Piste-off on-piste

Side-stepping the snow melt

13.03.20

In the thrall of climate change, Japan’s 2019-20 snow season rates as the worst on record. Despite the snow’s capricious character and limited number of resort shows, back-stage shines the spotlight on a very different story.

In the early 1900s, before all the moving parts were added to mountains, the only way to ski downhill was to multipurpose your planks and walk uphill on them. To compensate for the slide function, skiers stuck seal hides on the base of their skis to purpose an anti-slip surface. And so began the concept of ski skins and back-country touring. Jump forward a century and this age-old technique is back in vogue, and due to deteriorating conditions, now the only means to chase the snow.

My first ski of the 2019-20 season was also the first time using a pair of skins – no longer fashioned out of marine mammals – and the host of other back-country gear required to step-out into unmonitored terrain. The list included beacon, shovel, probe, layers, snacks, and once you pass level 1 backpack management, advanced technology such as a point and shoot camera. Although these items come equipped with product instruction manuals, they are not licensed safety accreditors.

Following a two-day Level 1 Avalanche Safety Training course in Niseko, the new-born deer were determined to get out in the field on their own. Whilst on paper, gradient assessment, smart routing and gear management all sound relatively straight forward, the degree of difficulty goes up the longer you spend face-down in the snow, legs locked in a pizza. Add to this the logistical art of turning an uphill corner with only your boot toes attached. Incremental height gain via circumnavigation was floated as an alternative, but a guide was deemed a more productive way to scale the slope.

By the time that human and gear had learnt how to peacefully coexist, the snow had upped the ante with Hokkaido’s Asahi-dake, Furano-dake and Sanpo-zan offering some of Japan’s signature powder. Although touring Sanpo-zan in December required a considerable bush-bash up due to the low overall snow depth, the ridge line descent was nothing short of waist-deep powder. These mountains profit so much from wind deposits that they recommend trebling the recorded snowfall.

Returning to the same locations in mid-February offered a completely different experience with heavy storms coating Asahi-dake in over a metre of snow. Whilst it was a dream to ski, it was a nightmare for others. The entire police force and Japanese military were deployed to sweep the slopes for a missing person assumed dead. Sadly, and not for the first time, the search was in vain. Locals attribute the frequency of disappearances to the mountain’s gondola access which creates the illusion that the terrain is safe and in-bounds.

Sanpo-zan round two set a completely different tone with blue skies offering panoramic views of Furano-dake, Tokachi-dake and well beyond into Daisetsuzan National Park. It was like watching a Warren Miller ski movie in real-time, with riders picking fresh lines off the top of their respective mountains.

The next few days followed suit with perfect weather at Tenninkyo and Kumami-yama.  Snow that hadn’t settled in the shade quickly deteriorated but there were still fresh lines to be had out of the sun. Although run reviews rated very high, one outlier reported the snow to be so heavy that their skis could barely pass through. The problem was traced back to melting gear. The unseasonably warm weather had left its mark on the skin glue, causing it to cling to the skis and forge a down-hill skin of snow. Gear 1: Human 0.

Higashi-kawa’s Mont Bell store held the key for all things snow. Ultimately however, the greater the gadget, the greater the blame and the poorer the skiing. Even off the slopes, the gear store played a part; two newly acquired mini Helinox chairs were central to the romantic idea of sitting out in the snow overlooking a frozen river with a thermos of hōjicha and a struggling piece of home-made onigiri. Unfortunately, the short ascent to the river bank proved impenetrable and the affair became defined by sodden toes and sunken chairs. Gear 2: Human 0.

Pippu Ski Resort also tested the limits of its chairs, pitting them square against the wind. Despite the high risk of them being blown off the rope, rather than cease lift operations the resort decided to implement a stop-start campaign, edging the chair forward millimetre by millimetre. Not only were you stuck on a lift at the mercy of the wind, but you become hostage to the mountain’s verbal advertising campaign. The odd safety announcement was drowned out by enthusiastic reminders to taste the hamburgers and hot dogs at the base. Gear 3: Human gives up.

When you do eventually make it off the slopes, there are no shortage of onsens to relax in. Best dressed goes to the wild outdoor bath, Fukiage Onsen. Under-dressed went to the off-duty Hong Kong police officer who found it difficult to prove his credentials with not a stitch of uniform on show. Fortunately, no charges were laid, no pre-onsen clean was enforced, no change room line-up was required, and there was no separation of hims and hers. The verdict was guilty; perfection was entirely due to the elements. There was no going back to man-made iterations of skiing.