Coaches: Sam Liggins and Harry McFadden
Learn to ski Hokkaido’s legendary snow with style and flow at Rookie Academy’s Technical Off-Piste Camp in Niseko. Built for skiers with prior off-piste experience, this camp lifts your skills to the next level so you ski with more flow, control, and confidence in powder, trees, and variable snow.
Across the week, you’ll build the technical and tactical tools to ski mixed snowpack with confidence. Through focused coaching and time on varied terrain, you’ll deepen your understanding of how snow type and terrain shape affect performance, and how to adapt your movements for success in all kinds of off-piste environments. You’ll develop key skills and situational awareness—using terrain features for speed control, selecting efficient lines through trees and terrain, and adjusting technique for changing conditions—so you can ski with balance and flow. All coaching is delivered by experienced professionals certified in off-piste instruction and avalanche safety, ensuring a safe, structured, and inspiring environment.
Why this Japan Off Piste camp is unmatched:
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Specialty trainers: Harry McFadden and Sam Liggins are NZSIA examiners and Tech Team members with a passion for off-piste skiing and deep knowledge of technique and backcountry environments. They love a ski chat and to explore the whole mountain as a playground. Expect plenty of on-snow time with a low 1:4 coach-to-skier ratio.
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Seasoned Hokkaido skiers: Intimate knowledge of Niseko and the surrounding areas puts you on the best terrain and snow available. Think secret tree stashes, pillow lines, and sidecountry bowls that never make the trail map. Safety kit on, radios checked, and you’re skiing the lines locals keep for the special few. (You will be signing a 'no-tell' agreement.)
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Structured progression: We tune movement patterns on-piste, apply them in short off-piste sections, then link full top-to-bottom runs. Each day layers tactics, terrain reading, speed control, line selection and snow-condition adaptation so your improvements stick.
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Optional short tour: If conditions, group skills, and energy allow, we'll tour into the Japanese backcountry. Your trainers are qualified and will make a conditions-based call.
What you will leave with:
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The ability to ski powder and off-piste effortlessly with flow in trees and variable snow conditions.
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Individual personal cues to recognise when you’re moving out of balance, and how to make real-time adjustments to stay in control.
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Tactical tools for picking the best lines and using terrain features to manage speed.
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A deeper understanding of how snow conditions affect the application of technique, and how to adjust on the fly.
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Renewed confidence to explore side-country and backcountry zones anywhere in the world.
We blend on- and off-piste sessions to sharpen technique and build control on variable terrain. The week progresses from groomed-snow drills to sectional off-piste, finishing with top-to-bottom runs on Niseko’s best snow with two of our top trainers.
