Sixty minutes earlier we had stepped through the rope barrier without any trouble from the ski patrol and had headed up the ridge towards Mount Tengu, a 1.30 hour hike above Hakuba Goryu ski resort in the Japanese Alps. Out of the safety of the ski hill we had snow-shoed along the mountain ridge at about 2,200m above sea level. 30m from the summit ridge, Matt our guide stopped in his snowshoe tracks, “err guys, I’ve just seen a lightning flash”. We were exposed, very exposed: Six snowboarders all in a group carrying our snowboards vertically attached to our backs. Six ripe sweaty lightning conductors. The air suddenly felt electric. The soft billowing clouds now contained danger. The decision was now made much easier, we had to get off the ridge fast and down to safety. We all quickly dropped the 50m down off the ridge into a stand of tall solid Japanese birch trees. “ spread out a bit more” I said “its much better we don’t all stand in one big clump”. Feeling a bit less exposed, we all rapidly started to make the transition from climbing to sliding downhill. We weren’t out of the dangerzone yet as the issue now was that we were at the top of a wide eastern facing gully. 3 days before this gully was alive with avalanches and laden with large pockets of unstable wind blown snow (wind slab). Our objective, a long beautiful tree lined north facing ridge offered us our best safest and least avalanche prone descent. but that was now out of the question, the risk of a lightning strike felt greater than being caught in an avalanche.

Calmly and swiftly we all strapped on our boards, packed away our walking poles and snow shoes and looked down the gully. 800 meters of elevation, this 25 to 40 degree gully was nearly 2km long. Just 12 months ago three young Kiwi skiers jumped into this couloir. It slid and two were killed. They carried no avalanche transceivers and no self rescue equipment.

Craig (the kiwi joint owner of the Morino skiers lodge) led us off, boarding smoothly into the gully before coming to a stop on a small ‘island of safety’ ridge about 100m down and out of the main slide path route. He signalled to me to follow. I dropped in listening and feeling the snow under my powder board. the wind-slab was evident but it seemed well bonded to the layers below. This was difficult mountain boarding, wind scoured hard packed snow with pockets of slab and powder in places, and steep too. Turning quickly sent plumes of powder high over my head obscuring my vision momentarily. Great fun, but I decided to back off a bit as this was not the day to push too far, much safer to see and feel the hill, enjoy it, and get off without incident. For the next hour we leapfrogged our way down the gully, stopping in safe spots before moving quickly through the numerous terrain traps (spots in the gully with no escape from potential avalanche burial). this is the best of Japanese back-country skiing: steep, complex, fun and the full 5km journey finishes conveniently at the one and only bar in the region with Belgian beer.

The Hakuba valley lies 60km to the north west of Nagano city, the home of the 1998 winter Olympics. the residue of the games still lies dotted around the mountains: large white elephant ski jumps, and empty stadiums and fading signs. the local officials seem proud of the legacy, sighting them as great adverts for Japanese skiing and ignoring the cost and the bills still to be paid. They just could not get their heads around the fact that for us powder hunters they signified nothing more than a tedious distraction from the real deal: powder.

In Europe, the pursuit of powder can be ridiculously frustrating as is the unpredictable nature of the weather systems. In japan however The storms blast in from the China Sea, dumping up to a meter at a time. As is the case in the pacific north west this wet snow sticks well and with temperatures that are generally cold but not extreme, great off-piste conditions are the norm.This is the reason to come to Japan. The tree skiing and off-piste back-country skiing is as good as anywhere in the world.

Even for the dedicated, it’s not all-plain skiing. Many resorts have rules that are restrictive and incomprehensible. A lot of the best terrain is out of bounds and the ski patrollers will take your pass if you are caught ducking ropes and barriers. The stories of the Japanese not skiing in the trees are true however it is not an issue of the trees being sacred, they don’t do it because it’s not allowed. The off-piste problem is getting worse and the resorts are going to have to find a way of either coming to terms with the motivations of the Western visitor or ban them completely.

