Jan 19th – Kokusai for BC Skiing and Education
Next up was a drive out to Sapporo Kokusai for some backcountry skiing and avalanche education. We arrived at the resort around 9am and the carparks were almost full. Ruh roh! We changed into our boots in the carpark and then walked up to the ticket counter. The line was huge! We were only wanting to buy a 1 lift ride ticket (1,400 JPY plus 500 JPY deposit, about $17 USD) but it took about 45 minutes of queueing to be able to purchase our lift tickets.
That’s the biggest queue I’ve ever seen in Kokusai. I think it was the combination of it being a Sunday, the fact that Kokusai has some of the best snow in the Sapporo/Otaru area and I believe they had some kind of promotion on. Anyway, we bought the tickets and were straight onto the gondola. Then we walked over to the gate and then headed out into the backcountry.
One of the guys in the group is normally snowboarding with us, but he has switched back to skiing and was touring for the first time. I walked him through the process of getting into tour mode and using his Shift bindings. It all came very naturally to him as he’s a splitboarder also. Then we did some work on using our probes to feel for layers in the snowpack as we started to tour.
It wasn’t long before we heard the ominous braaaping of snowmobiles, snowbikes and ATV’s (with tracks on) heading up the mountain behind us. Snowmobiling is growing in popularity in Japan and this is becoming a very popular zone on the weekends. Thankfully it’s much quieter mid-week. Up in the alpine, we could see plenty of high-marking lines in suspect areas and we stopped to discuss their significance. If the snowpack wasn’t releasing under the weight of a snowmobile under and on top of steep, 45 degree plus convex rollovers where they had been riding, then the snowpack had been gaining some strength recently. That was promising news.
We took our time, working on some VAV/AVA turns and efficient skinning technique. We made it to the top of the ridge before traversing left to an open spot where we could transition and also dig a pit. It’s amazing how different the zone looks with more than a meter less of snow. It’s much flatter and there are a lot more bushes around. It didn’t even look like the same zone anymore and it didn’t look like potential avalanche terrain anymore as it was less steep. We found a nice spot to dig a pit, in an open area a way above a slight wind-loaded roll.
Snow depth was around 2.7m, a decent amount. We dug down about 1.5m and practiced our strategic shoveling techniques in the process. We didn’t race to make our pit but after about 30 minutes or so of digging, we had a nice 2m wide, 1.5m deep platform with room for everyone to observe. First up I showed the group how to use a crystal card to identify different layers in the snowpack and then followed that with a hand-hardness test.
Thankfully we found a snowpack that was typically “right-side up”, that is soft on top and getting gradually harder down lower. There was an area of concern with a layer of small facets (tending to rounds) about 105cm’s down with a 4 finger (4F) hardness sandwiched between two large layers of pencil hardness snow. That was an area of the snowpack that we thought might be reactive.
Everyone took turns at identifying the different layers with the crystal cards and performing the hand hardness tests. Then it was time to do some stability tests to test these layers. Time was getting on a bit so we had to pick up the pace. I cut out the sides for a shovel shear test and apart from the new snow on top (top 45cm’s of recent snow), nothing broke easily.
Then we did several CT (Column) tests and had no results. That buried weak layer 80cm’s down didn’t move. That was good. Unfortunately, we were out of time for the ECT (Extended Column Test) so we quickly filled the pit back in and got ready to ski one at a time down the face. We felt confidence in the stability of the slope below us and the somewhat mellow angle. We enjoyed nice soft snow with about 30cm’s of fresh snow on a soft base in about 20 turns or so. We regrouped at a wooded shelf before starting the long traverse back to our initial ridge. We made it without having to put skins back on and only a couple of quick walks.
We were at the skier’s left side of the resort and re-joined a groomer and took that all the way back down. The groomer was really busy and way scarier than being out in the backcountry. There were a lot of beginners and out of control skiers and boarders to avoid. It was after 3pm when we arrived back at the lodge and we enjoyed a late lunch. Then we had a 45-minute drive back to the hotel in Otaru. That night we went out to the Otaru brewery and then a couple of doors down to our favorite indoor BBQ place where you order uncooked seafood or meats and then grill yourself over your own charcoal fire. That was really tasty!
Hiking up the ridge to our zone
Digging our pit
This is only the 3rd time in 4 years I've seen the ocean from Kokusai
Hand hardness testing of the layers in the snowpack by
@UGASkiDawg
Beautiful shot of Eric by Grant Nakamura Photography
Me - Grant Nakamura Photography
@UGASkiDawg by Grant Nakamura Photography
Grant Nakamura Photography
BBQ grilling time!
- Matt