backcountry gates

AFTER a couple of days of lift closures due to extremely high winds of up to 70km/h, breezes dropped today and all chairs whirred back into action.

Following two days of either staying inside or really low on the mountain, white-out conditions were replaced by blue skies and no wind to speak of – a welcome greeting for

THE wait is over – Niseko Village's much-anticipated Mizuno no Sawa run is now open to the public.

There is a science to avalanches. And gravity, it has been said, is a bitch. Any slope steeper than about 45 degrees sheds snow naturally and consistently. Few slopes in Niseko fit this category. Most fall between 20 and 45 degrees, a range that holds snow and allows it to build up, and with so much snowfall, it can really, really… really