When Raibu asks, you listen. The guy’s been given carte blanche with us at SLUSH since day one—he’s won the World Quarters, he’s snuck his way into the collective heart of international snowboarding, and he’s never let us down. So when he hit us with, “Hey, me and the crew have a new backcountry video… would you want to put it out?”—our response was simple: hell yes.

The crew is called Sketchy Sunca, which roughly translates to Sketchy Mountain People, and honestly, the name couldn’t be more on brand. The film is pure Japanese backcountry—deep, heavy, and a little wild around the edges. Exactly the kind of snowboarding we’re all chasing, exactly the kind of thing we’re proud to share.

Riders Kurumi Imai, Ikumi Imai, Raibu Katayama, Ryusei Takahashi, Takeru Otsuka, Yutaro Miyazawa

Filmed by Nori Watanabe, Yuki Omura, Hiroto Murakami 

Edited by Yuki Omura