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Ski and Snowboard Road Trips

Hokkaido, Japan | Canterbury, New Zealand

 

The Powder Project provides backcountry guiding off the beaten track in Hokkaido, Japan and Canterbury, New Zealand.

We’re all about real backcountry skiing and splitboarding. Good friends, good snow, good lines, and first tracks.

Whether you’re looking for deep powder, onsens and ramen in Hokkaido, or steep lines, glaciers, and down-to-earth ski culture in New Zealand, we can help you out. We know that the best ski and snowboard days happen with small groups of friends, away from the crowds, in places you won’t always find in the tourist brochures. Because the best travel experiences don’t come from a brochure. They come from those little authentic snapshots into other worlds. That could mean the best katsu curry you’ve ever had in a little family restaurant in Japan, or watching the sky light up as the sun sets from the deck of a mountain hut perched above a glacier in NZ. Either way, we’re all about sharing days that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

We only take group bookings, so you can ensure that you're riding with your friends and moving at the same speed. Our trips are flexible to get the best combination of snow, weather and terrain for your group. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or still trying to figure out how your gear works we’ll take you into amazing mountains, find the best snow, show you great terrain, and get you home safely.

Immerse yourself in Hokkaido, Japan

Deep, dry consistent pow. Hot springs. Delicious food. Contrasting cultures. If Japan sounds like the perfect destination for a ski or snowboarding trip, that’s because it is. We’ve been skiing here for years, and we make a point of getting away from the tourist towns and crowds. Hokkaido has some of the most reliable winters on the planet. Cold dry air blowing off Siberia picks up moisture over the Sea of Japan and smashes into this wild and rugged island. We are based near Hokkaido’s highest mountains, the Daisetsuzan range. From here, we are well placed to make the most of this unique landscape and its incredible weather.

We want you to get the most out of your time in Hokkaido, so as well as offering backcountry guiding our website has a pile of great information to help you cut through the marketing hype and plan your ideal trip.

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Plan Your Trip

We offer single day backcountry guiding and multi-day guided trips focused on the best touring areas in central Hokkaido. This area has unbelievable turns for those willing to hike. We’ve spent years hiking in central Hokkaido in some of the best terrain and snow we’ve seen anywhere in the world. If you don’t compromise on quality, come join us.

From coffee enemas to salt lamps, the internet is full of bad advice. Fortunately we’re here to help you sort the facts from the marketing hype and forum wars. Like an Instagram influencer but with less hashtags and more Gore-tex. Check out our information on where to ski, where to stay, and what you need to know to make the most of your time in Hokkaido.

 
 

Get up to get down in Canterbury, NZ

If your ideal winter trip involves a generous serve of adventure, New Zealand should be high on your list. Canterbury showcases the best of Kiwi skiing and boarding, with epic terrain, stunning scenery, and a unique ski culture. You won’t find mega resorts here, but you will find everything else. Tiny ski areas run by ingenious community clubs, heliskiing in untouched alpine wilderness, hut touring in the high mountains, and bowl after bowl of untracked lines.

NZ is notoriously fickle and getting the best out of your trip requires local knowledge, a flexible approach, and maybe a little P-tex. But we’ve got all that in spades.

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Plan Your Trip

We offer multi-day trips between the Craigieburn Range, Arthur’s Pass, Methven and Mt Cook regions. Our partnership with Anna Keeling Guiding and Alpine Guides gives us some extra logistical muscle, which means hut trips, heli access, and resort based backcountry are all on the menu. We keep our options open and our trips flexible to make the most of the conditions and weather.

Canterbury isn’t set up for destination ski tourism. It’s set up to offer cheap skiing to local Kiwis, in a nation with unique and thought-provoking attitudes to risk, effort and personal safety. The normal assumptions about ski “resorts” simply don’t apply here. We’ve set out the basic information you need to plan a trip. You should definitely take a look.

 
 

Don’t just take our word for it

We understand that getting your trip sorted is a serious business. You’ve got limited time to ride this winter, it’s not cheap, and you want to make the most of your chance.

So why should you trust some random guys on the internet? Take a look at what some of our previous customers have said and done. From grizzled backcountry addicts to first time tourers, we take people into the mountains, show them a great time, and get home in time for ramen.

Get the lowdown

We're passionate about sharing great riding and giving people the chance to visit some incredible places. Keep up with what we're doing and get some honest, hype-free insight into the places we travel on our blog, the Powder Project Diaries, or subscribe to our newsletter.

Ready to launch?

Want to make plans for your next epic winter holiday? Head to our trips page, email us at contact@powder-project.com or hit the button below to get started.