GETTING DEEP: THE HAKUCAR GUIDE TO The best tree-riding in hakuba

The Hakuba Valley is blessed by incredible tree riding. That’s what you’re here for, right? Floating through ancient Japanese forests, deep in the billowing JAPOW — It’s a dream come true.

Thankfully, the Hakuba Valley receives an incredible amount of fresh snow. There’s always somewhere to explore.

Here’s our guide to finding the best in-resort pow in the Hakuba Valley.

HAKUBA Goryu

Hakuba Goryu is linked to neighbour Hakuba 47, and has, amongst lots of secret stashes in various spots, it’s own dedicated tree-riding area down the southern end (skiier’s right) of the resort.

You’ll find dedicated entry points when this zone is open (yes, it is open subject to ski patrol - follow the rules for your safety!). The trick here is to enter the gate and then immediately traverse wider left or right to get fresh lines. You’ll find rolling boulders, pillow drops, gullies and some very decent pitches. This is not a beginners tree zone by any means. The exit is self explanatory, you simply follow the creek gully back into the Toomi Zone of the resort. Top tip: though it might be tempting, don’t duck the ropes before entering the zone. There is some consequential terrain there.

Don’t forget to check out Goryu Waves, the resorts own ‘surfy’ terrain park when you visit.

Find trail maps and more at the Hakuba Goryu website.

Hakuba 47

Arguably one of the most fun and playful mountains in the valley, Hakuba 47 combines nice long intermediate pistes, the occasional steep black, sidehits, and ridgetop cruisers with great views up and across the entire valley.

Hakuba 47’s tree-riding zones are labelled on the trail map as TRZ and there are two types: what they call Open Tree Zone for absolutely anybody and Tree Riding Members Zone. Both these areas require a dedicated armband — much like Tsugaike (more on that later) — to show patrol that you’ve watched a safety video and have seen some of the dangers. You’ll find the Open Tree Zones more mellow, while the Tree Riding Members Zones have rad gullies, pitches, pillow drops and some cruisier sections too. If you’re a strong intermediate skiier or rider and looking for pow, 47 is heaps of fun.

Find trail maps and more at the Hakuba 47 website.

Happo one

Happo One is big, steep-ish and often groomed or mogulled. It definitely is a skiiers mountain, with great fall-line pitch and big long runs. It’s for good reason that it hosted the fast and furious ski events at the Nagano Olympics of 1998.

It also has serious alpine and forested backcountry, but we’ll leave that story for another day. At Happo, you will find limited tree riding in pockets. And, like all Japanese mountains, out of respect for the rules, your safety and the mountain, don’t duck ropes: many end in terrain traps or dead ends. Only go outside the resort when you have a crew and know where you are going.

At Happo, seek and explore and you shall find. But, the first place to head when it opens is the Omusubi, a dedicated free-ride zone and open face that is incredible on a pow day. There are trees nearby, too. Fun fact, this area is called Omusubi おむすび because it, a white triangle of fluffy snow, resembles that famous Japanese food — onigiri.

Find trail maps and more at the Happo One website.

Tsugaike

As mentioned earlier, Tsugaike features dedicated tree zones like Hakuba 47 with the requirement for the safety briefing and armband or bib. At Tsugaike, it’s called TSUGA POW DBD.

There are 5 dedicated gates that enter these zones, each with slightly different areas to enjoy. These zones are beautifully forested with steep rolling terrain and plenty of drops and terrain features. This zone at Tsugaike is higher and further north than the aforementioned areas, so when the wind blows right it really is TSUGA POW with all capital letters.

Top tip for families. My Canadian instructor friend reckons the lower part of Tsugaike is maybe the best learner area in the world. I agree. Wide open and cruisey runs galore. So, pop the kids in a lesson or, if they’re independent teens, give them free reign to the lower slopes, so you can head up high and enjoy the trees.

Find trail maps and more at the Tsugaike website.

Cortina and Norikura

Like Hakuba 47 and Goryu, these are seperate areas that are linked by a lift and a joint lift ticket. If you have a Hakuba Valley pass, this is automatic, but if you buy an individual pass and want to ride both areas, make sure you get a joint ticket.

Cortina almost needs no introduction. On a powder day, this place is the place to be. Unfortunately, everyone knows it so it gets incredibly crowded on a powder day. In saying that, the trees here truly are incredible — the stuff of dreams. And most of the tree riding within the resort is a free for all. These areas are called ‘self-responsibility areas’, so you do need to ride in a group and look after yourself.

As for Norikura, head here when the Cortina crowds are too much. There’s a lot of good terrain here and it’s often overlooked for the more-famous Cortina.

Find trail maps and more at the Hakuba Valley website for Cortina and the Norikura website.

chasing a resort all to yourself?

So, we’ve listed Hakuba’s famed tree-riding at the bigger or more well-known resorts. These are no secret, and with a rental car from Hakucar you can access all of these areas with ease, but there is so much more to Hakuba. There’s Iwatake, hiding in plain sight just between Happo and Tsugaike that has a heap of fun terrain. There’s Sanosaka, south past Goryu that has beautiful cruisey pistes, lake views and sneaky trees if you’re looking to explore. And then there’s Kashimayari: massively underrated with really fun tree riding, good pitch and you’ll have it almost to yourself. Oh, and, the katsu curry here is elite, too.

Happy Riding!