Backcountry Skiing From Sapporo
The shinkasen route from Ueno-Tokyo continues to the other port city of Niigata where we had domestic flights booked to Sapporo. 4 nights in Japan had brought us across the honshu mainland from Tokyo Bay to the East sea of Japan.
Niigata Prefecture mountains in the distance
Shinano River from an observation deck
Niigata west coast
The first touring objective was meant to be simple and leisurely while also taking advantage of our current location in Chitose where the airport is.
The objective in the far distance was Mount Tarumae at 1041m but access is slow along a snowed in road, though which is probably paved and nice in the summer #141 that brings to Shikotsu Toya National Park. I enjoyed poking the ski poles in and seeing just how light the snow is here. Also unsure how the temps would linger throughout the day, the slow approach was a very enjoyable start to ski touring in Hokkaido.
There was a local climber who had packed his crampons and ice axe for the summit as well as cross country skis for the approach. The hut is locked and we passed a snowmobiler towing a sled along the access road also.
Crampons and ice ae would be the tools for the job if going for the summit since there had been a storm brewing when we arrived in sapporo indicating the fresh power but the winds were severely affecting the normal southern ridge approach.
Fuppushi Dake
In the distance known as the little brother to Tarumae, there is another ski route which goes there due south from the access road we had taken, but just further along, to lake shikotsu. Apparently that route is much shorter, steeper and more complex. Next time for the day 1.
The ski out was short lived but fun and although skis made the descent efficient, it still shows how it still takes a lot of time and effort to travel along the road, especially if poor snow conditions.
Lake Shikotsu
The drive back we went north through the mountains along the eastern edge of the lake and being a weekend, it was very busy involving us stuck in traffic which turned out to be a lineup to an onsen.
Sapporo Winter Festival
Mid morning arrived at Kukusai Resort on what would have been a busy day since recent storm snow and blue skies. We parked in the busy lot but then had the backcountry area shared with just a few other groups. We also passed another trailhead that had cars and another touring spot is there just 10 minutes before.
The approach is shared by a ski out from out of bounds at the resort. They get the southern aspect slopes which are lower quality since sun affected. We got a 1 run lift ticket at the end of the day to explore the resort and test out a different aspect. We were both surprised how significant of a change there was but in the morning they could have held out better. Glad to see those who tour up get rewarded with the goods.
Older crew yelling pow on their descent
The ridge and very windy
Fueled by Lawson and 7 eleven
Photo from the upper chairlift with what energy we had left
We paid for the toll road leaving Sapporo behind and headed east for Asahikawa, stopping at an old ski resort in Kamisunagawa which had all the infrastructure removed and just the hill remains. The snow turned out to be heavy and sticky being baked in the sun so we did 1 lap and continued on
Kami-Sunagawa-dake International Ski Area