NHK Documentaries
Ultimate Skiing on Mount Rishiri
2013 • E25 May 17, 2013 50m
Mt. Rishiri (1,721 meters) floats in Japan's northernmost sea. In February, when seasonal winds blow from the sea, winter is at its harshest. Daisuke Sasaki, one of Japan's most famous backcountry skiers, dares to ski down 1,400 meters of unforgiving cliffs, some with a gradient of 50 degrees. But even before he can ski down, Sasaki must first face the ordeal of climbing the mountain with ski equipment on his back. This documentary follows Sasaki as he challenges-and ultimately succeeds in-skiing down the snowy mountain, despite the unavoidable risk of avalanches.