Of course the best way to avoid running the gauntlet in the resorts is to hike into the back country where you are on your own. The mountains are both beautiful and complex and provide fantastic back country skiing in the winter and good spring ski touring from April to the end of May. for the first couple of days at least you should definitely use a local mountain guide. There are plenty of small, local Japanese guiding operations but you needn’t look further than the Hakuba Based Evergreen Guides company, run by UIAGMA certified Canadian Dave Enright. In my opinion, they offer the best guiding service in Japan employing a number of International Mountain guides and aspirants.

So if you’re after something totally unique, are open to new experiences and cultures, and are committed to riding some of the best snow in the world, then get to japan. it’s one big beautiful, challenging, fun and deep adventure.

Jordan Manley is a 24 year old political science student who travels the world to ski places most of us never do. Jordan is a photographer and videographer who won Whistler’s Deep Winter Photo Challenge twice, and graced the covers of both Powder and Skiing Mag.

A year ago he was shooting “The Skier’s Journey”, and below is the first episode in which skiers Chad Sayers and Tobin Seagel travel halfway around the world to Kashmir to ski the high altitude Gulmarg gondola, only to find the snow pack is a ticking time bomb. Never the less, they find safe areas to ski and discover the beauty of Kashmir and the Himalaya – its people and its landscape.

Even though this video is from last year, it’s still rocking out. Needless to say I would pay strawberries to join these guys.

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. Today Kashmir denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh), the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and the Azad Kashmir provinces, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.

Gulmarg( “Path of Roses”) is a town, a hill station and a notified area committee in Baramula district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Gulmarg has been a resort for the kings like Yousuf Shah Chak and Jahangir who used to visit frequently. The total distance covered by ski lifts is five kilometres and the resort peaks at an altitude of 3,950 m (12,959 ft). The area receives heavy snowfall during the winter season, so if you looking for powder, you can get a ton of it in Kashmir.

The average monthly snowfall in Gulmarg, Kashmir:

• December 110 cm
• January 210 cm
• February 430 cm
• March 185 cm

The average temperatur in Gulmarg, Kashmir:

• December -3.0 Celsius degrees
• January -5.5 Celsius degrees
• February -2.5 Celsius degrees
• March +1.5 Celsius degrees

This about these stats for a moment. Here in Finland we receive like max 100 cm of snow a year, and it’s just friggin cold in mid winter…

Nanga Parbat, one of the highest mountain peaks in the world, is in the Kashmiri region of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan

In the winter, the diverse and extreme terrain combines with torrential snowfall to create a snow destination that is among the best in the world. As the destination itself is still undeveloped, skiers and riders never have to suffer the long queues that are so prevalent in other international snow destinations – it is not uncommon to get up to 10 runs in a day from the top of the gondola and to be carving fresh lines in untracked snow for the best part of a day.

But it’s not only winter and skiing. The summer is just as busy. With temperatures ranging from 25-30°C, Gulmarg attracts outdoor sports fanatics with its world class trekking, mountain biking, horse riding, water skiing, and fishing.

Sounds like heaven to me.

We asked him how he managed it and what it is like?

We had been successfully running cultural and trekking trips in Afghanistan for years but the idea that skiing could be possible first came to mind in 2009 in a small shepherds hut in the Wakhan district in Afghanistan’s far North East. I met an enthusiastic aid worker named Ken who was hiking with his girlfriend. He told me of a small group of ex-pats who regularly skied the Salang Pass that links Kabul with the Northern Provinces. His pictures looked amazing and we agreed in principle to try and run a trip.

The more I tried to work on the details of the trip the more it seemed like an idea that would never come to fruition. There are no lifts, no equipment and crucially no guides. It was fine for ex-pats to ski in the hills but ski touring in uncharted peaks needs professional expertise and just when we were ready to pack it in help came through a project to increase tourism in the Bamian region in Central Afghanistan. Famed for the once having the worlds largest standing Buddhas carved into the rock above the town, Bamian is home to the peaceful Hazara people and is one of Afghanistans most beautiful regions. Bamian and the stunning nearby lakes of Band e Amir regularly see plenty of tourists in the summer but the winter is a very quiet time. A local NGO thought that Bamian could be a future ski destination and is in the process of training local guides using the services of Nando, an IFMGA qualified guide from Italy.

Clearly I was not the only one who thought skiing could be a reality in Afghanistan so we joined forces with this initiative in Bamian and the ex-pat skiers in the Salang to create Afghanistan’s first ski tour.

