In January, Mary Rand and Blair Habenicht visited photographer Tsutomu Endo in his hometown of Hakuba, Japan. With three decades of exploring the area behind him, Endo has grown into an abstract artist as much as a snowboard photographer. Recently, he completed a residency in the Arctic Greenland, where he drew parallels between the indigenous peoples of that area and powder seeking nomadic snowboarders.

Supported by Smartwool, New Snow People is a look inside Endo’s creative process as he shows Blair and Mary the nooks and crannies of Hakuba only known to those who have dedicated their lives to snowboarding and exploring those mountains.

Title photo by Tyler Ravelle.