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Trip Report

Back-country Skiing Only 30mins Out of Town

Hokkaido Backcountry Ski Touring /

Photo of Rob Thomson Founder of Hokkaido Wilds
Posted on Apr 16, 2012
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Photo of Rob Thomson Founder of Hokkaido Wilds
Posted on Apr 16, 2012
by

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Let it be known that Sapporo City, a city of around 1.3 million people in Hokkaido, the northern most island of Japan, must be one of the best cities in the world. Amazing food, chilled out locals, easy to get around by bicycle (very important), and so close to the outdoors it is ridiculous. Haruka-yama (春香山) is a prime example of what is sitting on Sapporo locals’ doorsteps. Just a half hour drive out of the city to the trail-head, a three to four hour snowshoe hike, and you’re at a one-man-staffed mountain hut in the middle of nowhere.

Route Guide

Click here for the Haruka-yama backcountry ski touring route guide

The foothills around Sapporo. Their danger lies in their accessibility. The winds blow straight from Siberia here, so it would be easy for the uninitiated to get thoroughly, dangerously lots in a white-out. Lucky for us we had Leon Roode (aka The Hokkaido Push Pig) to guide us to the hut (although the day we went, it didn’t snow enough for the trail to disappear). From the hut it is a short 40 minute hike to the top of Haruka-yama mountain, followed by a 10 minute ski down to the hut again. Just perfect for a quick weekend overnighter.

Below is a mash-up of footage I took on the overnighter. Perfect conditions, great companions, a very nice weekend away from the grind.

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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.

Back-country Skiing Only 30mins Out of Town Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

D

25

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

D

0

Hazards

D

Navigation

D

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.