Greetings from Japan! Did you know that Wetaskiwin’s sister city, Ashoro (which is technically a town) is nestled in the foothills of Mt. Meakan? This means that we can find stunning ski hills in every direction. I have never really skied before; however, I cannot pass up the opportunity to hit the slopes here – seeing how the powder snow in Hokkaido is world-renowned. My community includes a handful of highly skilled skiers, and they have been patient and enthusiastic as I have been building up my confidence one run at a time.

Alongside speed skating, skiing is in the schools’ winter physical education curriculum here. For a number of weeks every year, students of all ages take part in skiing on the local Satomigaoka ski hill. The town ski club makes their way Northwest to Nukabira ski hill, a more advanced course at the end of the season every year. This happened to be the first place I went skiing, without knowing what I was getting into.

Because I am from Canada, one of my friends here assumed that I would be experienced on the slopes and took me skiing – and we immediately went to the top of the hill at Nukabira. We both stood there for a moment as I laughed off the feelings of panic while looking at the steep decline in front of me, and my friend stared at me in horror as she realized that this was going to be a wild ride. Fortunately, there were no injuries. I stayed warm and comfortable, despite being absolutely covered in snow by the time I made it to the end of each run from falling so much. It was a blast!

Since then, I have also been to the Akan ski area, which was beautiful and a little more relaxed of a descent. Very experienced ski teachers were among my crew that day, and I was blessed with superior instruction and supervision. With clear skies and a view of frozen Lake Akan, it was a wonderful day to head Northeast of town.

I am hoping to make it out at least once more before it is officially too warm to go. I am beyond excited to continue working on my ski skills and experiencing the thrill of skiing on Hokkaido’s mountains.

Originally written for the Pipestone Flyer on March 04, 2021.

Edit: Typo.