A summary of public reports, written by Ski in Sky and checked against each source. It is not an official investigation, and it may change as investigations continue.
What happened
A guided ski tour went through the gate at the top of the ski area at about 09:00, climbed the Happo ridge and skied a south-side slope from about 2100 m at about 10:00, then moved to the Onuke ridge area. At about 11:30 the lead guide stood on a small ridge overlooking the terrain and the sub-guide skied first. After the sub-guide had stopped in a safe spot, the next skier entered the slope to the lead guide's skier's right and paused to set a line, and triggered the avalanche. The skier was carried and fully buried 50 cm deep. The guides started searching at once and found the skier by transceiver within a few minutes and dug the skier out quickly, but the skier was unconscious with fatal injuries. Fire services were called, the skier was flown out by a disaster-prevention helicopter and was confirmed dead at hospital. JAN records a dry slab, persistent slab problem, human triggered, size 2, crown 50 m wide and 10 to 70 cm deep on faceted snow over a melt-freeze crust, running 534 m and 290 m vertical.
JAN gives 11:30 as the time the avalanche released. The party had entered through the gate at about 09:00.
Where
Outside the ski areaKuzuresawa on the Happo ridge (Happo-one), Hakuba village: a north-facing slope at about 1590 m, reached by climbing from a gate at the top of the ski area (JAN). JAN classes the site as mountain terrain, not ski area.
Known only to the area.
Link to the ski area
Near a ski area, not inside it
JAN: the tour 'entered through the gate at the top of the ski area' (スキー場トップにあるゲートより入山) and climbed the Happo ridge; the location category is mountain (山岳), not ski area. Backcountry reached from the Happo-one side, not inside a managed area.
People
Died1
Injured0
Rescued—Not reported
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- Which ski area's top gate the party used (JAN does not name the resort).
- The exact injury that proved fatal; JAN says only that the skier had fatal trauma.
Sources
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.