If you would like one of those and are able to use them, please send us an email to editor@snowjapan.com; tell us your Forums member name; and tell us why you'd like one.
Oh yes, and don't forget to tell us which one you would like.
In order to reduce time needed in this process, also tell us your postal address in case you win. (Don't worry, if we don't use it to send you a ticket it will be deleted).
One more thing: If you have already won a ticket from us in the last few seasons, please send us a link showing us the Resort Review you have posted and/or photos you uploaded to SnowJapan.
We'll decide who gets what by the end of the week.
This year I thought I would create a special "Cheese at Resorts" Gallery.
At the moment, myself along with Cheesewoman, Cheesegirl and Cheeseboy are at Nozawa Onsen in Nagano. Lovely place, but no good views yet as it has been snowing.
Anyway to start off my gallery, here's the gallery and some cheese in Nozawa. Just some run of the mill 'natural cheese' as they call it used to melt on pizzas etc. Not the most gourmet start....
Date of visit: March 1, 2014. Early morning to 4pm
Snow Conditions: Early morning corduroy, turning quickly to crust, them melting to slush later. The groomers did their very best with what snow they've had, but it wasn't Top Dog quality by a long shot.
Ability Level: Improving/Intermediate, free run
Set-up: K2 Raygun161 (All Mountain Rocker), centered weight and 15/-13 angles (goofy), highbacks at 12.
~~~~~~~
I'll write a review proper if I can, but I'll just pop a few words and pictures here now.
Long story short, the resort itself is good, spacious, with a fun variety of runs and also off-piste paths. However, the snow is definitely sickly at the moment; the resort received a dusting at the end of the day, but I'm not sure it's sticking. Vegetation is starting to show. That said, on days where there is lots of pow, Takatsue can be great. I've been on a couple of pow days and it is beautiful. This year has been poor for snow. People are fewer than in other resorts, though. I prefer this, and had a good couple of runs on my own this morning.
Also, the lifts suck. As in, they tend to wipe people out frequently on the higher lifts because they go too fast or the ground isn't suitably cleared.
What I really loved were the top runs once the weather cleared up, and I could actually use my camera(phone) and the slush suited my stick more. As a relative newbie, riding a rocker on icy crusts when you can't break a carve is a pain. Literally. I just wish I could link the top runs with my favourite lower ones; flowing down a solid 5k run while being able to break into the trees and 180 off the banks would be amazing!
This is how bad the visibility was in the morning:
This is a similar area after grabbing food at 10:30..
More people came after the weather cleared, but they also went back in doors after it all went sidways
Last but not least, I couldn't spot any cheeses, but I did see a particular cheese plant... The fruit disappeared pretty quickly!
We headed off on Friday night for a weekend at Kusatsu, or more accurately two nights at Kusatsu with one days skiing at Kusatsu and one day at Kagura.
The trip up got off to a slow start due to an accident on the expressway, and we weren't even on the Kan-etsu. Eventually we got out of Tokyo and after a smooth run up the Kan-etsu made it to Kusatsu. One again was a bit disappointed with the amount of snow on the drive in. Although there were large piles of snow around from the big dumps recently it was pretty obvious that no new snow had fallen since. The weather reports were forecasting snow for Saturday afternoon and night, so I was hoping for at least an afternoon with good snow.
Rika and I got up early Saturday, drove the couple of minutes to the base and after purchasing a family ticket ( 6,000 yen for one adult and one child, saves 1,200 yen) we were on the lifts by 8:45. A couple of laps round the bottom area were followed by a trip up lift 6 to the middle of the mountain and a run back down to the bottom.
The snow was icy and hard, nothing new had fallen for a long time, the surrounding hills were pretty bare, and there was a distinct lack of snow covered trees. It didn't help that visibility was bad, could only see about 50 metres in front, fortunately both Rika and I know the lower slopes of Kusatsu well enough that 50 metres was enough.