It is not every ski resort that sees the tourists outnumbered by journalists but that was Bamian in 2011. We stayed in simple rooms heated by traditional wood fired Bukhari stoves. Two Afghan men who I had met previously as guides now work with Nando to run a small ski rental business gathered from donations and are training ski touring guides to the nearby Koh e Baba (old man mountains) range. As well as some top ski touring with Nando our guests visited the remains of the nearby Buddhas, played football with some kids in Dragon Valley and ate kebabs and rice in traditional Chaikhanas (tea houses) in Bamian’s lively bazaar.

We then headed to the Salang Pass near Kabul for a trip up Entente Peak. So named as it was first jointly climbed and skied by a mixed group of French and British in 2003. We drove through Russian built tunnels with icicles hanging from the ceiling and snow drifting in through the holes in the concrete.

However, the highlight for me was on the second day in Bamian. At the foot of the Koh e Baba range we met Asif and Habib. Two brothers aged 11 and 12 they had seen the skiers and with the help of their father had made a set of skies out of wood, metal, and old rubber boots. They only had one pair and took it in turns to make runs. Children in Europe and America would probably turn their backs on the idea of ski touring without lifts but these two brothers had to wait their turn even to get that chance. They get ski lessons through the program twice a week and Untamed Borders hopes that in 5 years time Asif and Habib will be guiding our guests on the slopes of Koh e Baba.

We know that ski tourism is not the answer to the problems facing Afghanistan but in a small corner of the Hindu Kush it can help. The men who run the small ski rental place do need more equipment but what they really need is more skiers. With luck they will get them.

Untamed Borders has a range of trips planned with Nando to Afghanistan in 2012. Wey’ll be back in Bamian skiing the Koh e Baba as well as plans to arrange heliskiing in the Wakhan and first ascents of 6000 metre peaks.

Please visit www.untamedborders.com or contact us on info@untamedborders.com for further details on how to visit Afghanistan as a ski tourist or how to donate equipment to the skiers like Asif and Habib.

“Skiing the high snowy mountains of Afghanistan would be a dream come true for many backcountry skiers, but as we all know, it is not possible as long as the fighting keeps going on in the country.” – Marko, Homeboy ski.

At the time Marko was writing this in the Autumn of 2009, Afghanistan had already seen a number of skiers on its slopes and was preparing the ground work to accept its first batch of foreign back country skiers. As with many things about Afghanistan, the public perception of the country is often very different to actual life on the ground.

Ever since the International forces ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, intrepid foreign workers have been heading to the slopes near Kabul for some escapism during the winter months and today a small group now regularly use the slopes of the Salang Pass for few runs each week. In the winter of 2009 the Bamian valley in Central Afghanistan has had its first injection of a US$1.5 million investment to boost its fledgling tourism industry. Local guides have been trained to show how the region, most famous for its giant standing Buddhas which were destroyed by the Taliban 9 years ago, can be a year round tourist attraction. Two American ski consultants spent last winter there and can confirm that the slopes of Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush range is one of the worlds finest backcountry ski areas. Already the prospect of ski tourism has attracted some media interest and it seems that against all odds Afghanistan can be a ski destination.

The development plan in Bamian is to first attract foreign workers from Kabul and wealthier Afghanis before trying to attract foreign tourists in 3-5 years time but Untamed Borders, a travel company from the UK, is already advertising places for Afghanistan’s first ski tour in March 2011.

Untamed Borders is a small niche travel company that organises guides and trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan. They want to use their experience, knowledge and long lasting relationships in Afghanistan to allow back country skiers a unique experience that will be as much a cultural exploration as a skiing trip. Their itinerary intends to allow the guests to follow the routes pioneered by the ex-pat workers in the Salang Pass and then to use the services of the newly trained local guides in the Bamian region. They will also encourage the skiers to bring extra second hand ski equipment to help stock the fledgling local ski rental business of Bamian.

