Experience blending into the “ring of the earth” with Hokkaido’s dry powder Backcountry Guide Shohei Sasaki-CIRCLE GAME

While the great appeal of being able to enjoy free skiing in the great outdoors is the backcountry of snowy mountains, where there are various dangers lurking. Backcountry guides are experts who use their wealth of knowledge and experience to provide you with an unparalleled skiing experience while ensuring your safety on these snowy mountains. We take a closer look at the ``personality'' and ``guiding'' of these up-and-coming guides who choose professional guiding as their occupation and step slowly and steadily into the world.

Skiing continued for track and field

``I don't remember putting on skis for the first time.I think it was right after I entered elementary school.''My father skied at Niyama Kogen Ski Resort, the slope where Olympian Akira Sasaki used to ski when he was a child, and only on weekends. Beyond the ski school However, my father never taught me how to ski, so I started skiing at my grandpa's school.So, I don't remember skiing as much fun until I could remember. There isn't."

“I participated in track and field for 13 years, from the third year of elementary school to the third year of university.I focused on short distance in elementary and middle school, and 800m in high school, and skied for track and field (my best time was 1 minute 58 seconds). ) During winter track and field practice, I run around the school building and gymnasium.After that, I carry the board by myself every day. When I was in the 5th grade of elementary school, my father started skiing with me, and that's when I started to enjoy skiing. I often skated with Zen Yamanoi, who is in the show, and it became more and more fun because I was skating with someone who was so good."

His ski life, which he had bought season tickets for, completely changed, and he never put on skis during his high school days.
``I was so busy with track and field and studying that I never felt like doing it even once.''

Fresh snow taught me the joy of skiing

The last time I put on skis again was in the winter when I went to university. Moreover, it was not done voluntarily, but forced as part of the class.
``I wanted to become a physical education teacher, so I entered the Department of Health and Physical Education at Hokkaido University of Education (Asahikawa Campus).When I was in my first year at university, there was ski training, so I borrowed my father's skis and skied in class. It doesn't snow in my hometown of southern Hokkaido. I started having fun skiing on the soft snow at a ski resort.The

next year, I skied off the course at Kamui Ski Links with my dad.From that day on, I fell in love with powder. I made some friends who skied with me, and I got more and more hooked on BC skiing."

For students living in an apartment far from their parents' home, BC ski equipment was a blessing in disguise.

"I bought Volkl ONE with full rocker and center 116 on Yahoo! Auctions. However, I couldn't afford tour bindings or climbing seals. I bought used MSR snowshoes and climbed with boards on my back. What a problem. I thought this was normal, so it was just fun. It's all about physical strength (lol)."
　
The middle distance of 800 meters is said to be a sport that improves cardiovascular function, muscle strength, and endurance in a well-balanced manner. People who have done middle-distance climbing are good at mountain climbing. For Sasaki, who had been seriously involved in middle-distance running until university, the mountains were a field where he could release as much stamina as he wanted, and the only place where he could get exhausted. The first snowy mountain I climbed was Mt. Asahidake, the highest peak in Hokkaido.

``I didn't have the money to ride the Asahidake Ropeway, so I used snowshoes to climb along the side of the course.Now that I think about it, it was a slope with an elevation difference of about 50m and you couldn't even make 10 turns, but it was a lot of fun. The accommodation is located in a hot spring town. I found that I could stay there for a few hundred yen if I wrote down my training purpose.I slipped in there in the morning.I didn't even know about the existence of beacons, so all I had in my backpack was a fleece and some terrain. I couldn't even read the diagram, so I thought maybe I could skate here? Little by little, I expanded my range of activities. That work was interesting."

Quit your job as a teacher and become a guide!

Until the spring of my third year at university, I thought I would become a junior high school teacher and teach physical education to children until I retired at age 60. However, after five weeks of on-site teaching training, he was forced to change course.

``After completing my teaching training, I realized that it would be impossible for me to continue this job until I was 60 years old.When I was in junior high school, I had a teacher that I didn't like, and his words stuck in my head. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I've always remembered that, ``Only 10% of adults who work in the industry do what they love.'' There are only about 20 to 30% of people who are doing a good job.'' I said, ``By the way, I'm a teacher even though I don't enjoy it.'' That's when I thought, ``What is this guy?'' I decided to become a BC guide because I wanted to do what I love.'

' Daisuke Sasaki, an international mountain guide in Hokkaido, said, Rishiri It was around this time that I became inspired after watching the DVD ``The Ultimate Ski Downhill''. After deciding to become a guide, he quit club activities in his third year of university and started working part-time to save money.

