Meet the entrepreneur and guide who knows more about Hakuba’s backcountry than anyone

Dave Enright is the pioneer behind Evergreen Backcountry Guides – named Japan’s Best Backcountry Guiding Operation in the 2025 Ski Asia Awards. We speak to him about carving first lines, opening hidden terrain, and shaping modern backcountry skiing in Hakuba.

Years before Hakuba earned its place on the global skiing map, Dave Enright was carving lines into its hidden terrain and laying the groundwork for modern backcountry guiding in Japan. For over three decades, Enright has been at the forefront of Japan’s ski culture – not only as a pioneering guide but as a driving force behind modern avalanche safety and access to world-class terrain in the Japanese Alps. To many, he is not just a guide but the name in professional backcountry leadership in Japan.

Dave Enright, right at home in the Hakuba whiteroom. Image supplied

Enright’s journey – from a daring Canadian kid sneaking into Whistler’s forbidden chutes, to founding Evergreen Outdoor Center and Evergreen Backcountry Guides in Hakuba – reads like a story written in snow. Along the way, he has opened terrain, raised safety standards, trained the next generation of guides, and introduced countless skiers and snowboarders (from first-timers to legends of the sport) to Japan’s magical deep powder. What follows is a look back at his beginnings, milestones, guiding experiences, and the vision that continues to fuel his work today.

Dave Enright. Image supplied

How did your journey in skiing and mountain safety begin?

My first lines on skis were spent with my parents on small plastic skis around age 2 at a golf course near our home in Squamish, BC, and later in Whistler and Cypress Bowl. From ski school and my first close call – being partially buried from a small cornice failure at Cypress when I was 12 – to steep lines now permanent closures like Don’t Miss, Ibex, the Weekend Chutes and DOA in Whistler / Blackcomb.

I remember my mother shouting at me from the old Peak chair, “David, is that you? Are you allowed to be skiing there?” and me just trying to play down the situation. I had just skied Don’t Miss Shoulder, and was standing at the top of Bomb Tram Chute, waiting for my buddy who was still making his way down on his Barfoot snowboard, poised with an ice ax that I had lent him so he would not take a life-ending fall. I answered, “It’s OK Mom, just keep your voice down and don’t shout out my name please.”

“The snow conditions and the range of terrain here were unlike anything I had experienced before”. Image supplied

A few years later, I joined the same ski patrol that as a teenager I was seemingly always on the run from and learned and experienced a lot. Those experiences sparked a true passion for skiing and a respect for avalanches and mountain safety that deepened even further when I found my way to Hakuba in 1994. The snow conditions and the range of terrain here were unlike anything I had experienced before – the alpine was expansive, relatively easy to access, and no one was skiing it except for a handful of us. I quickly realized this would be my home base for exploring and sharing mountain adventures for a long time to come. And here I am still in 2025.

What were some significant milestones along the way that shaped the direction of Evergreen and your own career?

Moving into ski patrolling in both Canada and Japan taught me a lot about safety and the importance of opening up new terrain responsibly to allow access to places people wanted to ride while mitigating hazards, as well as increasing safety awareness. At Hakuba Cortina, where a young ski patroller lost his life to an avalanche the year before I came to the Hakuba Valley, we were using a GazEx cannon, ski cutting, and later we had a local fireworks factory make simple firecrackers the size of grapefruits for avalanche control. Over time those became patented and became the norm for ski patrol across Nagano. Safety procedures evolved to more advanced methods like AMFO gel explosives.

“Moving into ski patrolling in both Canada and Japan taught me a lot about safety and the importance of opening up new terrain responsibly…”. Image supplied

Being a part of opening up terrain at places like Hakuba Cortina, Tomamu, Kijima Daira, Hakuba 47, and Happo One was rewarding – especially seeing rider awareness and patroller expertise increase as a result.

Later, Evergreen’s biggest project saw me hire what was probably the first true professional Avalanche Control Team with myself, Alaska Avalanche Specialists Bill Glude, Silverton Snow Safety Director Doug Kraus, my past Patrol Captain at Hakuba Cortina Koji Motomura, Dog Handler Kengo Moriyama, and four more Japanese explosives experts, to open up Tsugaike’s amazing off-piste terrain in 2016. That was a highlight.

