Hokkaido

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 island of Rishiri, north-east of Hokkaido, Japan, seems to have been somewhat forgotten. Or maybe it's still an insider tip. We're not quite sure. But one thing is certain: it is a jewel among touring paradises! If you want to climb to the summit, you need mountaineering expertise and the necessary equipment.

Time-tested and yet underestimated. Wellies have been around in Europe since around 1850, ten years after the Briton Charles Goodyear discovered "rubber" made from plasticised rubber mixed with sulphur and carbon black. Since then, they have not only been a favourite shoes for anglers and children, but also for many Japanese people on Hokkaido.

Almost everyone is familiar with the bobsleigh sled for downhill fun for young and old. We have now discovered another function for the sled: it is ideal as a transport sled for hut tours.

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.

Winter will change, for the better or worse. Meteorology tries to predict these changes, but the VdW realise that things change and are embracing them, no matter what. And of course, we keep dreaming, night and day!

A westerly weather pattern is establishing itself and the short and medium-term outlook is warm and wet. We'll report on it as far as we can bear it. Then we broaden our horizons and take a look at a few well-known but distant ski destinations in the northern hemisphere and the state of the cryosphere.

Their names are Nikolai, Jacob, Antti and also Trygg and Hedvig and they produce ski VLOGs. You can't get past them. And rightly so, because they have the best English "Lordy-Dordy!", the best safety management (Extended Column Test) and run everything on green electricity. They wouldn't need to be skiing, but even that they usually do pretty well. But of course, there are a few Alpine one-offs that stand up to their dominance.

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.