following years I did my Landeslehrer (Level 3) and finally the Alpine Course. I just kept going. Obviously, the higher up you went the better the pay got and also, you get better at skiing and you get better clients. So that was around three seasons. After that Jac and I decided that we want go to New Zealand for skiing.

 Klara: Okay. And then what? When was your first time in Japan.

 Makanzie: That was after New Zealand! I remember being on my last year in Austria sitting in a room with Jac, Adam and Iain and we were all watching the Salomon Freeski video, filmed in Rusutsu and just being like: "Oh my God, this is the craziest thing ever, we have to go to Japan!! So, we made a pact right then and there. It was me, the three boys, and yeah, after New Zealand, Jac, Ian, and I all made our way to Japan. Adam followed the year after, so there's that.

Makanzie: Yeah. So I think first of all qualifications. Obviously there's an international standard for guiding qualifications, which I think is very important. And when me and Jac initially came to Japan and we weren't really guiding that first season, the one thing that we wanted to do was make sure the following season we got those qualifications. So we started going through the Canadian avalanche operations system and actually got to do the first course with Emily Grady, who also writes a lot of the syllabus about snow analysis which was really cool. And you know, that combined with the experience and the exploring that we'd done I guess that's what gave us the confidence to start taking people into the backcountry. But then in terms of terrain here it is also a bit different. There's a lot of tree line. It's not so steep. I mean, of course you get those steep faces. But generally speaking, it's more mellow terrain, especially in places like Niseko. And then Japan has constant cold temperatures. So another thing is you don't get those temperature fluctuations that you get in Europe, which also, helps with the stability of snowpack. This year was a bit different though. We had some early glide cracks in Furano. With the ongoing effects of global warming, things are changing. And especially as we move into spring that argument does not count anymore. That's when Japan tends to see most of its avalanches.

Klara: So after the years of experience here, you and Jac, decided to found summit. What is the idea of summit for you or what is the vison of it?

Makanzie: I guess our vision was to create high end ski lessons with strong instructors and mountain professionals . And just being able to deliver a whole product. Good snow, professional instructors and safe and fun guiding. And then I guess the rentals came into it last year,

So I think the vision of summit is to be able to cater for all needs and to make sure that our clients are having the best experience possible, almost like a tailor made package. You know, I'm happy to go above and beyond for people because people deserve that when they come on holiday and they spend a lot of money and they're miles away from home and they don't know where they're going, where they want to eat, where the best lines are. And we help to provide all this.

Klara: And you finally also got a job not in an office, but out there in the mountains! 

Makanzie: Yeah!

Klara: One more question: How much do you think Furano is going to change in the next ten years?

Makanzie: God, I'm so scared. This is really nerve wracking for me. I'm excited, but I'm also nervous. I think it's going to change a lot. I mean, you guys can already see a lot of new infrastructure going on. It was pretty busy this season. I was a bit overwhelmed how busy it was this season. But obviously it's becoming a new hot spot and it's really nice that the lifts are still quiet. But also, I think the town is doing a very good job at managing the influx. They're putting certain regulations in place that are working with the tourism but also not making it so like all the residents leave, because the one thing about Furano that everyone loves is that it's still Japan. Niseko kind of lost that. And you can be here and totally feel like you're in a Japanese town in the mountains. You have great restaurants, you have a lot of locals around. Everyone speaks to you in Japanese, in the convenience stores, in the restaurants and wherever you go. So yes it is going to change a lot, but I think and I hope that it's going to change in the right way. And I really want to be a part of that progression because this is my home and I love it.

Klara: Thank you Mak, for your time and we hope to see you next time.