A summary of public reports, written by Ski in Sky and checked against each source. It is not an official investigation, and it may change as investigations continue.
What happened
On the morning of 16 January a Hokkaido Police helicopter was sent. The skier was spotted from the air, a mountain rescue officer was lowered on a wire and, in a ground blizzard with poor visibility, picked up the skier, who could not move. The rescue came about 15 hours after the call; about ten people were also deployed on the ground. The article uses the case to illustrate the cost of a search (it estimates about 2 million yen if done privately; police searches are free) and quotes a police official saying most people in distress are equipped only for resort skiing and carry no food. A blog list says the skier had parted from a friend and could not be reached, and was unhurt.
The opened article gives the rescue on the morning of 16 January, about 15 hours after the call, so the call was on 15 January; the blog list also gives 15 January for the report.
Where
Outside the ski areaBackcountry near the Kitanomine ski area, Furano; STV says the skier was spotted in the mountains on the side away from the ski area.
Known only to the area.
Link to the ski area
Near a ski area, not inside it
Opened UHB text: 'スキー場の管理区域外を滑るバックカントリー' and 'バックカントリーのスキーヤーで' (a backcountry skier, outside the ski area's managed area). Not linked to a resort.
People
Died0
Injured0
Rescued1
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- Exact place.
- Why the skier could not move.
Sources
- UHB Hokkaido Bunka Hoso (via Yahoo! News) ↗ · 2025-02-14
- STV (via Yahoo! News) ↗checked in search results
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.