Furano

It's now been almost a year since I sat on a hot seat to spend a winter season in Japan. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I can give a few tips on what went well and what I wish I had done differently.

Jojo and I spent the winter season 2023/24 skiing in Furano, Japan. As ski-technicians, we worked for "Summit Ski School & Guiding". Makenzie Robson and Jac Phillips founded "Summit" four years ago. We interviewed Mak last spring about how it all started.

Who hasn't wanted to ski or snowboard on an active volcano, between fumaroles (steaming clouds of smoke that smell of rotten eggs)? Where else would this be possible than in the land of hills and volcanoes: Japan, more precisely Hokkaido.

The definitions of freeriding can sometimes differ from what we might be used to, leading to a great deal of confusion. I want to give a little introduction to Japan and share my experiences so far.

The final preparations have started and the anticipation is growing steadily. In the last article, I told you how I came up with the idea of going to Japan and what you need to consider when planning a winter season in Japan. Now it's time to get down to business and I find myself surrounded by a pile of winter sports gear and other equipment and am asking myself: WHAT DO I NEED?

I've often heard about this dreamy country with its "champagne powder", the endless amounts of snow and the hot springs where the Japanese macaques have a good time, but I've only heard about it from stories. But I was lucky enough to meet the right people, got carried away and am now sitting in my flat in Innsbruck with a working visa for Japan in my passport, eagerly awaiting winter.

Last Monday, the chapter on how easy snow can be was rewritten, so to speak: Another day in Furano and knee-deep powder snow at its very best. The whole day alone in the ski resorts and no one to help track the fresh snow, that was quite a lot of work, but we enjoyed it immensely. The ski patrol didn't seem to take such a strict view of the whole thing and let us get on with it.

It was already announced last week, and so the start of spring actually drove us north to Furano and Kurodake. It was an arduous journey, but we didn't regret it.