Rob Thomson

Rob Thomson is a co-founder and editor of HokkaidoWilds.org. He’s been blogging about his cross-country human-powered adventures since 2006. He still holds the Guinness World Record for the Longest Journey by Skateboard (12,159km).

Since completing his around the world journey by bicycle and skateboard in 2008, Rob has lived and worked in Hokkaido, Japan. He graduated from Hokkaido University with a Ph.D. in Behavioral Science in 2016 (as a JSPS Research Fellow). He is now and associate professor in media and communications at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo City. He grew up in New Zealand, and has now lived in Japan for over 15 years. He functions fluently in Japanese (Level 1 JLPT, Masters thesis written in Japanese). Member of the Japan Ministry of Environment’s Daisetsuzan National Park Liason Committee.

Hokkaido Wilds Foundation

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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.

Hokkaido Large-scale Backcountry Survey 2024 Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

D

25

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

D

0

Hazards

D

0

Navigation

D

0

Totals

25/100

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.