Monthly Archives: February 2017
First impressions of the Mt. Mayoizawa (迷沢山 – 1,005m) backcountry skiing route are probably not that great. You’d be forgiven to want to shun this route, with its overbearing-looking pylons and not much of a peak to speak of. But it has two seriously good things going for it: it is […]
Mayoizawa-yama mid-week ski tour (Sapporo City, Japan)
Mt. Okotanpe (オコタンペ山 – 968m) is classed as a beginner’s mountain in the guidebook. This is probably a reasonable description if you are on snowshoes. If on skis, you’ll want to be confident of your steep uphill zigzagging and steep downhill tree-dodging skills, such that I’d class it more as […]
Mt. Okotanpe Ski Tour (Hokkaido, Japan)
Described in the guidebook as some of the best backcountry skiing in the Sapporo area, we had to give Mt. Kimobetsu a go this season. We had hoped for better weather, but despite the near-whiteout conditions at the summit, the snow conditions on the way down the southwestern ridge were […]