Hoshino Resort Tomamu offers a “Mt. Karifuridake CAT (snowmobile) Tour” to enjoy powder riding in the Mt. This magazine caught wind that Mr. Yoshimichi Hoshino, the president of Hoshino Resort Tomamu, would be participating in this tour, and we accompanied him on the trip. The Tomamu Ski Resort is located on the grounds of the Hoshino Resort Tomamu, which spans two mountains and offers slopes that can be enjoyed by beginners and advanced skiers alike. Located in Shimukappu Village, also known as the coldest village in Japan, many skiers and snowboarders come to this ski resort to enjoy the powder snow created by the extreme cold of -30°C or lower. As one’s skiing and snowboarding skills improve, one’s preferred style of skiing or snowboarding becomes more or less obvious, such as alpine, basic, mogul, or halfpipe, but the CAT tour introduced here is positioned in the backcountry genre. Backcountry skiing is defined as skiing off-piste, and in the winter months, it often has a negative connotation due to the frequent reports of accidents. However, there is a trend to make backcountry skiing a competitive sport, such as the Freeride World Tour, and there are advances in safety equipment such as boards, bindings, and airbags for avalanche prevention. One such attempt is the “backcountry skiing” project. One such attempt is the CAT Tour at Hoshino Resort Tomamu, which we covered in this report. 2025 is scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays from January 18 to March 9, and the participation fee is 74,800 yen per person. Powder board and fat ski rentals are available for an additional fee. As a condition of participation, participants must be able to “ski and control (stop) in any location and snow conditions. As for myself, I am from Toyama and have been skiing since childhood. I can ski on any slope within the ski resort without falling down, but this was my first experience in the backcountry. Although I was a bit intimidated, I decided to give it a try.
It was easy to slide, but difficult to stop. After falling and getting buried in the deep snow, it was difficult to stand up on the spot. The impact of the fall is absorbed by the powder snow, so you feel no pain at all, but you try your best to get up, but it is difficult to do so, and your strength is drained. Daisuke Tanaka, a member of the CAT tour staff and tail guide for the day, rescued this poor reporter. He helped me back to a standing position, grabbed my arm, and pulled me up to my feet. He was a lifesaver. The world of deep powder snow, which I was skiing for the first time, felt surprisingly easy to ski. The heart rate monitoring data on my wristband indicated that the load on my body was less than on the pressurized slopes, and as long as I didn’t fall, I could continue skiing with a real sense of ease. On the contrary, the difficult part is braking at the end. I could not get rid of the habit of braking hard with the edge as I do on the slopes, and the reaction would take my body to the side of the valley. Instead of braking hard, it would be better to stop slowly, as if you were going around the slope and coming back to the mountain side. In contrast to this reporter, Mr. Hoshino, who is in his mid-sixties and should be a year older than this reporter, never fell down and skied smoothly on his board with his accustomed handling. “It’s great up to the halfway point, but you miss the end,” he said smilingly.
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