Rika decided she wanted to have a lesson so got that arranged. <rant> Rika is 6, and although she has only skied for 8 days total is a good skier, has no problems coming down intermediate runs, and likes climbing the sides of banks and skiing down. But, because she isn't at elementary school yet she is in the kids class. At Kusatsu this seems to mean no matter how good the kid is, all they are taught is how to do snow plough turns. If I'd know this before we would have spent the morning skiing together.</rant>
Once Rika started her lesson at 10 I headed up the mountain. At the bottom gondola station remembered I hadn't started the ski tracks app on my phone. Did that and up the gondola I went. Going up the top lift, lift 10, showed how little snow there is at the moment. Last year the run under lift 10 was an ungroomed powder run, this year it's closed off with bare ground showing though.
I lapped the gondola a couple of times before heading down to the base. The run down from the top of lift 10 to the base, is long, and fun. Possibly because of the snow conditions, or maybe because of the visibility but the top of the mountain wasn't busy, most of the people there were down the bottom half. This makes the run down a bit of a slalom once you hit the beginner slopes. this was also the only place I crashed and burned. Turning to avoid a boarder that had just fallen over I caught my ski on a hard icy piece of snow and took a big tumble. Three days later the bruise on my chest is still sore.
After Rika's lesson was over we met up with Mami and James. While James was showing me how he could sled down the kids sled run Rika decided that instead of skiing with me for the afternoon she was going to go to the hotel pool with Mami and James. So after taking James sleding on the big sled run, and watching him eat an ice cream (I wasn't allowed to leave till it was finished) I headed off up the mountain again, and the others took the car back to the apartment to go for a swim.
I spent the rest of the afternoon alternatively lapping the gondola, and lifts 9 and 10. For once managed to time it right and got on lift 10 a couple of minutes before it closed. But this did mean that every other lift at the top was shutting, got down to base in time to go up lift 4 just before it shut, but that was it. By this time only lift 1 and 3 were open and the queues at each were too long for me.
Despite the promise of afternoon snow it never appeared, got a little bit of rain, but no snow. there were occasional breaks in the mist/fog so I was able to get a few nice photos.
Overall it was a nice day. the snow could have been better, actually it should have been much better given the time of year. The other thing about the day was how warm it was. I usually ski with three layers, two Uniqlo heat tech and one cotton, under a Colombia fleece jacket zipped into a Colombia outer shell. Today I had on only once inner layer, and the under arm vents in the outer shell open, and it was still warm.
Not much snow on the surronding hills
Looking back at lift 9 from the main run
The view forward, taken from same spot as previous photo
Checking out the steepest bit of the main run down
Wider view of previous photo
Top of lift 7
Is snow meant ot look like this, part of lift 7 in background
Exiting lift 8
Exiting lift 6, the closed mountain road can be seen in the middle of the photo.
This is the first year, in the three years I've been going to Kusatsu that I've seen the tar seal of parts of the closed road while going up the gondola. the lack of snow was also apparent went going up lift 6, what in previuos years I assumed was large piles of snow, turns out were very large rocks, there goes my plan for getting of the lift if it ever stopped by jumping into a big snow pile. Last year I was at Kusatsu the same weekend, and the year before, one weekend before, so for the same time of year the snow coverage has gotten worse each year,
Can't see much
There were brief periods during the day when it cleared a bit
Lift 9
Heading down under lift 9
This view from lift 9 shows two of the three ways the main run splits at the top. They all join up above the bottom gondola station. The bottom run in the photo avoids the steep section shown in photos above.
No snow covered tree photos for this report, none to be seen anywere.
Entrance to lift 6
Base from lift 1
another view of base from lift 1
Stats from Ski tracks (not started 10:30, I forgot)
Max speed 46.9km/h avg 12.9
Ski distance 34.6 km, ascent 23.9km
Ski vertical 4406m, ascent 4076
Max alitude 2177m, min 1274
12 runs
06:27:23 duration
Have we got any favourites, relatives, people we once bumped on the slopes that we should be rooting for?
Not sure of too many people in Australian team
Hope Chumpy can bring home the Gold and Of course Torah if she goes in Snowboarding
So I've been asked by my school to start a school winter sports club, primarily based around skiing and snowboarding, as I have over 10 years snowboarding experience and about 15 years. My coworker would be in charge of the skiing element, and I would be in charge of the snowboarding side of things.
I was wondering if anyone else on here has gone about a similar route in setting up a school winter sports club? Moreover, how about getting a license in teaching snowboarding in Japan? I think it would be useful but I have no ideas about how to get one, and moreover, if I could do it in an inside ski center, such as Snova in the Kawasaki area.
