Rick Siddle

Rick is originally from the UK and has lived and worked in Japan for 20 years, 10 of those in Hokkaido. In that time he has hiked, biked and skied over much of the island. He’s also an anthropologist who spent his early career working with the Ainu indigenous people of Hokkaido.

Rick Siddle knows more about Hokkaido’s outdoors, its history, and its people than anyone else on the Hokkaido Wilds team. Somehow, we managed to convince him to share some of his extensive travels with us. Even before his adventures in Hokkaido, he had passed more years than he would like to remember tramping the bogs of his native Peak District and the wild hills of Scotland, and trekking in the mountains of Europe and the Himalayas.

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ADVANCED FILTERS

Filter by location

About Filters

REGION: The general mountain/geographical region the route is in.

BEST MONTH(S): Time of year a route is suited to visiting. Some pop all season, some are more limited.

DIFFICULTY: How strenuous a route is, and how technical it is. Full details here.

FREERIDE/SKITOUR: Very subjective, but is a route more-of-a-walk-than-a-ski or the other way around? Some routes are all about the screaming downhill (freeride), some are more about the hunt for a peak or nice forest (ski-tour). Some are in between. 

MAIN ASPECT: Which cardinal direction the primary consequential slope is facing, that you might encounter on the route. More details here.

ROUTE TAGS: An eclectic picking of other categories that routes might belong to.

SEARCH BY LOCATION: You can find routes near your current location – just click on the crosshairs (). You may need to give permission to HokkaidoWilds.org to know your GPS location (don’t worry, we won’t track you). Or, type in a destination, such as Niseko or Sapporo or Asahikawa etc.

Please let us know how we can make it easier to narrow down your search. Contact Rob at rob@hokkaidowilds.org with your suggestions.

Yotei-zan Hiking (Hirafu/Kutchan Route) Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

A

40

Time ascending

B

6

Technicality

Altitude

A

10

Hazards

D

0

Navigation

D

0

Totals

56/100

GRADES range from A (very difficult) to D (easy). Hazards include exposure to avalanche and fall risk. More details here. Rating rubric adapted from Hokkaido Yukiyama Guidebook 北海道雪山ガイド.