Hokkaido Backcountry Ski Guides: A Definitive Guide

10 reasons to hire a Hokkaido ski touring guide

Here at the Hokkaido Wilds, we hope that our overviews of established ski touring routes will inspire people to explore more of Hokkaido by ski, board, and snowshoe, beyond already well-known spots. For the experienced backcountry traveler with plenty of time, the impetus to hire a guide for exploring the Hokkaido backcountry by ski is relatively low. If you can confidently read a topographical map, navigate, have impeccable snow-safety skills and have experience in taking care of yourself in an emergency overnight in sub-zero winter mountains, most of the established ski touring routes in Hokkaido (such as those on our site and in the Japanese Yuki-yama Guidebook) are well within reach.

There are times, however, when hiring a guide just makes logical sense, even for extremely experienced ski touring experts.

Consider hiring a guide when:

1. You must have the best pow. All of the ski touring routes on HokkaidoWilds.org are ultra-conservative, mostly out-and-back routes with a relative focus on peak-bagging and adventure. If there’s good snow along the way, then that’s a bonus, but it is not necessarily the main focus. If it’s pow you’re after, then a guide can build on any of the routes we have on the site (and more), and will help to maximize your chances of getting face shots for dayz.
2. You’re willing to put down good dollars for safety in the hills.  Experienced local guides are in the Hokkaido hills day in and day out. They’ve experienced this season’s snowfall, rainfall, cold events and warm events. They know what is going on, so can minimize your risk in the backcountry. Unfortunately there’s no established avalanche advisory for many of Hokkaido’s prime backcountry skiing locations, but here at the Hokkaido Wilds we’ve seen first-hand the rigorous within-industry information sharing that goes on among professional guides in Hokkaido. Hiring a guide not only allows access to their experience and knowledge, but also indirect access to information shared within the industry. 
3. You’re tight on time. If you’re only here for a couple of weeks, a day or two lost to trudging half-way up an access trail (completely unsuitable for fun downhill skiing) to Sapporo-dake only to be turned back due to weather is a great way to feel like precious time is wasted. An experienced guide will be able to flexibly adjust locations on a ridge-to-ridge, gully-to-gully basis based on daily conditions.
4. You want to invest in the future. Skiing with an experienced ski touring guide in Hokkaido is an educational experience: pointers on powder skiing, safety tips, deep local insight, culture, language. You’re paying for way more than just a one-off drop-in to a sick line. 
5.  You’d rather be skiing than waiting at a bus stop or driving around in circles. An experienced local guide can minimize the fuss of transport to and from trailheads. That’s a definite plus in Hokkaido where the public transport system is still very much mono-lingual, and most road signs are in Japanese.
6. You want to eat the best food (even if you’re a vegan). Navigating food options can be a daunting task in Hokkaido. A guide knows the offerings in a particular locale and can adjust the day’s menu (even if self-catering) to give you the best culinary experience, based on whatever food preferences you might have.
7. You don’t know the language. Where possible, we always highly recommend hiring guides that speak Japanese fluently. So much information about the Hokkaido backcountry is in Japanese. A guide who reads, writes, and speaks Japanese well (or at least has someone on their team who does), will have knowledge of off-the-beaten-track ski touring opportunities beyond the somewhat limited English-speaking backcountry world in Hokkaido. On the ground, whether it’s making phone calls to local town offices to inquire about huts, booking off-the-beaten track accommodation, or just interacting with locals, language ability can be invaluable for efficiently having a unique adventure.
8. You don’t know the culture. A guide who knows the subtle nuances of Japanese culture will give you human-interaction insights that will leave you better educated, less perplexed, and more appreciative of the way the Japanese do things.
9. You’re visiting Hokkaido for the first time. An experienced guide can give invaluable insight into conditions and locations.
10. You’re inexperienced in the backcountry. If you don’t have much experience navigating and moving about in the backcountry, either go with a friend who does, or hire a guide, or join a local mountaineering club.