Ski touring in Japan: explore the wilderness around Hakuba Valley, an ideal training ground for beginners
If you long for thigh-deep powder and untouched runs, look no further than ski touring. The activity takes you away from the resorts, and gets you climbing mountains and speeding down them, all while you are strapped in
I’ve stopped for breath on a sunny slope above Hakuba Valley on the Japanese island of Honshu. Snowbound forests stand tall above steep rises of smooth powder, and higher still, craggy peaks pierce clear blue skies as plumes of spindrift blow from their shoulders.
Despite the fact that this is one of the country’s most popular ski areas, the only other skiers in sight are my two friends and our ski guide.
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Hakuba has ski lifts, groomed slopes, restaurants and hotels to rival those of most major European resorts, but we’ve managed to escape the crowds by going ski touring.
One of the biggest growth areas in skiing, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain, ski touring consists of ascending the mountains on your skis rather than using a chair lift, then, as with regular skiing, speeding back down again.
Ditching the ski lifts and all the machinery of a typical ski resort means you can enjoy the solitude of the mountains. Hiking uphill on skis also provides a good workout.
To go ski touring you will need some special gear. First off, you require skis with touring bindings – these lock your ski boots in place when skiing, but can be unfastened at the rear to allow your heel to lift from the skis so you can walk uphill when the need to do so arises.
You’ll need ski touring boots to go with them; unlike downhill ski boots, these have a “walk mode” which you access by flipping a lever on the back that lets the boots’ ankles flex.
