In Japan, the only place to ride early-season November snow is a zone called Tateyama in the Japanese Alps. And while they ain’t the real Alps — at least not to the level of fame as the Eiger, Chamonix, or the Matterhorn … it’s still something.
Japan’s Mt. Dainichi — which aptly translates to ‘Big Day Mountain’ in English — lies exactly in this zone. In fact, if you don’t get out there in the early season, you’ll likely miss out, since, after November, the area gets so much snow that they close access through the winter.
On one hand, the conditions look unreal, like something out of a storybook. On the other hand, you can occasionally see the snow in such detail you want to reach out and touch it.
During an incredibly narrow weather window, two Japanese Mountain Hardwear splitboard athletes, Daisuke Mizuma and Keisuke Yoshida, join forces to take advantage of some hopefully stellar, once-in-a-season-chance conditions …
Will Mt. Dainichi live up to its “big day” name? Watch to find out.
Runtime: 6 minutes
