Japan has epic powder (“Japow”) and incredibly mellow user-friendly terrain–except for the deep, v-shaped river valleys that can turn into horrendous terrain traps. BCA’s Bruce Edgerly found this out the hard way in the sidecountry terrain at Kagura Resort on Honshu, Japan’s main island.

“It was storming so hard none of the upper lifts were running. So I skied a big line down to the lower part of the mountain, alone, to check out the terrain park. On the way down, under the gondola lift line, there appeared to be a very tempting birch forest with perfectly spaced trees leading down into an adjacent valley,” said Bruce. “Too bad I didn’t see this sign or the major danger warning (in Japanese) posted in the gondolas–about the “Never Come Back” zone down in that valley.  I was stuck and alone.”

Read Bruce Eagerly’s story: #sendandreturn: averting the danger zone in Kagura, Japan.