Where better to go cat skiing than at Niseko where there is some of the best powder in the world?! This was our 2nd time at Weiss, and once again it was absolutely puking with snow!! This was awesome, except that the snow was so deep that at times we were practising our powder 11s.

Pros
• Niseko gets insane amounts of snow that’s of superb quality, and generally it’s not long between snowfalls.
• The cat skiing is the perfect adjunct to a Niseko ski holiday and a chance to get fresh tracks away from the crowds at the resort. Hirafu in particular is a great town that has lots of buzz, great restaurants, an animated nightlife, good shopping, and plenty of activities on offer.
• Weiss Cat Skiing is absolutely perfect for intermediate and low-end advanced riders or those fairly new to the joys of powder. The terrain has lots of wide open runs where you can let it rip!
• There is a high staff to guest ratio, which along with improving safety considerations, could be handy if you think you’ll fall over in the powder.
• If you’re worried that you’ll fall over and look like a goose, don’t worry. It’s a slow enough day that you won’t be holding anyone up.
• It’s reasonably well priced relative to other Niseko cat skiing operations.
• There’s a photographer on hand to capture lots of memories of your awesome day out!

Cons
• As is common with Japan cat skiing, the terrain size is rather small relative to other cat skiing operations. That being said, it’s rarely a problem because snowfalls to reset the freshies are very frequent.
• Also common to Japan, a day of cat skiing doesn’t involve a lot of vertical, especially when compared to BC cat skiing. Whilst experts might be left craving more powder fun, those still learning to ride powder will be more than satiated by the amount of vertical (or more likely exhausted, fatigued, shattered….!).
• Experts will find the terrain rather tame, but they might have fun in the powder anyhow.

See our full Weiss cat skiing review for more information.
See our video here

The Weiss Cat skiing people, pick you up from your accommodation, take you to Hanazono to have the safety briefing etc and then it's a short drive to the Cat skiing area. We had seven runs, which were a mixture of on the old Mt Weiss pistes and through the trees. The guides were courteous, they had plenty of local knowledge and liked starting snowball fights. They catered all all levels and made everyone feel confident about their skiing - even those members of the group who had less deep powder experience. This is a great day trip and I thoroughly recommend it
See our video here