Avalanches Hit Backcountry Skiers, Snowboarders in Hokkaido; Foreigners Make up Large Proportion of Those...

SAPPORO — A series of avalanches have hit mostly foreigners doing backcountry skiing and snowboarding in Hokkaido. A Taiwanese man in his 40s was caught in an avalanche on Mt. Kami-Furano in central Hokkaido on March 5 and was rescued by a police helicopter. Five days later, a Canadian man in his 20s was hit by an avalanche on nearby Mt. Sandan and fell into critical condition. Both men were doing backcountry skiing or snowboarding.