If we were to try and describe a perfect day on skis in Japan, it might look a lot like the footage in the video above. The day was captured by Hokkaido Powder Guides who were lending a hand to Hokkaido Backcountry Club, the owner of the heli skiing operation.

Hokkaido Backcountry Club runs heli skiing tours on Shiribetsu-dake, a volcano to the north of Rusutsu with some of Hokkaido’s steepest and most appetizing backcountry terrain. The terrain has drawn names like Eric Pollard and Chris Benchetler, and was featured in the Warren Miller film “No Turning Back”.

When we last spoke to Clayton Kernaghan, owner of HBC, he had this to say:

“Our Heli skiing program is unique in that we can ski 360° on the same mountain [Shiribetsu-dake], which allows us to be able to follow the sun and best snow for the day. It’s also much steeper terrain than many operations that offer low angle powder. The backdrop of the iconic Yotei-zan isn’t bad either!

“Shiribetsu-dake is steep with no easy ways down so we recommend it for strong intermediate to advanced skiers boarders. This being said we have had private groups of beginner to intermediates that challenged themselves on a private charter for the day.

“…we can ski 360° on the same mountain, which allows us to follow the sun and best snow.”

“It only takes two minutes to fly to the top if the weather is good so when it’s on and your group is working well together, you can bang out many runs – which average 550–850 metres in vertical. The record so far was 13 runs, and the professional skier and boarder simply could not take anymore!”

EC130 B4

Hokkaido Backcountry Club purchased brand new EC130 from Airbus in 2020, a luxurious wider-bodied heli that can accommodate six passengers

HBC are well known in the area and are regarded as a pioneer of mechanised skiing and snowboarding in Hokkaido. They are currently concluding their seventh year of operation on Shiribetsu-dake, with plans to expand to another three heli locations.

“We have plans to expand but it’s very difficult to obtain permission from the Ministry of Forests, especially in a country that is so risk adverse”, explains Clayton.

“People said we were crazy to even think that we could offer a heli product when it snows this much and given the weather changes so quickly here. This can definitely be a challenge but we have mitigated that by having the helicopter (hangar) located very close to the mountain that we ski and also offer a great back up program, which is the 3000 acres of the largest and best laid out resort in Hokkaido: Rusutsu.”