About Hakuba Alpine Guides

Roddy has held full IFMGA Mountain Guiding certification for a number of decades and with him comes enormous experience and mountain wisdom. In the past he has guided privately in Japan and Canada as well as guiding for Canadian cat and heli skiing operations. He has lived in Japan for many years and is an equally well known and well liked character who we are very proud to have as our senior guide and operational supervisor.

Hakuba Alpine Guides is managed by year-round Hakuba resident and Damian Banwell who joins most tours as a tail guide and on his days off he goes touring with friends or is gathering snow stability data in the field. He both skis and snowboards so no matter what you ride, you will feel at home. Damian completed his CAA Level 1 Ski Operations in Canada however does not hold any professional guiding certification. He is a contributing member to the Japan Avalanche Network. Damian is Australian and has spent the last decade living in Europe and Japan. He has enjoyed good backcountry times in Chamonix, Austria, Switzerland, Hakuba, Hokkaido, Canada and Greenland.

Also known as the Union Internationale des Associations des Guides de Montagne (UIAGM). Guides who display this logo have passed the required training and examination in their home countries which meet the standards of the IFMGA. Currently there are 22 guide association from 19 countries who are members of the IFMGA and who's courses and exams meet the IFMGA standard.

The ACMG is a member organisation of the IFMGA and offers certification in all IFMGA disciplines. The ACMGA Ski Guiding program is well known and respected as a tough course with very high standards typically taking 3-4 years to complete. The ACMG motto is: Judgment, Expertise, Integrity, Passion.

The Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit, non-government organization that serves and supports the diverse community of professional avalanche operations in Canada. The programs and services of the CAA help to create and foster a world-class professional operating environment for front-line avalanche safety operations in Canada. The CAA’s vision is to be a world leader in avalanche awareness, education and safety services. Their education programs are exported internationally every year to countries such as Japan, New Zealand and Iceland.

This is the Japanese character for dake, which means peak or mountain. For example, the highest peak above Hakuba is Shirouma Dake (2932m) - White Horse Mountain. Red is a colour often associated with the Japanese Shinto religion, the primary belief of which is that life should be lived simply and in harmony with nature and other people.

Lloyd was born in 2000, stands as high as your knees and has been around more than a few mountains - across Europe and Japan. Winter powder is too deep for him, but in spring he is unstoppable. The only dog to have been part of ski descents from the summits of Hakuba's three main peaks. Here he is nearing the top of the NE couloir on Shakushi Dake in Hakuba. And here as we start to ski the east face of Hakuba Yari.