After a couple of fun days working new zones in Furano, we decided to take the car for a bit of a drive to Kurodake. With a more open policy towards skiing off piste than other resorts in Hokkaido, this place reminded me a lot of Silverton in Colorado.
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| Patrick Fux likes what he sees. |
A tram whisks you off the valley floor for 800 meters where you can ski down through dense trees and tight chutes, or take a double chair higher, hike up, and get at some big lines.
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Even with poor visibility, the potential is obvious.
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Since the piste area is small, and there is little going on aside from big terrain, there were barely any other skiers here.
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Crowded trams
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While having the mountain to ourselves was nice, the snowpack and weather conditions were not cooperating at all.
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| Rotten snowpack. Eerily nostalgic of Colorado. |
A scary snowpack and low visibility kept us down low in the trees. We did our best not to salivate as we took in the long steep lines off Kurodake on the tram rides, knowing today wasn't the day to be up there.
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| Taking in the view |
Despite frustration with the conditions, it was agreed we need to come back here when things are good. If the timing is right, this place could be one of the best areas in Hokkaido to be skiing. Nobody is here to track it out, and with stability, there is no shortage of very large lines to ski.
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| The ridge opposite Kurodake. Not what I expected in Hokkaido. |
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