Japanese Powder Skiing as we Know it Could Vanish in 100 Years

Photo by Josh Williams. 

Japan is heating up. A study done by World Wildlife Fund on climate impact threatening Japan today and tomorrow, found that a decrease in frost frequency and increase in number of hot days (among other things) has the average annual temps in Japan up by 1°C.

The study also found the country is experiencing a significant reduction of snowfall combined with an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like heavy rain. This may not have been super apparent on your recent trip to Hokkaido to shred the deep stuff, but it’s very real for those who have spent years in the area. 

Josh Williams photo.

Paul Nuttall moved to Japan from the UK in December 2015, hoping for the winter of a lifetime. But when he arrived in Hakuba there was no snow. After talking with local ski guide and Hakuba resident Dave Enright, Nuttall learned that it was the worst winter Enright had experienced in his 22 years of living there. 

I also went to Japan to ski that season. We got to Hakuba in mid-February and it was raining. It continued to rain every day we were there, and although with a little hiking I still skied the deepest snow of my life, the talk of the town was how terrible the winter was. The on-resort skiing was icy at the top and slushy and warm at the bottom. 

Josh Williams photo.

"There was a big change in the jet streams about five years ago," Enright said, "which resulted in the cold air not getting brought down from Siberia. 2015 was the first season with a very late start and even when the snowfall came there were warm-ups nearly every week due to warm air coming up from South Asia. The season of 2015/2016 was the leanest year that I had seen and this season had an early snow but then nothing until mid-December, which came as rain instead of the normal snowfall at that time of year. We are definitely seeing an increase in the sea temperatures and an increase in precipitation because of that but that balance between rain and snow is right on the fence.” 

Climate scientists are predicting more of this in years to come, but at a faster rate. They reported that—with no change in how humans treat the environment—temps will increase 2 to 3°C over the next 100 years. 

This level of change will impact humans in many ways, not just how much powder we get to ski. There will be more demand for freshwater, more intense typhoons and all of the tragedy that comes with them. The extreme weather events will also impact negatively Japan’s economy (ABI estimates that insured wind-related losses from extreme Japanese typhoons could increase by US$10 to 14 billion above present-day losses of US$15 to 20 billion, representing a 67 to 70% increase, which is more than twice the cost of the 2004 typhoon season, the costliest in the last 100 years).

And on top of that, the Japanese ski industry will be greatly affected. Japan has about 500 resorts throughout the country—many of them low elevation—that create a huge number of jobs and bring a lot of tourism money.

That’s why Protect Our Winters has started a nationwide movement to establish a presence in Japan, beginning with the local Hakuba community. The plan is to launch POW on April 1 with a big kickoff event (see details below).  

“Japan is a beautiful country with an amazing culture and this needs protecting," Nuttall said. "Hakuba is now my home and I want to do what I can to take care of the incredible landscapes that this place has to offer, without winters we will all suffer.”

About The Author

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stash member Leslie Hittmeier

Leslie is a freelance writer and photographer. Storytelling is her focus and she spends her time following badass skiers and climbers around in their natural habitats. As an obsessed skier and climber herself, she plays and trains in the Tetons.