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
In the afternoon a group of six riding outside the courses called police saying the fog was thick and they had lost their way. A lone skier also called, saying they could not see their surroundings in the fog; police think they followed the group's tracks into the same area. Two disaster-prevention helicopters from Niigata and Toyama prefectures found the six more than 3 km south-west of the resort at about 780 m and the lone skier about 4 km south-west at about 845 m, shortly after 16:30. No one was injured. Police warned that riding unmanaged terrain outside the courses carries a high risk of getting lost and of avalanches.
Shortly after 16:30 is when the helicopters found the group; the calls came earlier in the afternoon.
Where
Outside the ski areaOutside the courses of a ski area at Ryozenji, Myoko city (not named in what was seen); the six were found more than 3 km south-west of the ski area at about 780 m, the lone skier about 4 km south-west at about 845 m.
Known only to the area.
Link to the ski area
Near a ski area, not inside it
Reported as 妙高市のスキー場 (a ski resort in Myoko city) without naming it; the group was found 3-4 km from it.
People
Died0
Injured0
Rescued7
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- Which Myoko resort they left from.
- The call times.
- Another report places the find about 2 km south-east of the Ogenashi summit.
Sources
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗ · 2026-02-04checked in search results
- NST Niigata Sogo Television (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- FNN Prime Online (via Yahoo! News) ↗checked in search results
- Joetsu Town Journal ↗ · 2026-02-03checked in search results
This record was checked against search results for these reports (date, place and outcome); the original articles could not be opened.
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.