Picture taken by Chad Dear, March 2010

It seems incredible that peaceful pockets can exist in Afghanistan. However, one of the things that has driven the violence in Afghanistan is the fact the country is made up of many different ethnic and religious groups who are often distrustful of each other. Bamian is the home of the Hazara. The Hazara are descendants of an army left as a garrison by Genghis Khan and have mongaloid, oriental faces. They are also Shia muslims in a country dominated by Sunnis. Over the years they have persecuted and neglected by various governments and it is only since the US and ISAF forces have been in the country that schools, hospitals and roads have been built here. This is why the security situation there is far removed from the Pashtun led insurgency you see on the news in the southern provinces.

Untamed Borders use guides that have worked in Afghanistan since 1997 and have a deep understanding of the risks involved in travel to the country and where it is possible to travel safely and why. They have many friends in all the places on the trip who give them up to the minute information on what is really going on.

The question still remains whether Afghanistan, a country with poor infrastructure, no ski lifts and possibly crucially, where alcohol is illegal, can really attract skiers from Europe and America that are used to their creature comforts. However, it is clear that it will not be for a lack of opportunity should the brave wish to make the trip.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is bordered by Iran to the south and west, Pakistan to the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China to the far northeast. Some describe it being located within Central Asia, some like it to be in South Asia while the rest prefer the Middle East. Who cares though, we are more interested about the skiing.

Afghanistan is the land of mountains

Afghanistan is a mountainous country. The main mountain range is called the “Hindu Kush” with the highest point in Afghanistan being Nowshak at 7,485 m (24,557 ft) above sea level. Hindu Kush is a subrange of the Himalayas.

So, mountainous Afghanistan would provide pretty awesome runs for backcountry skiers and riders, but accessing the country does not sound tempting, although some brave hearts do seem to organize trips to Afghanistan.  The site was last updated in 1999 and it states “The Taliban government is fully aware of the importance of tourism and its impact upon economic and social development. Therefore the Taliban government will endeavor to encourage the healthy growth of Afghanistan’s tourism Industry“. Well, don’t really know about that. The current government probably does understand the importance of tourism but there might be some other people in the country who don’t.

Skiing over landmines in Afghanistan

Despite the unstable country many climbers have reached the summit of Noshaq (7492 meters), the highest mountain of Afghanistan. There are hundreds of virgin peaks available near Noshaq for climbers wanting to be first ever to the summit.

Pakistan has reported that some of Kabul’s expat aid workers have experimented with off-piste skiing and snowboarding near the Salang Pass north of Kabul, which used to be the only ski resort of Afghanistan. There is always a risk of skiing over a landmine, but because of all the pow pow you should not really get hurt if one explodes.. right?

It is interesting that there used to be one real race skier living in Afghanistan. As the only skier of Afghanistan he used to travel to competitions in France and Japan. Another interesting point is that an Afgan warlord planned to build a $100 million ski resort. What might be the status of his project right now?

Let’s hope the country becomes peaceful soon so that the skiers and climbers can enjoy the peaks again. Skiing in Afhganistan would be an awesome experience, but at the moment I must be satisfied with my local hill called Talma anyway. While dreaming of skiing in Afghanistan, I can at least wear a “Ski Afghanistan” T-shirt.

However, Ville send us some pics from Hakuba – just for a “teaser”. I also heard some other friends reporting from Niseko that the next 24 hour predict is one(!) meter of snow. Oh well…

Let the pictures do the talking this time. Enjoy!

All pictures by: Ville Eskonen, http://www.luontokuvateskonen.com/

Ski Dubai website says:

“Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, or just playing in the snow. Young or old, there is something for everyone, from the beginner to the snow sport enthusiast. Ski Dubai is a unique mountain-themed attraction that offers you the opportunity to enjoy real snow in Dubai all year round”.

Dubai’s indoor ski resort is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, which is one of the largest shopping malls in the world. Everything is big in Dubai. There is an extremely efficient insulation system to maintain the temperature of -1 degrees Celsius during the day and -6 degrees during the night when the snow is produced. Dubai’s indoor ski resort has five runs of varying difficulties, the longest being 400 meters. This sounds pretty impressive, because it is much more than my local ski resort Talma can offer.

Ski Dubai is the size of three football fields. Although locals and tourist are very happy with the possibility of skiing “in the middle of the desert”, some folks have criticized Ski Dubai for their large energy consumption.

