Ride Shiga Powder Tours - Day Guiding
Ride Shiga offers powder guiding at the massive ski area of
Shiga Kogen (which consists of 18 ski areas), or you can also explore other nearby Nagano ski resorts such as
Nozawa Onsen,
Madarao and
Kijimadaira.
The powder guiding is mostly for private groups, so the day/s can be customised to a large degree to suit your ability levels and needs of your group. Please note that if there is only one person applying, a different price may be offered. A limited number of mixed group tours are also possible, pending minimum numbers. Please use the
booking form to inquire.
Enjoy the famous Japanese powder in the off-piste and slackcountry (ie lift accessed skiing/riding outside resort boundaries). During the powder tours the group will use the lifts for the quick and easy access to that amazing, deep powder everyone is dreaming about.
Ride the popular powder runs in the morning and move towards more secret spots as the day progresses, with the aim of drawing first lines.
Sidecountry tours are ideal for those who prefer to use the lifts with little to no hiking required to access powder stashes in and around the ski areas. Be mindful however that there are quite a number of people doing this these days so you may not get absolute fresh snow every run. Ride Shiga will do their very best to use their local knowledge to get you the best powder on the day.
Guide to client ratio is max 8 guests per group with 2 guides.
Minimum guide qualifications are AST2 or equivalent and both Japanese & English is spoken.
Backcountry Tours
With competition for fresh powder becoming more prevalent, a backcountry tour is the best way to increase your chance of scoring freshies. By using a combination of lifts and hiking / skinning, you can get further away from the ski areas where most people don't normally venture to. Whilst you might not get as many runs as the sidecountry tours, the quality will be far beyond. So a
Shiga Kogen backcountry tour is another option and your private group can decide how much work you want to do to earn your turns. The greater the effort, the greater the reward!