"A DAY IN THE SKI" Aiko Uemura, Nobuyuki Nishi, Junya Maruyama, Masahiro Maruyama, Keisuke Tezuka. One day when Hakuba High School alumni slip

Masahiro Maruyama devotes himself to freeride tournament support and backcountry photography .
The ski resort has long since closed, the town at the foot of the mountain is covered in deep greenery, and the fresh air begins to drift in late May. Let's take a look at a day in which the skiers gathered under his command through his text and photographs by Tsuyoshi Ito, a photographer who accompanied him.

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5 skiers who gathered to go to Hakuba Oike to ski.
These members have one thing in common. I just love skiing, and I'm a graduate of Hakuba High School.

The youngest, Keisuke Tezuka , is 18 years old and just graduated from Hakuba High School this spring. He loves mountains so much that he entered Hakuba High School from Ueda City, and he thinks purely about mountains all year round. He is a mountain boy who asks me to skate with him every time I see him.

Nobuyuki Nishi is a Mogul Olympian. The word ski idiot suits him best. Nobu is 35 years old and doesn't overlap with his generation, but he's been a playmate for a long time and is closer to his younger brother than his junior. He remembers the days when he was skating from morning to night. It was natural for him to invite him to the mountains, as he has experienced three Olympics and has been a lifelong skier even after retirement.

Junya Maruyama is a 30-year-old active national demonstrator who climbs mountains and flies as a kicker. He knows there are many different skis and he's the skier who embodies it. By the way, Junya's rough terrain is mostly moguls.

Aiko Uemura was my 3 year senior when I was in the first year of high school. She is a mogul legend who participated in the Nagano Olympics and spread the name of Hakuba High School. Recently, she has been active in the mountains, but she is also a camera boy who enjoys the great outdoors with her camera hanging while she is climbing.

If the competition in high school is different, the age is also different. It's always refreshing to skate together across generations.

While climbing, everyone stopped by an incident in high school, who had started it.
It was about a class called outdoor activities taught by Mr. Yaguchi, who was also an adviser to the ski club.

Picking edible wild plants, making lures from driftwood, and fishing with those lures.
If you can't catch a fish, you won't be able to get credits. The class mixes seriousness and fun. Among the many elective classes, everyone chose outdoor activities. We all love nature.

While talking about trivial memories, we learned that we don't like "skiing", but "skiing in nature", and even after graduating, we continued our outdoor activity class in a different form. Each of them must have once again thought that there was only one.

This time too.
During the season, each of them is skiing.

The same goes for competitions, photo shoots, and lessons. But when we get together like this, the atmosphere is somehow different from the usual skiing. It's not just because today is the last day of skiing.

Everyone had a feeling that it was not just about skating.
It's just part of the outdoor activity classes that have continued since high school.

Aiko climbs up with a heavy camera, wanting to take pictures of the beautiful cobalt blue Hakuba Oike after the snow melts.
A full-fledged mountain is her first challenge, and Nobuyuki wants to see the sea from such a mountain.
Seeking the freedom of skiing that is different from technical selection, Junya climbs up in sweat for a beer after descending.
Keisuke continues walking with infinite physical strength while staring at a topographical map, his heart racing on a route he has never taken before.
I want to convey to everyone the fun of skiing and picking edible wild plants, which can only be done at this time.

Everyone had a feeling that it was not just about skating. It's just part of the outdoor activity classes that have continued since high school.

While I was thinking about such a thing, two skiers glide down from Funakoshi's head.
It is very unlikely that you will meet anyone else here at this time of year.
When I greeted them, the two who turned around with big smiles were big seniors from Hakuba High School.
After all, it makes me happy to think that the seniors are still continuing their outdoor activities. I'm sure they'll be picking edible wild plants as they go down the mountain.

Reach the peak of the mountain where you can see Hakuba Oike, and drop down to Oike in a free style.

And when I slipped down, Aiko took a picture of the beautiful Hakuba Oike, Keisuke playing in the water on the shore of the pond, Nobu who couldn't slide down, and climbed back up, perhaps because he was possessed by the charm of the mountain. There was Junya looking forward to a beer with a rice ball in his hand after skating to the finish line.

We don't like "skiing", we like "skiing in nature"

As the sun started to set, I climbed back up again from the lakeside for descent.

From the top of the mountain at dusk, I could clearly see the school building of Hakuba High School, which taught me to play in the mountains while coexisting with nature.
The bond of Hakuba High School alumni connected by skiing transcends generations and will continue to ski together.

photo: Hiroya Nakata