Mt. Kimobetsu Ski Tour (Hokkaido, Japan)

Described in the guidebook as some of the best backcountry skiing in the Sapporo area, Kimobetsu-dake is a mainstay for skiers seeking a solid day out in the hills in close proximity to Sapporo City. In good stable conditions, the whole south bowl is a veritable feast of terrain, but this route is the conservative option that still packs some punch. The broad southwest ridge gives good, relatively exposure-free access to the summit. It's also a great downhill run with plenty of area and well-spaced trees.

  The route is not marked. From the car parking spot, walk about 400m up the main road to the forestry road entrance, around here. It’s likely you’ll need to scramble up the snowbanks from the road. From here, head due north, and find a suitable snowbridge to cross the river. still heading due north from the river, you’ll eventually hit the snowed in forestry road marked on the map – this may not be immediately obvious with a 5m base of snow. Roughly follow the forestry road uphill due north, cutting corners where possible. At around 730m, you’ll leave the road and carry on up the prominent ridge, which will become narrower the higher you climb. From the 990m point, head due north-northeast, where the trees will start to thin out even more. The last few hundred meters along the exposed and broad, featureless summit ridge are easy going in good weather. If visibility is low, it’s best not to push it – it can be extremely disorienting up there in a whiteout. The return is the same way as the uptrack. In the GPS file attached to this post, you’ll notice we traversed to the west of our up-route, and wrapped around the east of the 570m-ish knob directly above the car park. This allows a more direct return to the carpark, but you’ll need to put skins back on for this.