Central Hokkaido Powder Week
The Central Hokkaido Powder Week from
Shimogoryo Base includes guiding and transportation. It does not include lodging or meals, and you can book your own Furano accommodation and have the flexibility to choose the lodging that suits your group and your budget.
Sample pricing has been provided for 6 days of guiding (see
Rates & Inclusions tab for more information), which will provide a nice sample of
Central Hokkaido, or you can customise your trip with less days of guiding, or more days if you have a voracious appetite for chasing powder.
Highlights
- You guide lives and skis only in Central Hokkaido, so knows the region intimately. Local knowledge of Central Hokkaido micro-climates, snowpack and terrain, from a guide with 28 years in the backcountry
- Flexibly storm-chase the best snow in the region every day
- Ski the Daisetsuzan volcanoes: Furanodake, Tokachidake, Asahidake, the Ansei Crater
- Mix full backcountry touring with lift-accessed sidecountry at Furano, Tomamu, Sahoro, Kamui Ski Links, Pippu and Asahidake —
six ski areas across three weather systems, so there’s almost always somewhere good
- Get taken to a few places that aren’t on any trail map, on the understanding that you won’t geotag them
- One base for the whole week — no packing and re-packing, no transit days
- Door-to-door every day, finishing with an onsen soak before you’re dropped home
- Entirely private: your group, your guide, your objectives
The week is fully guided and fully hosted on-snow. It is not a fixed itinerary and a major benefit of a private week is that the plan is
made each morning against the actual conditions, weather, and your group’s ability and objectives, so you’re skiing the best snow
available. Each day you will be collected from your Furano accommodation, ski or ride, and finish with an onsen before being dropped at home. Recommendations can be provided for good spots to eat.
Availability for guiding in peak weeks in January and February sell out well in advance. Get in touch to check availability or if you have any other questions.
Private Groups
Guiding is for your private group of 1 to 5 participants, with a 6th possible at an additional cost. The maximum guest to guide ratio is 5:1.
There are no mixed groups and you will not be paired with strangers that have varying objectives to you.
Terrain
The guiding can be lift-accessed backcountry, lift-assisted backcountry, or full backcountry.
Lift-accessed backcountry, also called sidecountry or slackcountry, uses the lifts to reach zones outside the resort boundaries. No touring equipment is required, though short hikes or traverses are usually needed to reach the good snow and get back out. Options in Central Hokkaido include:
Each of these has a different aspect, elevation and wind exposure, which is highly beneficial. When
Furano is wind-scoured, Tomamu is often protected. When the Furano valley is socked in, Sahoro over on the Tokachi side can be
sitting under blue sky with cold, dry snow. Deciding which one to drive to each morning is a key part of your guide's job.
Backcountry touring involves skinning or hiking to reach terrain beyond the lifts.
Lift-assisted backcountry uses the lifts for the
initial ascent, then touring gear (ski touring setup or splitboard) to move further out into terrain that is likely to be untracked. Or you
can go full backcountry with no lifts at all. The Daisetsuzan volcanoes, including Furanodake,
Tokachidake,
Asahidake and the Ansei Crater, for the full mountain experience in genuinely untouched country.
Other Backcountry
Between and beyond the ski areas there are pockets of terrain that don’t appear on any trail map such as old logging roads, north-facing gullies, small unnamed hills that hold cold snow long after everything else has been tracked out or turned to crust. Some of them are twenty minutes from a car park. Some of them your guides have been watching for a decade. If conditions line up during your guided days these zones are options.
Transport
Door-to-door transport is provided complimentary as a courtesy of guiding, in a 2022 10-seat all-wheel-drive Toyota Hiace. Each day your group will be collected from your accommodation, driven to the ski area or trailhead, and driven home by way of an onsen.
Airport transfers are included from/to New Chitose Airport or Asahikawa Airport.
Ability Level & Experience
This trip suits advanced skiers and snowboarders who are comfortable in powder and off-piste. You don’t need prior backcountry
experience, but you do need to be able to ski or ride powder confidently, and you need a reasonable level of
fitness, because over a week you will be touring.
Every participant completes a detailed questionnaire covering medical history, experience and equipment before the trip. Terrain
and pace are set against those answers.
The minimum recommended age is 12 and children under 18 require parental or guardian consent.
Equipment
Avalanche safety equipment including transceiver, probe and shovel, is mandatory for all guiding outside resort boundaries. Each participant will need to BYO equipment or arrange to rent prior to the first morning. Advice can be provided regarding rental shops.
If you plan to ski tour or splitboard, you’ll need your own touring setup, or a rental arranged locally on the same basis.
Japan allocates a different radio spectrum than North America or Europe, so guests may not use unlicensed personal radios here. Shimogoryo Base will provide your group with a licensed, high-power professional radio.
Lodging
You will need to book your own lodging in the Furano area. Furano offers a wide range of accommodation options including simple family-run pensions in Kitanomine within walking distance of the Furano ski area lifts, mid-range
hotels in Furano city, and a handful of larger resort hotels.
Nakafurano and Kamifurano are quieter and slightly cheaper, and all of
them are on the daily pickup route.
You can look at recommendations and options for
Furano accommodation here or get in touch if you want some recommendations.