Hakuba-based backcountry guide reveals his most memorable skiing experience in Japan

Ski Asia chats to Yusuke, a Hakuba-based backcountry guide, and the first ever Japanese person to pass the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) qualification on a snowboard.

Hakuba-based backcountry guide, Yusuke, was born in Tokyo and grew up skiing in Hakuba. A passionate snowboarder and alpinist, his adventures have taken him as far as Alaska, Peru, Patagonia, New Zealand, Nepal and Canada for winter climbing and backcountry snowboarding.

Over a 15-year career as a guide, he has worked in Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and in 2012 became the first Japanese to earn the gold-standard ACMG certification on a snowboard (more on Yusuke’s thoughts on this at the bottom of the interview!).

For more information on Yusuke or to book one of his Hakuba guiding packages, visit his profile on Explore-share.com, a booking site for guided activities around the world.

When and why did you decide to become a guide? How was the process of getting your certifications?

In 1998, I took the Yamnuska Mountain Semester Course in Canada after dropping out of college in Japan. The course was three months long and the instructors were all mountain guides. I was fascinated by the unique atmosphere of these experienced mountain people and decided to pursue a career as a guide.

However, even though I wanted to be a guide, I did not have much experience in the mountains, so I started by climbing mountains to gain experience. Not long after, I started working as a tail guide for a Hakuba backcountry guide in the winter. I started as a tail guide in the Hakuba backcountry in the winter, because I only needed a certification in outdoor first aid and avalanche certification to get started. During that time, I climbed high peaks in South America and Alaska and successfully snowboarded downhill. I have particularly fond memories of my 2001 descent of the Mesnar couloir on Mt. Denali.

Later, I began interpreting for a Canadian instructor for the Level 1 Avalanche Operations course, a professional avalanche training course organized by the Japan Avalanche Network. I loved snow as much as anyone, avalanches, and of course snowboarding, so after working there for a few years, one of the instructors, John Buffery, asked me, “Would you like to work for a Canadian cat ski company?” and he invited me to work for a unique company called BALDFACE Lodge in Nelson, BC.

BALDFACE was a very unique company where the owner was a snowboarder and most of the guests and guides were also snowboarders.

I started my career as a snowboard guide in earnest. During that time, I received a scholarship in the name of legendary snowboarder Craig Kelly, earned a Level 2 Avalanche Operations certification, and challenged the Canadian Mountain Guides Association for my ski guide certification. That was the first year ACMG officially accepted snowboarders, but the bias against snowboarders was still strong and I had to work many times harder than skiers to even get to the same starting point. However, with the support of John Buffery and the rest of the snowboarding community, I passed the ACMG’s assistant ski guide certification.

Later, as it became more difficult to get a Canadian work visa, and because of the start of ski guide certification courses in Japan and the increase in the number of skiers coming to Japan, I started guiding in Japan.

Hakuba backcountry

Hakuba backcountry

Which are your favourite places to guide ski/snowboard trips in Japan?

Hakuba for big mountain skiing, Rishiri island for adventure riding, and Tohoku area as part of a cultural trip.

“Japan still has its own uniqueness that you can’t experience anywhere else.”

What makes skiing in Japan different from skiing elsewhere in the world?

Not only the quality and quantity of the snow, but also cultural experiences – especially the countryside of the main island [Honshu]. Almost all the ski resorts in the world are westernised, in both good and bad ways. Japan still has its own uniqueness that you can’t experience anywhere else.

Which is your most memorable skiing or mountaineering experience? 

In Japan: an 8-day splitboard traverse through the Japanese alps. Although the weather was bad and we were trapped in tents for half of that period – it was a failure in one sense – we enjoyed discovering the possibility of a long ski traverse in Japan, similar to those in North America.

In North America: an expedition to Mt. Clemenceau, the innermost peak of the Rocky Mountains. We loaded snowboarders into kayaks, paddled 20km across a lake, carried 50kg of gear, and walked on a glacier for 30 days. The expedition was a failure: the north face of Clemenceau has never been snowboarded and is one of my unfinished dreams.

What have you learnt from guiding outside Japan? And what did you incorporate for guiding in Japan?

Although human language may be different, snow science and the laws of physics are the same. I had studied avalanche physics in Japan, and although I could not speak English, I was able to communicate using symbols for snow and avalanches in North America.

What would you say is your differential as a guide?

My main differential is that I am a Japanese guide born and raised in Japan, but with expertise learned in North America. Of course, nationality is irrelevant on the snow. But your journey continues long after the skiing is over. Beer, good sake, warm hot springs – the true experience is something only a local can understand. Just as I can ski guide you in Chamonix, Valdez, or Revelstoke, but you want to be taken care of by a local guide that night.

How do you combine guiding with other passions?

What is common to all outdoor activities is what people observe, how they perceive it, and how they express it. There is always something to learn when working with senior guides more experienced than me. It is a keen eye for observation, self-awareness without ego, and quick decision-making. These are probably the most useful skills for photography, video, and all kinds of work, besides guiding.

I love meditation and practice at a Zen temple in Kamakura, near Tokyo. It is the most luxurious use of time that humans can make. And it’s free.

What would you say to someone who has never gone skiing in Japan? Why should they choose Japan for their next ski trip?

While skiing in Japan has become popular over the past few years, and many people have come to Japan, more and more people have lost their lives due to avalanches and other accidents.

I would like to tell our guests that when hiring a guide in Japan, if the guide is a foreigner, please make sure that he/she has an international mountain guide certification. Please check.

If they are Japanese, they need to have a JMGA ski guide certification. The Japanese qualification is a private qualification and is not legally binding, but it is not possible to purchase liability insurance for clients unless you have the qualification.

We have seen unfortunate situations where guests who have had an accident do not receive a guarantee because the visitor’s guide is unqualified and does not have the proper insurance.

Proper awareness by guests is one aspect of fostering better guides.

Nevertheless, skiing in Japan is unique and fun. Now diversity is important in the world, and a trip to Japan is one of the most unique in the world. I believe that if Japan learns from the world’s ski industry while maintaining its uniqueness in the future, it will contribute to the diversity of the world.

To learn more about skiing with Yusuke in Hakuba, visit his page on Explore-share.