Gassan Backcountry Day Tours

If you are up for an adventure and have a passion for the backcountry, this tour might be appealing!

Gassan ski resort is one of the snowiest places in Japan, with over 30 metres of snow falling annually. So much snow falls here, they don't open the ski resort until April! So the only way to access the goods here during Jan to March is via snowcat and/or ski touring.

If you decide to utilise the snowcat, you and your group will have exclusive use which will lift you about 400m of vertical.

From there you can drop into the trees in the side and traverse back to the starting point to get back onto the cat. You can book up to 3 runs in a day on the cat.

If your group has touring gear or snowshoes, you will have options to hike above the top lifted point of the cat or to ski/ride below the cat pickup point and hike back up to the cat getting longer vertical descents.

Or if you just want to tour for the whole day that is an option as well. Ultimately the decision will be up to your group as to how adventurous you want to get!

Group Type

These tours are for private groups only i.e. you cannot join a group as a solo traveller. They are ideal for 4 - 5 participants however you can have up to 9 in the group (which makes the snowcat access more affordable as the total cost per ride can be split 9 ways).

Multi Day Tours

Ski Gassan guides also offer a multi-day package that includes a day of guided resort skiing at Zao Onsen as well as a day of guided backcountry touring with a single cat ride included. You can purchase an extra 2 lifts on the snowcat each day. These tours are fully customisable but take a look at this sample tour here>>