Guide Tales: Avery Skis China
Ever wonder what keeps your favorite guide crew coming back each season? Probably not, because between the beautiful river canyon, great comradery, and a few thrilling rapids it seems pretty obvious. However, one perk of the trade, which has been very enticing in my post-college years of guiding, has been the flexibility to take multiple months off work during the winter. Many guides take this time to recuperate from the busy season, spend time with family, or travel and seek out other adventures. Being an avid skier, I have found it hard to not spend this time, and every penny I made during the summer, on exploring snowy mountain ranges. One such place that has kept me coming back for more is northern Japan.
This past winter my girlfriend, and I made our third trip to Japan in search of deep snow and killer ramen. Having been to Japan in previous years we more or less had the logistical kinks worked out, and a handful of Japanese friends looking forward to seeing us again. With our wildly overweight ski bags packed we hopped on the long flight to Tokyo. On past trips we dedicated 100% of our time to skiing on Japan’s northern island Hokkaido. However, this time around we planned to stay in the country for two months allowing us a couple weeks to explore the Japanese mainland – Honshu. After weaving our way through the beautiful cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima we hopped on the bullet train, and made the 13 hour journey to the island of Hokkaido. And, yes that does mean taking the train under the ocean, and no you can’t see out the sides of the tunnel, much to my girlfriend’s dismay. As green bamboo forest gave way to snow covered volcanoes it was like being reunited with an old friend.
After arriving in Hokkaido we proceeded to pick up our van from our friend Mr. Taishi Kawaminami. He runs a camper rental company called Tomo Campers, and is a great guy to talk to if you are spending some time in Hokkaido. From there we headed to the coastal town of Otaru where we had a quaint Japanese house waiting for us for the following six weeks. We had spent time in Otaru in the past, and knew we wanted to explore it more in depth. It’s not a place I would recommend going to if you are looking for an english speaking resort experience such as Niseko. But if you are after remote backcountry skiing, a bustling port city, and rich history it’s worth a stop.
For the next month we proceeded to ski our hearts out, getting in about 25 days in the backcountry, and a couple at the small local resorts. Having a house as a home base made it easy to immerse ourselves in the local culture. We spent most evenings at the local fish markets finding new ingredients and different vegetables to put our river culinary skills to the test. After a good meal we would trudge through the snowy streets to one of the local onsens where we would soak, and sauna until our eyes could no longer stay open. We were lucky enough to share these experiences with a handful of friends from Idaho who came out for a couple weeks. It’s hard to describe skiing through birch forests full of chest deep powder with best friends, but it’s nothing short of magical.
Towards the end of our trip our good friend and one of Helfrich’s newer fishing guides, Peter Tooley, joined us for an ambitious adventure to close out the trip. Our goal was to ski Mount Rishiri. Mount Rishiri is a remote volcanic island, and the most northern extent of Japan. So far north that most signs there are in Russian. And as we took the 4 hour ferry across the Le Perouse strait we could see the southern tip of Russia’s Sakhalin Island. Once on Rishiri we had a short weather window to attempt the summit. However, even on the clearest day the wind is notoriously strong in this part of the sea of Japan. The day of our summit bid was no different. About ¾ of the way up we were met with extremely strong gusts on an exposed ridge, and we were forced to find cover. With no sign of the wind letting up we were made the call to turn around, and ski the lava channels that meander their way to the ocean. Even though we didn’t reach our objective, the beauty and power of this place was not lost on any of us. I guess we will have to give her another go next winter.
It was bittersweet landing back in the states, but we have another winter’s worth of memories and stories to reminisce on during those hot August days. I’m excited to hear about everyone else’s off season adventure, and can’t wait to be on the water!
Avery Stansberry – 2024
To learn more about Avery and the other amazing helfrich guides, check out our Meet the Team Page
Helfrich River Outfitter and Guide, Kidd Youren, and his brother, Harry, are once again series regulars on the hit History Channel Show, Mountain Men. 
Tune in as they embark on new adventures in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho!
