It was the worst January in history in Niseko, Japan. I was waiting for Terje Haakonsen and a couple of his Norwegian friends to arrive at New Chitose Airport near Sapporo. It was unusual to be figuring out where to find powder. Normally, there’s almost too much snow in Niseko in January. Knee deep is an average day.

Although Niseko had enough snow to enjoy the resorts and ride side hits, the backcountry was too shallow. Exposed bamboo was everywhere. So, I decided to take the crew somewhere new on a spontaneous cruise. We’d start in Sapporo and just go where there was the best chance for good snow. Terje had said he wanted to join up with another film crew at some point, but he was vague as to who, when and where. Then my phone rang. Nicolas Müller and Justin Hostynek of Absinthe Films came through via FaceTime: “Rip! We are stoked; we are here at Chitose! Where should we go?”

“OK, Nico! I got you,” I said. “I will book a hotel for you and Justin for tonight and figure out the rest tomorrow. Cool?”…

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“’Dude, it’s so deep I can jump off anything, really,’ Mikkel Bang said when he arrived. But the hard part was finding enough speed to catch air. Mikkel launches while Nicolas Müller plows through chest-deep powder beneath him.” Photo: Rip Zinger