Here in Hakuba, many of our backcountry runs require river crossings at the bottom. Usually, slides will bury rivers in enough places that you can ski straight across. Because of cold temperatures and consistent snow fall this season, our creeks are unburied and running strong. Getting across the creek with dry feet is an integral part of a successful ski day.
My river crossing strategy usually involves plastic bags and voile ski straps, as witnessed at at 0:46 in this video. However, different people have different strategies. In this video provided by Lachy Nelder and Kirsti Brorup, Lachy is trying to slowly trudge the river while holding his trash bags up, and is passed by some Japanese snowboarders using the “float like ninja” approach. To each his own.