| Ultimate in guided ski and snowboard tours - based out of Hokkaido, Japan |  |
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Tour Guides
Our first priority is always your safety which is why all of our Guides are all highly trained in avalanche risk management, backcountry travel and first aid. All of our guides are involved in ongoing professional training and maintain certifications with their respective associations. Safety always comes first but it is important to remember that there does exist inherent risks in backcountry travel meaning that anytime we leave the ski area boundary, we require all of our clients to be equipped with a full kit of avalanche safety equipment (transceiver, shovel & probe) and ask that any instructions given by our guides are explicitly followed to mitigate risk and ensure an epic powder day.
Each of our guides brings something a little different to the crew but one thing is for sure, they all share a passion for the mountains and and have an intimate knowledge of Hokkaido's best powder lines. We meet daily to discuss current conditions at each area, monitor the weather and adjust the schedule to make sure you are headed to the best snow each and every day.
Meet our crew:
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A skier turned snowboarder, Toby grew up in Christchurch riding the mountains of New Zealand before stories of Japan's massive annual snowfalls prompted him to make the move to Hokkaido in 2003. As an English teacher in Sapporo, Toby spent several years learning Japanese and exploring everything Hokkaido has to offer. From ski resorts and secret powder stashes to restaurants, bars, onsens and sights, Toby has Hokkaido dialled. Returning for his fourth season with Black Diamond, Toby is an invaluable tour guide specializing in our multi day adventures exploring Hokkaido's hidden gems. Qualifications |
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After an unusual start growing up on a yacht during his early childhood, Gordy continued to grow up in Queenstown, New Zealand instantly connecting with the mountains and local ski fields. At first it began by playing hooky from school for powder days and weekends shredding the local slopes. When that wasn`t enough, Gordy made the obvious choice to pursue a winter lifestyle, and started ski patrolling at The Remarkables in 2007. Over the last 5 years he has continued traveling, working and skiing in the northen hemisphere while returning to Queenstown to each may to complete the annual endless winter cycle. Gordy made his first trip to Hokkaido last winter and discovered what the snowfall records were about, instantly decideding that a return trip to work for BD tours had to be made. His plan is to help anyone lucky enough to be on a trip with him track up Hokkaido`s best pow lines....! Qualifications |
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Bruce has resided in Queenstown, New Zealand since 1994 following his dreams after finishing school. He soon began skiing and climbing full time and it wasn't long before he was chasing endless winters around the world, first as an instructor then heli-ski guide. In between Bruce managed to "squeeze in" the occasional Himalayan expedition and has climbed, skied and filmed on some of the worlds highest summits including Everest. Bruce now guides clients with Himalayan Experience along with owning and operating Summits Mountain Guiding in NZ. Bruce managed a visit to Hokkaido last winter to see what all the hype was about and after meeting the BD crew has decided to return for another full winter on the guiding team. Must be the bottomless pow... Qualifications |
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After growing up on the icy hills of the US MidWest Andy eagerly headed West in search of bigger mountains, powder, and the general ski bum lifestyle. First it was Montana, then the Teton Mountains of Wyoming where he spent 10 years skiing some of the steepest and deepest lines in the lower 48. Along the way Andy has travelled the world in search of big mountains and new adventures finally migrating North to Alaska where he`s spent the last 7 Spring seasons skiing the Chugach range. This winter he joins the BDTours crew looking forward to a winter of epic pow before heading back to AK for another Spring session of heli ski guiding with Alaska Backcountry Adventures. Qualifications |
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Colin Boyd has been strapped to a board most of his life. After growing up in the Northeast of the United States, Colin picked up the urge to travel at a young age and has spent most if not all of his free time on the road. This has taken him on multiple trips around North America, New Zealand and now the Land of the Rising Sun. His competitive snowboard background and experience working with Burton Snowboards has enabled him to move fluidly around the globe working as a private snowboard coach, R&D Product Tester, Marketing Coordinator, Event Manager and with other guiding outfits such as FreerideNZ. Over the course of a 2 month freeriding stint in Hokkaido during the '09-10 winter, Colin hooked up with BD and soaked up knowledge of every nook and cranny of the island and is now coming back as a full time guide for the '10-11 winter. Qualifications: Wilderness First Responder (80 hour course) |
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Fortunate enough to be born and raised in Banff, Alberta in the heart of the Canadian Rockies Ben has been on skis for almost his entire life. Ever since his introduction to ski mountaineering at the age of 8, it has been his passion. As an avid climber and skier he has accomplished numerous technical ski descents throughout North America in the Yukon, Alaska, Nepal, South America, New Zealand and even Mexico. After graduating from Thompsons Rivers University in 2004 with a diploma in Adventure Tourism Ben became a member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and works back to back winters ski guiding all over the world. This will be Bens second trip to the land of the rising sun and he's stoked be back riding the deepest, driest snow on the planet. Qualifications |
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A high school snowshoe trip that included a 100 foot ride on a friend's snowboard is all it took for Hayden to get hooked on snowboarding. Now, 18 years later and he is having more fun on a snowboard than ever. After 8 years based in Sapporo teaching English and freeriding the best of Hokkaido's powder, Hayden re-focused his attention to working in the mountains, joining the Black Diamond crew for the first time last winter. Back for more in 2012-13 Hayden's years of "research" have paid off as he shows fortunate BD guests around his adopted back yard. Qualifications |
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Andrew grew up skiing and riding in the Canadian Rockies before moving West to Canada's Coast Range where he honed his backcountry skills before heading further West (or is it East??) to Hokkaido's powder playground. Together Clayton Kernaghan, and Andrew created BDTours as an offshoot of BDLodge in 2005. Today BDtours is now far more than afterthought often keeping Andrew locked up in the office in his role as ops manager but if you're lucky enough to get out on a trip with him you'll be hooked up with one the island's most experienced powder junkies. Qualifications |
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