Alt Ski: Kellogg Takes on Niseko
- Cathy Campo
- Apr 26
- 3 min read
By: Mikey Griglak, Staff Writer
Over spring break, 60 Kellogg students joined Ski Club for the annual Alt Ski trip, this year in Niseko, Japan. It did not take long to realize this was far from a typical North American ski trip, and a far cry from Big Ski and Small Ski earlier this year. On the mountain, lunch meant ramen, katsu curry, or snow crab rice bowls instead of chicken tenders and beer.
Après looked different too. After a day of skiing, we drank sake, visited hole-in-the-wall bars, and watched the snow fall from the warm relaxation of an onsen (i.e. a Japanese hot spring). Meredith Davin (2Y '27) put it simply: “Skiing in Japan was a dream come true… insanely good ramen on the mountain, the onsens, and views of Mt. Yotei.” Although the culture may have been different, the skiing felt very familiar.
Niseko is known for ‘champagne powder’ and heavy snowfall throughout the season. When the group arrived, it was nearly 50 degrees, but the full mountain was still open because of the snowpack that had accumulated all season. The base was slushy, but by the next day, the weather had shifted. Temperatures dropped and snowfall made for a near whiteout. The legendary conditions in Niseko made themselves known, and we could not see more than 10 yards in front of us. The snow and wind were so intense that it was hard to tell if you were moving, where the trail continued, or even which direction was downhill. A few hours later, the clouds cleared and Mt. Yotei came fully into view across the valley. Charlotte Grimm Pacieznik (1Y '26) summed it up well: “We got all kinds of conditions… whiteout where I could barely see the person in front of me, but also bluebird moments where we could see Mt. Yotei in all her glory.”
The mountain itself had the same mix of extremes. There were modern gondolas running constantly, but also the one-person “pizza box” chairlift with no bar or backing that takes you almost to the summit. “My favorite run was off the pizza box lift,” Meredith told The Kelloggian. “It takes you to the hardest run on the mountain.” The views from the top were a highlight across the board, especially on clear days when Mt. Yotei sat in the background the entire way down.
Off the slopes, the food stood out just as much as the terrain. Irune Andres (1Y '26) called out everything from the katsu curry to Hokkaido (no, not the Hokkaido in Evanston) milk soft serve, and Kristen Johnson (2Y '27) mentioned eating a snow crab rice bowl at the top of the mountain with a glass of champagne. It was hard to have the same lunch twice.
The town in Niseko felt smaller and more lowkey than most U.S. ski destinations, but that was part of what made it fun. One night, a group found a bar hidden behind what looked like a fridge door covered in stickers. The entrance was about four feet tall, so getting inside required a full crouch if you were anywhere near my height. Inside, it was a small wooden space with a long bar and a strict no flash photography rule. Irune described it as a cozy hut, and it felt about right. The drinks leaned creative, and the whole place felt intentionally tucked away, even though it was fairly well known on TikTok. At the bar and walking through town, it was hard not to notice more Australian accents than American ones.
What stood out most, though, was how easy it was to get to know people over the course of a few days. With a smaller group, you kept running into the same faces whether you were skiing, grabbing dinner, or ending the night in the onsen. “It was a great way to get to know people you might’ve only crossed at the Hub before,” Irune said.
The trip wrapped with an on-mountain après followed by an omakase dinner that kept going well past the point where anyone was still hungry. Course after course came out, and by the end, everyone was stuffed — a perfect homey ending to an otherwise adventurous trip. The skiing was great, but what people will probably remember most is how different the entire experience felt from a typical North American ski trip.
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