If you forget your ski gear at home, don’t worry, because in Ski Dubai you can rent all equipment except a hat and gloves. Even forgetting your hat and gloves is not a problem because they sell second-hand hats and gloves right outside the indoor ski resort.

If you’re heading to Dubai, remember to check out Dubai’s indoor ski resort and report your experiences to Homeboy Ski blog. It would be very interesting to hear your opinions of and experiences  skiing in one of the warmest countries in the world.

Ski Dubai’s facts

• 22,500m² covered with real snow all year round
• 85 meters high and 80 meters wide
• Full capacity of 1500 guests
• 5 runs longest being 400 meters

Source [Skidxb]

One very exotic place to ski is the Altai region in China. Imagine yourself skiing places where you see no other people and ski lifts, only huge fields of untouched snow. Surrounded by deep silence, you make your turns with no fear that someone is going ruin your powder field. In resorts like Chamonix you have to be quick in the morning just to taste the powder. By 10 am all powder snow near to lifts is skied.

Oh yes, skiing in central Asia would be awesome. Check out the video below. It would be nice to ski with locals and see how they make their own skis. Watch the video and see how a local man skis with his home made powder guns. I bet those bindings have not DIN adjustment screws…

See how much they have snow there in Chinese mountains. It looks like a secret powder heaven. Cool.

However, there are a lot of top notch resorts we haven’t visited and would like to visit someday. Especially Northern America is a huge grey area for us and we’d like to correct that issue as soon as possible. This post is dedicated to our “wish-list” of ski areas.

Some of these resorts/ski areas are just legendary, “must” places to see for every skier. Some are, on the other hand, more exotic, wilder places that might have a cult status among a small group f skiers, or are probably almost unknown (so, don’t expect to read only about the most obvious ones here!)

1. Alta, Utah, USA

This one is almost a tie, like in the earlier list too. The second one is a rising star and a challenger but this one is an all time classic. Just a place every true skier should visit once in his/her life (in our very humble opinion of course).

Utah markets itself in words “the greatest snow on Earth”. That says it all.

The snowboard ban in Alta is IMHO pretty old-fashion thinking. But I kind of understand it. Alta is an old school ski area, so let it be like that. I love snowboarding but in Alta I’d be proud to catch a pair of fat skis and feel the history of skiing and modern age blend together.

2. Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan

Again, the biggest reason to go: snow. Plenty of it actually. Dry – even when located only thirty kilometres  from the sea, because it is often very cold! I love cold, dry snow…and who wouldn’t?

Couple of friends visited the place in the middle of February. Well, I’m trying to tell to myself I’m not jealous…well, the guys were swimming in the very light powder snow up to their chests…

Some say the terrain in Niseko is too flat but I guess those guys are jealous too. I see no reason to name Hokkaido and its resorts the best place to ski powder on earth (at the moment at least, you never know what the today’s weird weather has for us in the upcoming years though?)

Japanese culture is another reason to go. You won’t get bored in the down days. And the food is supposed to be  very delicious too. I dream about going Japan to “second honeymoon” with the wife some day (while leaving the kids to the grandparents…well, you can always dream!)

3. Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

If you ever watched any Match Stick Productions film you gotta have dreamed about Whistler too. Everything is big there: the mountains, the lift system, the night life, the snow fall, the “scene”…

Of course big resorts have their downsides. But I guess in this case those are just minor details that won’t harm the essence: good skiing.

See the trail map, the place is huge: trail_map_whistler_blackcomb1.jpg (source: http://www.whistleroutfitters.com)

4. Krasnaya Polyana, Soviet Union

Another MSP joint(I don’t remember which one but MSP film a few years ago showed Eric Pollard in the trees of Soviet Union in Krasnaya Polyana). Powder article also described the place having probably the best tree skiing in the world, and about the any other type of terrain you can imagine too - the vertical meters are stunning.

I’d like to go and see what it is all about.

5. Powder King, BC, Canada

Only 640m of vert but check out the reports on their site: http://www.powderking.com/ -the “overnight”, “24h” and “72″ snow reports often show incredible figures!

6. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

Home of the rowdy TGR. That says quite alot. Many people (here in Europe) who ski like a ten days a year also know lines like “Corbet’s couloir” in Jackson - that says quite alot of the Jackson’s legendary status too.

