Hokkaïdo Dreams is more than a ski film. It's an adventure story that blends culture, performance and aesthetics. A journey that intertwines the destinies of two legends of freeride skiing: Aymar Navarro, the Spaniard, and Léo Slemett, the Chamonix native. Two men with a rare texture, shaped by the mountains. Two friends who are as similar as their skiing styles are different. These athletes - certainly among the most successful on the Freeride World Tour - are also aesthetes. They love the adrenalin of competition, but also the endorphins of long mountain expeditions. Sharing a common attraction for Japan, they set off together on the ultimate ski-trip to Hokkaido, the most northerly of the 4 islands that make up the Land of the Rising Sun. A near-polar excursion, carried out in extreme cold, also envisaged as an opportunity to test, trial and improve Therm-ic heated gloves and socks.
Léo Slemett and Aymar Navarro recount their encounter with the ‘Holy Grail’ of freeride skiing in a sober, artistic and touching film. In this article, discover Hokkaïdo Dreams* and its breathtaking images, so much powder that you'll want to breathe in!
*Hokkaido Dreams is a film produced by JProd, and directed by Jaime Varela & Ander Ordono.
"Hokkaido Dreams is more than a ski film. It's an adventure story that blends culture, performance and aesthetics.
‘A near-polar excursion, conducted in extreme cold, envisaged as an opportunity to test, trial and improve Therm-ic heated gloves and heated socks.’
"I've never seen so much snow in my life. Japan is the ‘Holy Grail’."
Hokkaido Dreams is a film about the ultimate ski-trip, with friends, to the Land of the Rising Sun. Where did this desire come from? Have you always been drawn to Japanese culture?
More than an attraction, I've always been intrigued by Japan. It's a people who have experienced many tragedies - earthquakes, the Fukushima nuclear accident - but who have always remained dignified in the face of fate. I was surprised never to see people cry. That's why I've always wondered about this culture. I was lucky enough to discover it during a stage of the Freeride World Tour ‘Qualifier’. I was happy to have the opportunity to find peace of mind there, at a time when I was going through a complicated period. I came across ‘Shinto’, a culture in a class of its own, based on respect for people and nature. I also discovered the subtleties of this land of contrasts. Japan is a Mount Fuji of paradoxes: they venerate sacred forests and, at the same time, kill whales.
How would you describe the Japanese relationship with skiing and snow? Is there a real cultural gap with the Alps in this respect?
In Japan, the vision and ecosystem of skiing are quite old school. They still benefit from the infrastructure inherited from the Winter Olympics they organised over 25 years ago. The piste framing is old-fashioned, as is ski education, which is not very modern. The ski passes are similar to what we had back home in the 1990s. When I play there, I feel like I'm playing ‘Nagano 98’ on the first Playstation. You'd think this was a country at the cutting edge of technology, yet at night you sleep on traditional futons. The Japanese are also very respectful of their surroundings. They are very strict about rules, whereas here, anarchy sets in instantly as soon as there's a bit of powder. Finally, the culture of snowboarding is much more deeply rooted than that of skiing, particularly freeride skiing, which is very rarely practised, despite the exceptional conditions that the mountains can offer. That's really what impressed me most about the place: the sheer numbers. I've never seen so much snow in my life. Japan is the ‘Holy Grail’.
In the Alps, we've just had winters with very little snow. Were the conditions there true to the legend, with abundant powder? What were the main differences between our mountains and theirs?
We clearly weren't disappointed! The snowfalls were true to the legend, in line with the images I dreamt of, and that I could have had in my head when the old-timers told us about the historic winters in terms of accumulations in the Chamonix valley. Our mountains are steeper, steeper, higher and more remote. Here the climate is more oceanic: the storms come from the open sea and pile up on the nearest mountains. The result is astronomical quantities of snow. Snow of a rare quality: thanks to the sometimes extreme cold, it remains very light and supple!
"Japan is a Mount Fuji of paradoxes: they venerate sacred forests and, at the same time, kill whales.
‘Naturally, we aligned ourselves with an aesthetic and cultural approach.’
Can you tell us about the genesis of the project? When and why did the idea for this ski-trip to Japan arise? What message did you want to get across?
Aymar is the man behind this ski-trip to Hokkaido. This project was close to his heart because he has developed a special attachment to this land that he visits regularly, winter and summer alike. He asked me to come along because we've been friends since we first competed on the Freeride World Tour. We wanted to share an adventure. Once we'd agreed on the ‘where’ and the ‘when’, we just had to work out the ‘why’, the story we wanted to tell. Naturally, we aligned ourselves with an aesthetic and cultural approach. We wanted to convey in this film the local folklore and traditions that you don't have time to immerse yourself in when you're competing. To take a curious and sensitive look at our surroundings, not just on the skis.
Can you give us the details of this ski-trip? How much time did you spend there and how did you spend it?
We left in January 2024. The ski-trip lasted 15 days, including 10 days of actual skiing. Our approach was very broad, with the idea of putting all our skills to use. So we started our trip in the Furano resort, to take advantage of the lifts and play. That was the key word: play, in the powder, with the trees! We then skied up a volcano. It was really wild. You quickly realise that if something goes wrong, it's going to be very difficult to be rescued. It was extremely cold - close to -30°C - which put us off bivouacking, but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves: we hit a huge corridor of powder! Finally, we ended our adventure at Asahidake, a resort similar to La Grave, but dedicated exclusively to freeriding, with a single cable car that takes you to the summit! That's where we found the ‘Octopus Tree’, the tree I play with in the film, and these paravalanches that I'd dreamed of skiing since I was a kid!
In the film, you and Aymar Navarro take on a very different vision and style: how would you describe each of you? How do they complement each other?
Our philosophies and visions are very similar; our personalities are a good match - we have a lot of laughs - but our skiing styles are very different. And that's what makes the project so interesting! Aymar offers very pure freeride skiing, based on the fundamentals of the discipline, straight down the slope, very ‘Big Mountain’. As for me, I'm more versatile, with a more freestyle touch. I try more tricks. That's what allows us to ski together without overshadowing each other: it's rare that, on the same face, we're attracted by the same line, which is a risk when you venture out with skiers who share the same DNA. So, beyond this difference in style, we agreed on the desire to give a holistic approach to our ski-trips. We both see skiing as a way of getting to know a culture and nature that are foreign to us, or better still, unknown.
"In this film, we wanted to capture the local folklore and traditions that you don't have time to immerse yourself in when you're competing.
‘In Japan, we were not disappointed by the cold, with temperatures approaching -30°C.’
You seem to have faced some extreme cold. How did you manage that?
The idea was to choose a destination that would allow us to test the Therm-ic equipment in the most extreme conditions possible. In Japan, we weren't disappointed, with temperatures approaching -30°C. The heated gloves and socks responded perfectly! They enabled us to ski day after day in maximum comfort, despite the extreme cold. If you don't fight the cold, it's a virtuous circle of pleasure and performance: you use up less energy fighting for warmth, you're less tired, you're more clear-headed, and so you ski more accurately!
Do you have any advice on how to keep warm when freeriding?
I can think of 3 main tips to combat the cold. First of all, eat well because when you're fighting the cold, you're bound to burn fat. In Japan, we filled our pockets with little onigiris, rice triangles filled with just about anything you wanted! Secondly, manage the batteries in your heated gloves or socks so that you only use them when you think it's necessary, to save money and make them last as long as possible. Finally, keep in mind that the aim is not to sweat! Moisture is the worst enemy of comfort in the mountains. So find a system of clothing layers that ensures you're neither too hot nor too cold!
