PRIVATE GROUP Guiding - Niseko & Surrounding Areas
Niseko Guided Tours are guided ski and snowboard tours based in Niseko, with resort powder guiding, lift accessed backcountry, or backcountry touring offered at many areas in the region including ski zones around Otaru.
Your group can choose from a single day of guiding or multiple days of guiding (NB the guiding is a fixed cost regardless of whether you have 5 people in your group or you're a solo). Or if you want a bespoke multi-day tour that includes guiding, accommodation and all other logistics completely taken care of, that is also a possibility (
please make a booking request).
These are private tours, so it's up to you what type of tour you want to do at Niseko or ski areas nearby. Possibilities include:
- Resort powder chasing & sidecountry - enjoy the best in-bounds powder plus lift-accessed backcountry ie no hiking
- Introduction to backcountry touring - learn the basic of touring technique and equipment to get you into the backcountry safely
- Lift assisted backcountry - let the lifts do most of the hard ascent work, then a short boot pack or skin will get you to deep untracked powder
- Backcountry touring - utilise skins on touring skis or split board and get away from the lifts and the crowds
These tours are for PRIVATE GROUPS of up to 5 guests only i.e. you cannot join a group. For Yotei trips the maximum group size is 4. If you are a solo or couple wanting to join a group, you could consider a multi-day group tour that includes lodging.
The minimum age for participation is 15 and all guests need to meet the minimum ability requirements (strong intermediate+ off-piste).
Advanced bookings are essential because these Niseko ski tours book out well ahead of time. You can
make a booking request to check about availability for your preferred dates.
Why Get a Niseko Ski Guide?
Get away from the crowds at Niseko! There is no doubt that
Niseko is Japan's powder mecca with the greatest variety of terrain and abundant snowfalls. The problem is, the word is well and truly out and people flock to Niseko in their thousands to smash the powder as it falls.
Much of the easy to get to terrain is skied out by 10 am (or earlier) each day, so the next step is to go further afield where few people venture.
The WRTs Niseko ski guides will show you the best powder on the day both inside and outside of the Niseko resort boundaries, or they'll transport you to nearby ski resorts such as Kiroro, Rusutsu, Moiwa, Sapporo Teine, or Sapporo Kokusai. Or you can head out ski touring or split boarding at some of the fantastic Niseko backcountry touring destinations.
The type of terrain you will access is up to you but it will ultimately depend on the lowest common denominator's ability in your group. It could be lift-accessed sidecountry or full backcountry if that is what your group desires, or an introduction to backcountry touring.
Whiteroom Tours Guides
The experienced backcountry ski and snowboard guides can show you the best the Niseko area has to offer. WRTs pride themselves on being completely flexible so as to tailor your guided day to your groups ability level and the best terrain and conditions the guides can find. Whiteroom has been guiding around the Niseko ski area for 9 years and some of the guides for even longer, so they have it pretty dialled.
Safety, flexibility and adaptability are key to a great guided experience. The staff are experienced guides with accreditation combinations of ski patrolling, instructing, avalanche awareness & first aid plus years of experience on snow. They study the weather & mountain environment continuously to ensure the best location is chosen each day in consultation with your group, ensuring you get the best conditions on your guided day at Niseko or one of the many resorts in the Niseko area.
Ability Level
It is recommended that you try to have everyone in the group at a similar ability level.
This is very important as experience shows that no one wants to be in over their head, holding up a group or alternatively waiting for others to make it down the mountain.
However, if you are all happy with a mixed ability group because you are all friends or family members then that is of-course fine.
For
resort powder guiding, as a minimum all riders should be of strong intermediate ability off-piste which includes confidence riding powder in amongst trees. These are Niseko ski tours (or snowboard tours)
not Niseko lessons. Many of the guides are also qualified instructors but the format of the trips is to ensure you ski great lines, great snow and incredible terrain. The guides are happy to offer advice and tips to help you improve your skills, but lessons are not provided.
For
backcountry touring, the required ability level is advanced and up and touring gear is required.
Other Information
Tours usually commence around 8 am (with a pickup from your Niseko accommodation) and return to Niseko around 5-6pm.
When booking this service you are getting:
- Your own qualified and experienced guide. This means you can have one person or up to six in the group. The fee remains the same so the more people you have the cheaper per person it becomes.
- Base area accommodation pick-up and drop-off and transportation to the ski area. Usually you will have private transportation, but if we have another group heading to the same ski are that day you may need to share. We don’t want to add anymore carbon than necessary to the atmosphere.
Things to remember:
- Avalanche safety equipment. You will need this equipment. This includes a transceiver, probe and shovel. You can hire this equipment from us and you will be instructed how to use this equipment and be given a safety briefing before each days riding. The gear issued to you is your responsibility and if it is lost or damaged you will pay for a new replacement.
- This is a private booking. You will only have those in the group that you yourself have booked. If it’s you and your three friends then that’s who’s in the group. If it is just you then awesome. You book and we guide – no blow-ins.
- We can only guide to the lowest ability in the group. If you have a friend that’s slow and the rest of your group is fast then you may have some issues getting as much out of the day as you’d hoped. You either need to be happy that you are going slowly and accessing mellow terrain or you need to quietly ask your friend/partner to go have a beer or hot chocolate so that you can hit some more challenging terrain. Beware that we aren’t going to get into group politics so please sort out everyone's expectations before the guided day and we’ll all have a lot more fun.
- Mixing skiers and snowboarders – whilst we don’t really mind guiding mixed groups this can limit your terrain choice and preferred line. Skiers can of-course traverse hard, step up and pole out of flat spots so this opens up larger areas of terrain. Conversely snowboarders read a mountain differently and want to smash long wide open turns and hit drops and features.
We do not guide beginners or low-intermediates. Sorry but we don’t see the point in guiding someone on piste. If you are this ability level we recommend booking a private instructor as you’ll get so much more out of a day instruction than a days guiding.