3 Days Backcountry Ski Tour in Shirakawa, Gifu

Get the chance to explore the mountains surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa. Ryuta-san, a local JMGA guide, will provide you with one of the best backcountry skiing and cultural experiences you can have in Japan.

3 Days

Jan, Feb

Description

What about some backcountry skiing in Shirakawa, the World Heritage Site in Japan? For those who are excited by the prospect of skiing DEEP & STEEP, this tour will be an unforgettable experience!

Shirakawago, the UNESCO World Heritage Site known for the beautiful 'Gassho-zukuri' historic village, is an area with one of the heaviest snowfall in Japan. If you would like to experience both the deep snow & steep terrain skiing and the traditional Japanese scenery and culture, this tour is the one for you!

Shirakawa is not a ski resort, and so backcountry skiing here involves non-lift accessed full-hikes. Hard work makes the downhill all the more valuable, and it also means that this place is visited by very few people.

I am a local guide of the area and I will be able to guide you to terrains and ski lines, as well as introduce you to local culture that only local guides will be able to show you!

Find out more through the experiences shared by a group of backcountry skiers and splitboarders in Shirakawago who travelled there through Explore-Share and the Shirakawa Skiing video to get ready for the coming season!

Kit ListSki gear (skies, split board, snowboard)Skins, snowshoesSki bootsSunglassesGogglesGlovesSki wearSafety gears (beacon, probe, shovel)*The following items are available for rent by prior arrangement.

-Beacon, probe, shovel, backpack, snowshoes, poles**Excluded from Price:**Gear rental feeAccommodation fee
*Here is some options for accommodation around Shirakawago:
-Toyota Shirakawago Nature School JPY10,000+ with meals
-Inn in historic villages of Shirakawago JPY10,000 or less with meals
-My friend own guest house JPY3,000-4,000Transportation fee

Price includes

- Guiding fee

Itinerary

Day 1 to 3: Backcountry skiing in Shirakawa

I will meet you at Takayama Station at around 8:00 a.m. and I will take you to your hotel. Or, you can go Shirakawago by yourself. I will pick a location between Shirakawa and Hirayu areas depending on the conditions of the day. Hirayu area offers backcountry skiing opportunities at Yakedake or Norikura.

The tour is expected to finish at around 3:00 p.m. each day

Details

More info

Technical Level: Advanced, required to be able to ski on advanced slope.

Fitness Level: Need to be fit enough for 3-4 hike-ups per day. Cumulative Hike-up altitude per day is 800-1,000 m

Previous Experience: Backcountry skiing experience

Climate: Highest temperature at base of a mountain: 2℃ Lowest temperature at base of a mountain: -5℃

Rental Gears: I can lend you the following gears -

Avalanche Safety gears (beacon, shovel, probe)
Backpack
Snowshoe / Splitboard / touring skis
Ski poles

Meeting point

Takayama Station http://shirakawa-go.org/kankou/access/

About the guide

Ryuta

5.0

(4)

Mountain Guide

I live in Gifu prefecture in Japan, which is famous for Shrakawago UNESCO World Heritage Site and also becoming famous as the backcountry skiing / snowboarding arena known for its DEEP snow and STEEP terrains.

I am a JMGA certified mountain guide, also certified in Wilderness First Aid. Following my competition years in snowboarding, I became a guide because I liked backcountry snowboarding and wanted to propose safe and fun trips to clients, where I can share my experiences and joys that I felt in the mountains. I spend the winter exploring new backcountry terrains and spend rest of the year climbing mountains. I have accomplished a snowboard descent from the summit of Denali in 2013.
My motto is to guide “safely and fun”, and therefore I aspire to guide small groups. I value the time I spend with each of my guests and this way I can spend more time communicating with clients and for clients to get to know each other better.

I believe that mountain climbing experience should not just be about standing on the summit but also enjoying the nature on the mountain as a whole, learning about the history, and getting a taste of the culture. Shirakawago, in Gifu, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you can also enjoy onsen and local cuisine.

Whether it be walking in the mountains, touching the snow, rock, grass or water, or hiking, canyoning, rock climbing, or backcountry skiing, I believe that experiences in the outdoors will enrich your life. Japan is a country of 4 distinct seasons, blessed with rich and beautiful nature. Let’s have fun together in this nature, using all your 5 senses, moving your bodies and feel the rhythm of the nature and of the Earth. I would love to share my outdoor experiences with you and I endeavour to guide in a way to connect people to people, and people to nature in the natural rhythm of the nature.

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA

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What people are saying about Explore-Share

Man

Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!

Maxine

Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.

Valeriya

You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.

Joshua

We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.

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