"I worked part-time at GAP, delivered pizza, and was a private tutor. BC ski equipment is expensive, but the qualification exam is also extremely expensive. First, I took Level 1 avalanche operator certification and took a first aid course. ”

Warrior training at Mt. Tanigawa, Honshu

A troubled college student can't stand it anymore and takes drastic action. Before the winter of my third year at university started, I contacted Kenichi Minegishi, a guide based in Gunma and Niigata.

``No one knows how to become a backcountry guide, and no one will teach them.So I decided to go meet someone.I wanted to go somewhere other than Hokkaido.I thought Hakuba or Tanigawa would be cool, so I started searching online. As I was doing a quick search, I came across Minegishi's ``KinTouN'' near the top.I was also a little attracted to the fact that it seemed like a guide specializing in skiing.

When I emailed Mr. Minegishi, he said he would like to meet me once if he had time, and he took me on a guided tour of Tanigawa. After going there, I became more determined, and when I asked them, ``I don't need money, please let me study,'' and they said yes. The following year, in February of my fourth year at university, I flew to Tanigawa the day after I finished presenting my graduation thesis. That's why I didn't attend the graduation ceremony,''

says Kenichi Minegishi, reminiscing about the time when Sasaki arrived.
``I thought he was a low-spirited, indifferent kid (lol).However, he had a clear goal of becoming a guide, so it was very easy for him to progress with his training after accepting the job.'' He's very good at it, and he skis beautifully. His tension is low, but when I see him take risks and actively go into the slopes he wants to ski, I feel like he's on fire inside.''

Thus, at 22 years old. In the winter of 2015, I worked with Mr. Minegishi as an apprentice guide.
``That year was a year with little snow, so I was touring either in Tanigawa or Kagura.There was a tour in Alaska in March, and I was able to take them there as well, and the money I had saved up during college was amazing. When I looked at my bankbook, I only had about 30,000 yen (lol).Then, the Tateyama season started every weekend, and I pitched a tent at Raichodaira on weekdays. So, I was just skating by myself.

This was my first time sleeping in a tent, so I borrowed Mr. Minegishi's sleeping bag and used Montbell's Stella Ridge Tent 2 for three weeks. I only stay at Raicho-so on weekends when I'm on tour, and I eat a lot of food here, and I get some of the leftover food from the guests who are going down the mountain (lol). Mr. Minegishi, who comes over on weekends, buys us food. If I went to a mountain hut, I could eat udon or gyudon, but I didn't have the money to eat even that.''

Still, without thinking about the future, I clung to Tateyama and continued climbing and sliding day after day. Partly because of his strong desire to become a guide, but also because of the nature of Tateyama.

``I was moved by that white massif of Tateyama. I carefully skied every inch of the visible part of the front side. Although I was still too scared to go to the back side. Jun Nagai of ``JUNRINA'' You can't go home if you don't have money, right? He introduced me to a job at the Tateyama Center, where the Toyama Prefectural Police's mountain guard branch is located, and I worked there until around the middle of June, including preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner, and making bamboo sticks for guideposts. There are various things such as pulling out and inserting. Either way, it was great because I was able to ski, get three meals, and sleep on a warm futon.After that, I stayed at the Tateyama Center for two months, from late April to mid-June. I was living in Tateyama.That

year, I was told to stay until summer However, due to my personality, it was impossible for me to stay in the same place, so I returned to Hokkaido.That year, through the introduction of my senior, I ended up working as a summer mountain guide in Hokkaido. are tents, food, fuel, etc.1 I am a walker who carries dozens of kilograms of luggage on my back in a 00L backpack.The following year, I studied to be a guide while climbing Mt. Tateyama, took the exam in Tokyo, and returned to Hokkaido. That year, I finally started working as a guide.”

An encounter with Mt. Rishiri that changed my life

During the winter of his nomadic training, he had an encounter with Mt. Rishiri, where he was trained as a guide.

``There was a BC tour of Mt. Rishiri, and I didn't need to do it, but I said, ``I want to go,'' and went along.Then, I found out that it was an amazing mountain.I learned about it after watching the video of Daisuke-san's Rishiri Great Run. The first thing that surprised me was the altitude difference, which is within the range of Hokkaido that can be reached on a guided tour. I couldn't ski for as long as 150 meters or so, but there were countless slopes like that. After I finished, I contacted Toshiya Watanabe of Rishiri Nature Guide Service.''

