Hakuba Backcountry

The premier backcountry location in Asia

If backcountry is your thing then Hakuba is your place. The secret is well and truly out that Hakuba has steep challening terrain that is easily accessible. There is almost never a time when lack of snow is an issue, more usually it is a matter of waiting for it to stop snowing and stabilize and then picking a safe line and safe time to go. Since 2017, the World Freeride competition (extreme skiing and boarding) has been held in Hakuba, the first time it has ever been held in Asia- see the video below from the 2019 event. If you need any more convincing have a look at the Xavier da le Rue movie trailer below. The most popular ski resorts for backcountry are Happo, Tsugaike and Cortina with Tsugaike being regarded as the safest, and Happo as having the easiest access. It is possible to do 1,000 metre vertical descents after only a short hike of the top of Happo. As long as you begin your descent from a point above the the ski resorts (through one of the backcountry gates) you don’t have to worry about violating any local ski rules. What you do need to worry about is avalanche safety, so you need to have appropriate avalanche safety training,equipment and experience to tackle these runs or else go with a qualified guide from one of the companies below. If you will be going without a guide, then you won’t need to be told to check the daily avalanche report but remember the report only gives you a general picture of the avalanche situation on any given day, you will still need to manage the terrain in order to avoid localized dangers. Mountain Life Hakuba does week long backcountry tours with small group sizes and also do shorter tours with private groups. They also run avalanche course AST level 1 three times during the season, and AST level 2 once. Hakuba Evergreen do day trips into the backcountry for several different levels as well as longer multi day tours. The owner Dave Enright was one of the first foreigners to set up a business in Hakuba. They also offer level 1 & 2 AST avalanche courses several times during the season. Hakuba Powder Tours do combined 6 or 7 night backcountry + accommodation packages, with the accommodation being at their lodge near the station in Hakuba. The company is run by the ex olympic skier Steve Lee. .