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
About 15:00 ski area staff called 119 to say an avalanche had occurred at Madarao Kogen ski area and people had been caught. Five people, two of them children, were caught and all were rescued. Four were taken to hospital, all conscious, with suspected fractures including the thigh, pelvis and ankles. Police and the fire service looked into the size of the avalanche and whether anyone else had been caught.
About 15:00 is the 119 call from ski area staff (Kyodo). A report seen only in search results gives 14:05 for the release.
Where
Not known whether inside or outside the ski areaMadarao Kogen ski area, on the border of Myoko (Niigata) and Iiyama (Nagano). Where on the mountain is not confirmed.
Known only to the ski area.
Link to the ski area
At Madarao
Kyodo: an avalanche at Madarao Kogen ski area (斑尾高原スキー場), reported to 119 by ski area staff. Reports seen only in search results say it ran on the ungroomed "Powder Line" course inside the ski area; not confirmed from an opened source.
People
Died0
Injured4
Rescued5
Not confirmed
- Release time: 14:05 in the operator's report vs about 15:00 for the emergency call.
- Avalanche size and type are from search snippets; not yet checked against an opened source or the JAN database.
- Whether the course was open at the time and any closure decisions beforehand.
- Where it ran: reports seen only in search results say the ungroomed advanced "Powder Line" course inside the ski area, up to 185 m wide and 600 m long.
- Full-depth (glide) avalanche after a rise in temperature and drizzle, without clear warning signs such as glide cracks (operator and experts, as reported; seen as search snippets) (reported by NBS Nagano Broadcasting; that source could not be re-checked).
Sources
- Kyodo News (via Yahoo! News) ↗ · 2026-02-28
- Kyodo News (via Yahoo! News) ↗ · 2026-02-28
- Madarao Hospitality LLC (resort operator) ↗ · 2026-03-01
- Shinano Mainichi Shimbun ↗
- NBS Nagano Broadcasting ↗
- FNN Prime Online (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- TSB Television Shinshu (via Yahoo! News) ↗
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.