Thus, I started working with Toshiya Watanabe in December 2017. This season will be my 8th year since I started attending Rishiri.
``Now that I'm independent, I still work as a guide for Toshiya for about three weeks in February and March.To be honest, I definitely earn more money by doing tours on my own.However, I really like Rishiri. , It's fun to guide Rishiri with Toshiya-san, and I like it the most. Also, it's a way of giving back to Toshiya-san, who helped raise me.''

Sasaki asserts that there is no place more suitable for guide training than Mt. Rishiri.
``Not only does it snow a lot, but the wind is strong every day.It's almost impossible to use ski crampons in the middle of winter.In Rishiri, you use them a lot.And you ski on good snow.There are places to rest, lines to walk, I give meaning to each action, or rather, I always act in such a way that if someone asks me, ``Why did you do this?'' I can give you an answer right away. If you miss even one of those things, things won't go well at Rishiri, so I think there's no better way to train as a guide."

While gaining such valuable experience, I traveled to Honshu from time to time and obtained my Ski Guide Stage I certification in April 2018. In 2022, after obtaining the Ski Guide Stage II certification, he launched the guide company ``CIRCLE GAME.''

``70% of my guiding is done by Toshiya Watanabe.I can't really say anything interesting, so my style is the exact opposite (lol).As a guide apprentice, you learn from one master. There are many things I do, but I feel blessed to have been able to see so many different types of guides.

This is because Toshiya's ``Rishiri Nature Guide Service'' is run by two guides who have Ski Guide Stage II. When I was training, in addition to Toshiya, I had the opportunity to go into the mountains with various guides, including Kosuke Kanemura, Kyoichi Kano, and Makoto Takeishi. Being able to see different styles of guiding up close has been very helpful for me as a guide.''

Now that you're independent, would your ideal future be to ski Mt. Rishiri on the CIRCLE GAME tour?

``I would like to go to Rishiri with Toshiya-san's ``Rishiri Nature Guide Service''.Rishiri is special after all, so I can't miss it.On the other hand, with ``CIRCLE GAME'' work, I don't have to pack in too much and do it in moderation while taking breaks. I want to keep doing it.It's physical as well, but I'm using my brain a lot more than in the summer, and I'm also stressed out.I think the current level is just right.

There is no end to improving your guide skills.

So, in January and when I don't go to Rishiri in February and March, I work as a representative of ``CIRCLE GAME'' and guide people in search of good snow.
``I don't like crowds, so I try to choose places where there aren't many people as much as possible.Even on major mountains, I go to minor routes where I only met people at the entrance and the exit of the mountain.I go to places where there are no people. That's because the risk is higher, everyone. Not everyone will be able to go there, but one idea I'm thinking of is ``going to a place where there aren't many people and where no one else is skiing.'' The area is often around Sapporo, where I'm based. Around Asahikawa where I was skating, the ratio is probably about 50/50.

His obsessive nature, which hates doing things the same as others, was reflected in his clothing. Since he was a student, he has found and bought his favorite Swedish brand on Yahoo! Auctions, Klettalmusen, and has received support from a distributor himself. Guides who wear what they love and make a living doing what they love want to take care of their snowy mountains as well.

``When I was a university student and in my first or second year as a guide, I just loved skiing powder.It felt so good.But gradually I started to lose the desire to ski powder, to ski on good snow. Topographic map of a mountain area I have never been to recently I like to just see and go.It would be ideal if these private mountain trips could lead to previews and exploration, which could lead to a job.''

When I was in my third year of university, I applied to become a ski guide and envisioned the ideal. Sasaki laughs when he thinks he has reached this point. However, just like when he was in his early 20s and decided to head out to the Tanigawa Mountains, Sasaki was still in agony.

``I have passed the Ski Guide Stage II level, I have customers, and there are many manufacturers who support me.My dream, or rather my goal, when I decided to become a guide has come true.However, there is no end to improving my skills as a guide. I'm worried about what will happen next.

In the future, I also want to obtain a mountaineering qualification. I want to use crampons as hard as I can to expand the range of places I can take customers. But now that my family has grown, I feel like I'm not putting my full effort towards it. It's difficult. I’m quite distressed.”

Sasaki turned 32 years old this year. The intense experience he accumulates every day has given him extraordinary physical strength, and his ambition to push himself to the top, inspired by his friends, is a natural progression. The reason why he can be in agony is because he is young. The scope for growth is expanding like the wide base of Rishiri.

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