Hokkaido Winter Search and Rescue Trends (2015-2025)

Six years ago we dug into Hokkaido Police winter SAR data and saw a clear pattern: lift-access “sidecountry” was driving most backcountry incidents. Since then, COVID and a weak yen has reshaped who’s out there—first a lull in inbound travel, then a sharp rebound—while local participation also surged. The winter of 2024/2025 delivered the biggest single-season backcountry incident spike on record,…