Daisetsuzan Traverse

Finish the winter with an epic traverse in Hokkaido’s incredible Daisetsuzan mountain range. As the days get longer and the weather more stable, this is the time of year to head to the roof of Hokkaido in search of cold, north facing slopes still holding great snow. Starting from Asahidake resort, we’ll catch Hokkaido’s highest lift before donning our skins/snowshoes and climbing to the summit of Hokkaido’s highest peak. From the peak, we traverse the alpine plateau separating Asahidake from Kurodake. Upon reaching the summit of Kurodake (1984 meters) we will embark on one of the longest descents possible in Hokkaido down to Sounkyo town (670 meters). Depending on our arrival time there may even be the opportunity to catch a couple more runs off the Kurodake ropeway before heading to the onsen to ease your exhausted muscles and enjoy a big buffet dinner.

On day 2 we’ll continue to lap up steep powder runs within Kurodake’s lifted area, giving your climbing muscles a rest but your adrenaline levels a spike. Finish the day with another great dinner and relaxing onsen in preparation for the return to Asahidake. On our final day, we will once again use the Kurodake lifts to gain some elevation before climbing to the peak of Kurodake and traversing back to Asahidake. We will finish the day with a few laps of the Asahidake ropeway (time permitting) before heading back to Sapporo, Niseko or continuing on to Tokachidake for two more incredible days in the Southern Daisetsuzan’s (please inquire for details and pricing to add this onto your trip).

Please note this trip is very weather dependent as we will require clear conditions to complete the alpine traverse between the peaks of Kurodake and Asahidake. In the event of inclement weather, we can expect great powder conditions closer to the lifts so we will lap up lines within the lifted areas and do shorter hikes closer to treeline where visibility is better. We will still make sure to visit both areas, completing the traverse by vehicle if weather conditions don’t allow us to do the hike.