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NAGANO CAT SKI & BACKCOUNTRY TOUR

8 NIGHTS I 3 CAT SKI DAYS I 2 BACKCOUNTRY DAYS

NEGANO SNOWBOARD TOURS

Get off the beaten path and explore Nagano’s best backcountry zones, local onsens and culture with our bi-lingual guides leading the way.

On this 8 night tour we ride at two of the best powder destinations in Nagano – including a private cat ski area and backcountry zones within the Japan Alps. This tour is running at the peak of Japan’s snow season, so be prepared. The consistent storms bring massive quantities of light, dry powder snow to this region. Your bi-lingual guides have an in depth knowledge of the areas and will be able to find any type of terrain to suit your riding style – whether that be riding mellow tree runs in powder or open powder bowls to steep chutes. At the end of each day, relax in amazing natural onsen (hot springs).

Our first stop for this tour is a small onsen village that is off the usual tourist path. From here we can easily access a local backcountry area where well have 3 days of private cat ski access to this zone. The terrain out here ranges from alpine lines to undulating tree riding. For the second half of the tour, we move to the well known resort of Hakuba where we’ll spend our days exploring the Japan Alps. We have access to backcountry terrain in Tsugaike, Norikura, Cortina, Happo & Hakuba 47. We keep the itinerary flexible so we can find the best conditions and terrain on the day. We’ll have our qualified guide leading the way who has years of experience riding in these areas as well as reading the conditions and terrain. Outside of the riding we will be visiting authentic onsens throughout the region to give you a local Japanese experience.

3 Days Cat Skiing
We have a cat ski operation at our disposal for 3 full days so we can access the amazing terrain and powder snow in this area. You don’t have to compete for fresh lines here, we have the cat ski zone just for our group, with the exclusive use of snowcat’s to shuttle us to the top after each run.

2 Guided Backcountry Days
From our base in Hakuba we have our local guides on-hand to take us to the best zones on the day. Each day our guides will assess the snow and conditions then load up the

Accommodation
For the first stop on the tour we Twe stay in a 240 year old traditional Japanese Ryokan, with outdoor onsen overlooking frozen waterfalls, and have amazing locally sourced breakfasts and dinners included. This is an experience not to be missed. For our second stop on tour, we stay in Hakuba Happo in comfortable twin share accommodation with an onsen that overlooks the surrounding forrest. Each day a buffet breakfast is served at the hotel.

Demo boards from ILAHU Boards & Nitro Snowboards
This tour is supported by ILAHU Boards who have provided us with a fleet of handcrafted powder surf boards for guests to use. On this tour, you’ll get to ride these hand-crafted shapes at our private ski resort. We will also have our fleet of powder boards from Nitro Snowboards on hand for guests to test out in the deep Japan powder.

Snow & Conditions 
Early February is the best time of year to experience powder surfing in Northern Nagano. What you can expect is light dry snow, perfect for powder surfing. Temps will be cold, with temperatures ranging from -1 to -10 degrees Celsius.

Professional Photographer on hand
During our cat ski sessions, we’ll have professional snowboard photographer on hand capturing all the action. At the end of the sessions you’ll be able to download all the images from the day.

Pow Surfing
While you can bring your regular snowboard to ride, you can also try out the Ilahu boards so you can experience powder surfing on binding-free boards. Powder Surfing at it’s core, is a return to the roots of snowboarding. You’ll get to experience binding-free riding, propelled by gravity, similar to surfing and skateboarding. The lack of bindings allows exploration of how stance and position affect the ride. It conveys the spirit and original stoke of surfing and gives the rider a connection with nature. It opens up the backcountry and backyard hills to new forms of riding and exploration.

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