“The process of moving from those first steps as a ski patroller to helping foster professional avalanche training, rescue and mitigation, to guiding in Japan is something I am proud to have contributed to”

It was always a goal of mine to make off-piste skiing more accessible while maintaining high safety standards and keeping people out of high-risk areas to overall decrease deaths as users increased. The process of moving from those first steps as a ski patroller to helping foster professional avalanche training, rescue and mitigation, to guiding in Japan is something I am proud to have contributed to.

Can you share some of your most memorable experiences guiding at Evergreen Backcountry Guides?

The memories that stand out the most are not so much particular events, but the collage of deep powder days under blue skies with great people in the Northern Alps high above the treeline or in the perfectly spaced trees.

“The memories that stand out the most are not so much particular events, but the collage of deep powder days…” Image supplied

Of course, the chance to meet and ultimately guide some of the greats like Scott Schmidt, Glen Plake, Johnny Moseley, Craig Kelly, Jeremy Jones, Xavier De Le Rue, and Travis Rice among many more has been a real pleasure and created great memories in the mountains. But no more great than just the huge smiles on guests’ faces – sometimes after their first experience in these amazing conditions – stay with me. Feedback like “the most spiritual experience of my life,” or hearing my mentors and veteran guides from Canada call it the best snow they have ever skied, are really rewarding.

It is those moments, and knowing you played a small part in facilitating everyone from the legends to the first timers… that keeps me inspired.

Working with snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones and his team on the film: Jeremy Jones’ Further. Image supplied

“Feedback like ‘the most spiritual experience of my life,’ or hearing my mentors and veteran guides from Canada call it the best snow they have ever skied, are really rewarding.”

Evergreen has earned a reputation for professionalism. What set the operation apart?

From the beginning I placed a big emphasis on guide training, guest safety, and using solid, reliable equipment. From the start, we aimed to create a positive working environment, attracting guides who share a respect for the mountains and for each other.

Dave Enright addressing a group on an AST 1 (Avalanche Skills Training) course. Image supplied

Personally, teaching avalanche education courses for the Japan Avalanche Network and the Canadian Avalanche Association helped raise industry standards here in Japan. Seeing Japan’s guiding industry mature – now including its own ski guide association and clearer certification requirements – has been fulfilling.

Being entrusted with running the safety for the Freeride World Tour for six years, having to make some very big safety decisions, being the point of call for professional snowsports athletes when they are shooting films in Japan, and reducing avalanche accidents and deaths with creations like the Double Black Diamond system and Tsugapow area – I think is proof that myself and Evergreen are trusted as The Mountain Professionals when in Japan.

Dave Enright training a Freeride World Tour competitor. Image supplied

Looking forward, what is your vision for Evergreen and for mountain safety in Japan?

The goal is to keep raising the bar for both safety and the guest experience. We want to develop new programs for schools and offer even more avalanche education opportunities for youth and the expanding number of Asian freeriders and powder enthusiasts.

An Evergreeen instructor teaching “the backcountry legends of the future”. Image supplied

Building strong partnerships with local businesses and within the outdoor industry will also help support the community and ensure sustainability for the ski industry and mountain culture. Most importantly, I would like to see the unique Japanese culture and local mountain culture continue to be respected by visitors to this special land – for those same visitors to choose locally owned and professionally operated companies and guides for safe and legally organized mountain experiences.

Training the Nagano Mountain Police. Image supplied

And for everyone to uphold a deep respect for the land, animals, and the people who call it home.

What keeps you motivated after so many years in the business?

It is simple really – the mountains themselves and the people I get to share them with. Every season, there is something new to experience or learn, and that keeps things exciting and meaningful. I am grateful for the journey so far, proud of what Evergreen has achieved, and optimistic for what is ahead.

Climbing Tateyama

In this series, we talk to the people behind the ski properties, businesses, and resorts that won at this year’s Ski Asia Awards. Click here for the full list of winners.