On January 26, 2026 (Monday), the "2026 TOYO TIRES FWT HAKUBA QUALIFIER 4*" was held in the backcountry area around the Hakuba Happo-one Ski Resort in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture. This competition is the highest-ranked event in the Freeride World Tour (FWT) qualifying series, and a total of 57 participants competed across all categories, including 31 foreign athletes from 14 countries.
The following is a one-minute highlight video.
Changes to the event schedule and slope selection
Initially, the competition was scheduled to take place over four days, from Monday, January 26th to Thursday, January 29th. However, the organizing committee and security team carefully examined the changes in slope conditions over the past week and the impact of the recent winter pressure pattern.
As a result, they decided to move the schedule forward to the 26th, the first day of the competition, as the optimal timing to ensure the safety of the athletes and maintain fairness in the competition.
This season had seen significantly less snowfall than usual, but a substantial amount of snow fell in the days immediately preceding the competition.
While this snowfall improved conditions, it also brought about a rapid change in the overall snow quality and stability of the slopes, requiring highly sophisticated judgment in safety management, including avalanche control.
Podiums in each category
WINNERS SKI MEN - Top men's ski winners
1st - Arno Vuanier SUI 89.67
2nd - Yuki Shibata JPN 83.00
3rd - Julian Unterbrunner AUT 81.00
WINNERS SNOWBOARD MEN - Top winners in the men's snowboarding competition
1st - Taketo Kinoshita JPN 78.33
2nd - Igor Ilinykh RUS 75.00
3rd - Brian Bozack USA 72.67
WINNERS SKI WOMEN - Top women's ski winners
1st - Shoko Suzuki JPN 73.67
2nd - Mika Imai JPN 65.67
3rd - Sachi Hirakawa JPN 62.67
WINNERS SNOWBOARD WOMEN - Top winners in women's snowboarding
1st - Sayaka Kato JPN 74.00
2nd - Mutsumi Ido JPN 69.00
3rd - udrey Hebert CAN 68.67
Competition Face "GODZILLA"
This time, the competition was held on the northeast slope known as "Godzilla." The specifications are as follows:
- Starting elevation: 1825m
- Finish elevation: 1400m
- Maximum slope: 45 degrees
This particular face had been considered as a potential venue in the past, but it had been ruled out due to the unstable conditions and snow flow after snowfall.
For this competition, however, it was determined that sufficient safety could be ensured through careful monitoring of snow conditions and thorough avalanche control, leading to its first use in a contest.
Despite the drastic changes in weather and snow conditions, this year's event was held ahead of schedule, but thanks to the appropriate decisions of the security team and the performance of the riders who responded to them, the entire event was completed without incident. The level of competition befitting the "4*" category, the highest level of FWTQ qualifying, was maintained, and a high-quality battle between riders gathered from all over the world was recorded in Hakuba
The tournament will be featured in a 30-minute highlight video, which will be available at a later date.the Hakuba Village official YouTube channelandthe FWT JAPAN official YouTubeIt will be streamed on
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