Telehiro in his own words

[xcdnewb0313]

His shop is very close to Cortina, which is quite famous for its phenomenal tree skiing. This thread has me jonesing to move back to Japan - so many great memories. Big hat tip to the OP for sharing.

[CIMA]

@xcdnewb0313
Any other places where you had great BC experiences in Japan?

[xcdnewb0313]

Hands down my favorite place was Telemark Hut テレマーク山荘森吉山 at the base of Mt. Moriyoshi. Our guide Yoshino took us on a tour of the Angel Forest, which was the best tree skiing I have ever experienced. Went there two seasons. My friend who lives in Japan has gone there every year since (except for COVID).

Then of course there is Hokkaido. Found some epic lift accessed back country at Tomamu and Mount Furano was full on. Big windstorm kept us from summiting. Icy too. Was the first time I experienced a propagating crack in the snow pack as the entire mountainside settled beneath me

Mount Norikura in Nagano is full on alpine skiing. Went there for Silver Week and it was a zoo but the run from the summit to the base took over an hour. Northstar Adventures has a guide service up there and at least when I visited they spoke great English

Mount Torikabuto is like Alaskan skiing (so I've heard). I vaguely remember hearing about a Russian crew that went up there back in the early 2000's. Big lines, high consequences, very difficult access, and you will need rope/ice skills for sure. Back in the 1970s nearly the entire village was wiped out when they were cut off by a big snow storm and they starved to death. I only went during the spring/summer to fish though.
On the other side of the mountain is Mount Naeba, which offers much more mellow side-country. Had some really great tours there for sure. It is also easily accessed by shinkansen so a lot of foreigners go there

[CIMA]

Hands down my favorite place was Telemark Hut テレマーク山荘森吉山 at the base of Mt. Moriyoshi. Our guide Yoshino took us on a tour of the Angel Forest, which was the best tree skiing I have ever experienced. Went there two seasons. My friend who lives in Japan has gone there every year since (except for COVID).

I have always wanted to go on a BC tour to Mt. Moriyoshi, but unfortunately, I haven't had the chance yet due to accessibility issues. However, there are many other places on my list that are closer to my home, so I have plenty of options to choose from.

Then of course there is Hokkaido. Found some epic lift accessed back country at Tomamu and Mount Furano was full on. Big windstorm kept us from summiting. Icy too. Was the first time I experienced a propagating crack in the snow pack as the entire mountainside settled beneath me

Every year, I hear about fatal avalanche accidents in Hokkaido and Nagano involving foreign visitors from North America, Australia or Europe on the news. I wonder if they are not aware of the dangers of snow due to their lack of experience with it.

[Lhartley]

It's probably not that they are unaware, it's more likely that their risk mitigation is just different. There's "likes" on the line

[xcdnewb0313]

That was a great video! The snow monsters there are amazing. Both times I went we didn't have blue skies though, we were skiing in the clouds. At one point the clouds were so thick we couldn't tell what was up or down and a skier in our party skinned right off of cornice. He was alright, only fell about 3-4 meters. It is a wild mountain for sure

[SunnyPhilly]

What about skiing, you have to be careful. Better not to risk it if it's not safe. I had a more serious leg injury last year because I fell. And I ended up in the hospital in an emergency.

I was lucky to have Physiotherapy to help me through the whole process. Now I'm much more ok, but I've learned to be careful.