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 reputable 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. Hakuba Evergreen do day trips into the backcountry for several different levels from 1st timers to experts, as well as off-piste powder tours. It is the oldest foreign owned backcountry company in Hakuba and is the company big name riders trust with their lives when they visit Hakuba. These guys know the Hakuba backcountry like the back of the hand and EVERY one of their guides are highly qualified and experienced. Northern Heights Guiding is the newest backcountry operator here but run by one of the most experienced guides in Hakuba. They do private day trips only. 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. .