7. Kirovsk, Soviet Union

Many people probably haven’t heard about this one. No wonder, it is located in the middle of nowhere in the Kola Peninsula in Russia. However, it is actually relatively close to us Finns and can offer vertical meters up to about 900. Snowfall is great too and season long.

If you want exotic skiing this is the place!

Some info: http://www.kolatravel.com/downhill_ski_holidays.htm

And here is a nice gallery from some Finns who have visited the place: http://rinnetmaki.net/gallery2/v/Urheilu/Kirovsk2007/

8. Bansko, Bulgaria

You see, I have this weird fix for Eastern Europe skiing.

Terrain in Pirin mountains (sub range of the Balkan mountains) seems pretty similar to Slovakian/Polish Tatras. TGR filmed a pretty good segment few years ago from Bansko, showing skiing of world-record cliffhucker Jamie Pierre and Marc-Andre Belliveau.

Some info can be found here: http://www.kolatravel.com/downhill_ski_holidays.htm

9. Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, USA

Maybe not the highest and not the one with the best snow. But still having a “legend status” as a mecca of American style freeskiing. My wild guess is that Squaw is one of the most filmed places of skiing, starting from the age of the great Scot Smidt, Glen Plake &co…

10. Treble Cone, New Zealand

I actually don’t know much about New Zealand skiing and this one is just the one I remembered. However, going to skiing in summer is fun and everything I’ve heard about New Zealand has been compliments about its beauty and friendly people. So, having visited south America (see the earlier story about the top resorts we already have visited), this is the next one, if I ever get another opportunity to have a skiing trip in the middle of our summer…

Treble Cone site: http://www.treblecone.co.nz/

Some more info on NZ skiing.

Skiing in Kamchatka, how would it be? Have you ever considered it or have you even heard about Kamchatka Peninsula? Let us first find out where it is located. Kamchatka is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. It belongs to the Russian Federation and it has about 400 000 inhabitants.

Kamchatka is deep in the wilderness, surrounded by a beautiful nature with rich flora and fauna. The area is known from the highest density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena in the world. Volcano Kronotsky is said to be a candidate for the world’s most beautiful volcano. Climate in Kamchatka is rather cool, and in winters it tends to be rather stormy. Because the area is far from cities and there are huge amounts of wilderness, the wildlife in Kamchatka is very diverse. Although there are lots of animals, the best known animal in Kamchatka is probably the brown bear. Kamchatka simply has areas that you could not believe exist anymore.

You might think that heli-skiing in Kamchatka in Russia is a dangerous survival game in which you fly in rusty helicopters operated by drunken old military pilots, and while you are skiing you have to keep your eyes open because for the bears. Very much different from heli-skiing in Sweden, for example? No, that is not skiing in Kamchatka, thank God. You certainly might find poorly operated helicopters in Russia, but companies such as Elemental Adventure provide high quality heli-skiing with no additional danger.

Life in Russia is different from life in the west. You cannot get luxury services as easily as in west, and some things just do not work as effectively as in the western countries, which could cause you a little shock. Life at Russian ski resorts is nothing like life in the top 10 ski resorts in west, not even like in Slovakia. It is common in Russia that you have to wait everywhere and for anything. You wait and wait and wait.. and then you wait some more. It just happens to be like that in Russia, you just have to get used to it if you go skiing in the Eastern Russia.

Even though some things might cause a cultural shock, think about skiing in unexplored terrain in one of the wildest and most remote destinations in the world. Imagine yourself skiing even 4000 meter descents, all the way down to the shoreline, to hot springs or into the craters of volcanoes. Yes, this is all possible in Kamchatka! It is an amazing freeskiing wonderland, very far away from both Europe and North America.

How much would it cost? The prices depend on the organizer, so an average price is hard to estimate. With Elemental Adventures one week vacation, depending on hotel, it ends up between 4150 and 4600 euros. The information below is directly copied from Elemental Adventures website, so I do not guarantee it will be like this in the future as well.

Included:

Single occupancy add €300

Not included:

Skiing in Kamchatka could be your most staggering skiing experience ever. If you are interested in such a journey, start searching the websites you can find as well as Elemental Adventures.

Check out the Google map of Kamchatka.

Video provided by EA Heliskiing.