A lot of people know about Niseko – possibly the world’s best lift-accessed powder (minus the lift lines), unbelievable food, amazing culture, the list goes on.
But what a lot of people don’t realise is Niseko is only just a little piece of the pie. A short sled ride north and you are in some of the most epic backcountry around. And that’s where my little story starts. Actually, it doesn’t start up north – it starts in my backyard. I’d been lucky enough to buy a nice little chunk of Hokkaido that sits in the mountain range that separates Niseko from Sapporo – snowmobile country.
A few years back we’d spotted a cabin hours from nowhere deep in the backcountry. Recently one of the local guys we ride with said he knew all about it, and set about getting the green light for us to use it. A plan was hatched. We packed the sleds, split boards, rum, food and sleeping gear and hit the road. Well, I suppose you could say we didn’t hit it – we made it.
We set off about 1pm for the three-hour trip out there. It was early spring so the sledding was quick. Once atop the main range we noticed some big, fresh – very fresh – bear tracks. The boys were freaking out, seeing things, hearing roars. To get them going even more I told them spring bears were more dangerous than autumn bears because they were hungry after a winter of hibernation. I was really speaking out of my arse – the closest I’d come to a wild animal was a cranky cow on dad’s farm. Fortunately no one was mauled that day.
We were making good ground and all looked well. Apart from the usual sled getting bogged and the occasional roll over, we were having fun – usually at the new rider’s expense. Luckily we had good lights on the sleds because it started to get dark and we needed to navigate some pretty hairy ridgelines.
Once we arrived we got the fire going, set up our sleeping bags and hung out our gear to dry. Now this was when the serious stuff started. I’d never really liked Monopoly, but that all changed at the cabin. Getting your favourite board token was nearly more important than what was for dinner. Picture it, five smelly men sitting around in thermals, drinking rum, eating cheese and cold cuts, and playing Monopoly in a cabin in the middle of the Hokkaido wilderness. I’d later heard some young guys referring to our cabin as Brokeback Mountain. For the record, I’ve never seen the movie and have no idea what they’re talking about.
The night grew old. Some of us got richer, some of us went bust, before we retired to our minus-30 down bags. The cabin is dependent on fire for heat but we were careful not to burn too much wood. We read the cabin log book and it seems the hut rarely sees anyone until spring. The firewood stack was still plentiful. We left some supplies for the next guests – candles, matches, and a bottle of OP rum.
The cabin sits at 1000m with the summit roughly 1600m. When you walk out the door you look up at an incredible U-shaped bowl. After roaring wind all night we were greeted by a sunny, windless day. Wind loading was going to be a problem. We hiked the ridge straight out the cabin door and managed five laps on a nice little protected line, just to get the feel of the place. We stopped to have a bite to eat while scoping out another line. We chose to check the stability with a little ski cut just on the roll in. With a light little cut the whole face ripped out and avalanched. Our day finished early but we were happy and buzzing. This is true backcountry and it’s my backyard.