It had been well over 2 months and still no real big storms in Japan but Ben’s time was running short so after a small dusting of snow it was time to show him our go to tour on the Volcano, Shirane. After doing the tour numerous times I came up with a route that would afford 4 runs along the way utilizing the best terrain along the way. So after a ski lift bump up Yoketeyama ski resort and a descent down Shirane we were on the edge of Shigakogen and transitioning for a long day in the backcountry. Our first skin was up a mellow ridge to it’s high point enjoying breaking a fresh trail in around 10cms of new snow.

Our plans were to climb to the high peak and ride down to the opposing valley than skin up past the sulfur vents steaming in the distance before reaching the volcanoes crater rim.

Soon we were at the top of our highpoint and transitioning while looking towards Myoko Kogen and the Nagano Valley thousands of feet below.

Looking back at the way we came from and the mellow run down Shirane with the summer highway closed with a snowshelter traversing the SE face of Yoketeyama.

Getting ride to ride the untracked face down to the valley bellow with the volcanic complex in the background.

I dropped in first and although it was south facing slopes we found great conditions descending down to the valley floor.

As we got lower in the run the terrain started to open up towards a gully and by than we became a group of 4 with Mike Cheney and David Upfill coming along for the adventure. Here is Mike on the second half of the run.

Ben riding the final gully before connecting to the main gully and where we would start skinning.

After a few minutes we were skinning up the steep main gully before making it up to mellower slopes above enjoying a beautiful sunny day and endless views.

Looking back at our first run down into the valley and one of our main touring grounds during the season with possibly one of the deepest snowpacks in Japan.

By the second half of our skin we were on the lower slopes of the volcano and mere meters away from steam vents making sure to keep a descent distance in case the steam was drawing out any poisonous gases.

As we climbed up occasionally we would look back to see how far we had traveled and enjoyed being in the warm sun although the face we climbed was wind stiffened snow with only a few cm deep snowpack.

Soon enough we made it up to the rim of the crater and were starting to plan our next run as well as ride into the volcanic crater.

I dropped in first and moved us over to a steeper slope where I would be able to get a shot of Ben riding a nice section in powder conditions.

After setting up for a shot Ben climbed a small hill and went to make one swooping turn before moving back to the sub summit on the crater wall.

The volcano was stunning as it always is and we decided to stick around for a little while riding down to the shoreline. It would have been nice to get in the water but it was Sulfuric acid and dangerous so we would only be able to look.

The snow on the South face of the rim was firm but we weren’t in the zone for snow so we rode all the way down to the shoreline to get a closer look at the lake.

After enjoying the view for a bit it was time to leave so we came up with a plan to make it back over to the true summit and ride a side run down to the road which traversed a few hundred feet below our high point.

With every other spot still covered with rocks we found a sweet gully that was filled in as well as fall line all the way down to the road below and pretty good conditions considering.

Once on the road we followed it for about a kilometer before leaving it for another highpoint where we could get a few more turns before dropping into the valley below.

Soon I had reached the high point with a great view looking back at Yoketeyama and other potential touring zones.

Soon we would experience some of the best turns on a small windloaded slope riding down into the valley and making our way back to the ski resort for our final exit.

Skinning back up the area we had made our first run our plan we were interested in riding the opposite aspect of our first descent, racing the sun with the volcano as our backdrop.

Soon enough we were back on the ridge and preparing to drop into the north side of our local hill in one of the many gullies we had learned of before skinning back up to the road for one final descent following it all the way back to our car park 2,000 feet below and on the other side of Yoketeyama.

After a sweet final powder run we were back on the mellow skin track we had started putting in months back basking in the late day sun as it caused beautiful shadows on the surrounding trees.

Soon enough we were on the only two switchbacks below the road and celebrating how good the tour had turned out to be.

Once on the road we waited for the group to get together before one final descent to the car and took in one of the last sunsets we would have in Japan.

The area framed in this picture was our main touring zone in the Shigakogen area for the 2016 season. And while it had a descent snowpack we never did see anyone else’s tracks joking that we had our own personal mountain for the season.

It would turn out that this would be one of my last trips in Japan before heading to Washington for a few weeks. In total I had spent almost 3 months in Japan during one of the worst seasons they had in decades, but it was a great time forcing us to explore new areas and be creative with it. It was a challenge but we were super lucky that we had passes at Shigakogen as if we were almost anywhere else on the main island of Japan we wouldn’t have a snowpack causing everyone who was staying at Leigh’s house to go even crazier than we already were. This definitely wasn’t your typical Japow season but it was great to be somewhere new and share these trips with many like minded people.