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POWDER & PEAKS- JAPAN 2020

We’ll begin and end this expedition visiting some lesser known sidecountry areas of Hokkaido. Expect to bookend the Rishiri mission with secret tours around Furano (and group dependent) a crack at Tokachidake. Our team’s main focus will be the remote and elusive Rishiri volcano. Working with my local partners at Stealth Backcountry allows us to hit the goods from the moment we land!

Floating the Volcano

Rishiri Island is a backcountry skiing haven with a huge variety of ski and snowboard terrain for those willing to earn their turns. Mount Rishiri is a dormant cone-shaped volcano at the center of the remote Rishiri Island. In the native Ainu language, “Rishiri” means “island with a high peak”, which pretty much sums it up! Others call Rishiri the “floating island”, possibly because you’ll gain a lot of pleasure from floating in the deep powder!

Skiing Rishiri Island is on the bucket list for many Japan backcountry skiing aficionados. Powder on Hokkaido is world renowned because of the abundant, light, fluffy, amazing cold smoke that results from the weather systems that blow down from Siberia. Compared to most Hokkaido ski areas, Rishiri Island is much further north (and closer) to Siberia so the powder there is even better than amazing!

And if devouring all that Japanese powder isn’t enough for you, there’s also an abundance of local seafood to satisfy your appetite. A Rishiri ski trip provides a delightfully unadulterated Japanese experience.

Where is Rishiri Island?

Rishiri Island (Rishiritō) is a small island in the Sea of Japan, about 20 kilometers off the northwest coast of Hokkaido. The Oshidomari Port on Rishiri Island can be accessed via ferry from Otaru or Wakkanai (Hokkaido’s northernmost town). Wakkanai is a 5.5 hour train trip from Sapporo.

Rishiri Terrain

Mount Rishiri has an elevation of 1,721 metres. Depending on weather conditions, the backcountry terrain we’ll access will include a combination of ATL alpine zones and NTL/BTL tree skiing. Mt Rishiri has many ridges, gullies, and bowls- some of which are super steep, and there are several peaks to tackle. BUT, there is also a reasonable amount of mellow terrain below treeline for us to explore.

We will utilize a snowmobile to cover the long and flat distances at the base of the mountain before committing to human-power. No worries if you’re not a seasoned sled-neck!

Rishiri Ski Season

In late winter and early spring there’s a greater chance for clear days, although the main, year-round weather inhibitor to summiting Mt Rishiri is the wind. Rishiri is renowned for its oft-gusty conditions! Our expedition will run from 2/22/20 to 3/1/20.

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Spooky Moderate

Brian Lazar shared some excellent points in this AM's Avalanche Discussion for the North San Juan Mountains.

From the Discussion:

We dropped the avalanche danger to Moderate (Level 2) today, but this by no means implies the backcountry is safe. Natural avalanche activity is pretty much over, but on specific slopes it will be easy to trigger an avalanche. The most worrisome slopes face the north side of the compass, are steeper than around 35 degrees, and have a soft slab on top of terribly fragile depth hoar and facets on the ground. Although we have not seen any avalanches larger than a D2, recent tragic events clearly demonstrate that this kind of avalanche can be lethal.

This is what we've been calling Spooky Moderate avalanche danger

Lazar's reflection on Spooky Moderate Conditions are spot on.

Your Hazard and Risk Awareness and your Terrain Recognition and Management need to be on point right now. You can be out in the mountains but Wide Margins are critical to keeping you safe!

Unfortunately, conditions are such that if you drop your guard, you may find yourself in the scary business quickly.

Spooky moderate conditions merit total focus- a lapse in your concentration and the defecation will hit the oscillation quickly.

Lazar's Discussion Continues:

As a couple of our local forecasters said this morning, "I still won’t go near northerly terrain, any elevation band, if it’s steeper than 32-35 degrees." This is the best advice for reducing your risk today.

Other slopes are not as worrisome, but you still need to keep your avalanche wits about you. Cracking and collapsing are obvious signs of a problematic snowpack structure. If you see these signs, give slopes greater than 30 degrees a wide berth. You can safely recreate on lower angle slopes without steeper slopes above.

Be safe out there everyone.

l hope to see you tonight at the Durango Powerhouse at 6pm for FOSJ's KBYG training.

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