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 party of six experienced, equipped skiers entered the mountain about 10:10. While moving through gully terrain to shelter from a strong wind they triggered an avalanche; the three people in its path were carried down, two fully buried and one partly buried. The two who had been fully buried died, and the third was injured.
JAN gives about 10:10 as when the party entered the mountain; it does not give the release time.
Where
Outside the ski area148-go gully (148号の沢) on Mt Yotei, Kutchan town; starting zone about 1,750 m, north-east aspect (JAN). Not within any ski resort.
Known only to the area.
Link to the ski area
Not linked to any ski area
Mt Yotei has no ski resort; the incident is not linked to Niseko United or any other resort.
People
Died2
Injured1
Rescued—Not reported
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- The time the avalanche released.
- JAN records one injured person in this same avalanche. Whether the news report of a "separate avalanche" with one injury the same period describes this person or another incident is not confirmed; it is not counted separately.
- Avalanche in backcountry terrain (reported by Xinhua; that source could not be re-checked).
- No avalanche warning had been issued for the Mt Yotei area by the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory (reported) (reported by Xinhua; that source could not be re-checked).
Sources
- Japan Avalanche Network (incident database) ↗
- Xinhua ↗ · 2024-03-11
- The Guardian Australia (via PressReader) ↗ · 2024-03-13
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.