Hi All, you will notice first time poster.
Anyhow I am after advice regarding a hatching plan.
For years my wife has been badgering me for a New Year trip to Japan. Considering as her parents home is made of cardboard and has a stiff breeze blowing through it I have always responded unfavourably. We have been in March before and the house was f'ing freezing so why would I fly out of a perfectly decent summer to spend 3 weeks freezing my butt off in a house unsuitable for sane habitation.
Anyhow this dosn't seem to wash anymore so I have had to compromise and do a deal, "Okay but I get to go skiing for a week". And this is where you good people come in.
I am aware that the Christmas week leading up to New Year can be a bit a bit hit and miss snow and weather wise and you will all say 'come in Feb'. Well the only time I can take 3 weeks leave is July and Xmas time so I am stuck with 21st- 29th dec.
Next of course I will ask Where? and you will all respond 'Niseko' the snow will be better and you can hurl abuse at Australians all day and night. This is sound advice of course but with two major drawbacks. 1) it's not a simple Narita to Chitose and back, we also have to go to deepest darkest Kanagawa before and after the ski week so that is 4 Narita trips incl all our ski gear. 2) we own a car in Japan and having gone to that extravagant expense we feel duty bound to use it at every opportunity.
So looking at Central Honshu...
Now then, the car is a pile of crap, dosn't have snow tyres, is 2WD and in all likelihood dosn't have a working heater. So we need somewhere that even the least prepared idiot (me) can get to and from without ending up in some road side drain.
As Mentioned we are coming from Kanagawa so using the Chuo expressway as I don't fancy going through Yokohama Or Tokyo in the middle of the New Year migration. Thus Hakuba or Nozawa Onsen (unless anyone has a better idea) ?
The wife is a an occasional skier with all the daring of a Health and Safety inspector so will want to spend the day pottering around something wide and flat. I have been skiing since I was a nipper and am happy on and off piste so will want as much variety as I can get in a day whilst still being able to get back to have lunch with the missus and generally harass her for being happy mingling with the snow ploughers.
So finally getting to the point, and given all that has gone before... which is the better of the two options and why?
After being lucky enough to win a ticket in the Yuzawa Town giveaway, thank you SnowJapan and Yuzawa Town, I decided to use it at Kagura. A couple of reason for this choice, Kagura is big, has good snow, as a Prince resort kids are free, and it was one of the closest to Kusatsu where we were staying.
It's a couple of hours drive from Kusatsu to Kagura, so this meant an early start. In the end we didn't leave as early as planned, but after cleaning 4 cms of new snow off the car we eventually left at 7:45. Not sure whether the decision to remove the expressway option from the routes the Navi suggested was a good idea. It did mean a nice drive over some back roads, but it also took us though Naeba. There was a big traffic jam in Naeba as people queued to get into the carpark. Made me a bit worried for how busy Kagura was going to be.
We eventually made it too Tashiro Station and I was pleasantly surprised at how few cars were in the carpark. Mami exchanged the voucher for a ticket for me, and got the free kids ticket for Rika, and after getting ready we were off. Like yesterday at Kusatsu it was quite warm, so both of us only had on one layer under our jackets, but just in case I carried a couple of extra layers each in my backpack.
The days plan was to start at Tashiro, make our way though Kagura, before ending up at the Mitsumata ropeway for 5:00pm. The advantage of Mami not skiing was we didn't have to come back to Tashiro to collect the car.
We headed up the ropeway at 10:48, a bit late really. I don't get to ski often, so try to get to resorts for the first lift, and leave after the last lift closes. Starting the day at 11 seemed a bit odd. Once up the ropeway we skiied down the hill towards Tashiro pair lift 2. The runs in this area are mostly green runs, nice and wide and fairly gentle.
At the top the lift Rika decided she was hungry, so we headed down towards the restaurant by the Sancho station, the station for the Dragondola. Nothing there was to her liking so up we went so we could ski back down to the other restaurant in the area. We were both enjoying the runs, heading to the sides of the runs to ski in the powder, cutting back though some trees with ankle deep powder.
We stopped for curry and rice at Restaurant 2 on the course map. The restaurant was only half full, and restaurant 1 which we had a quick look at was only half full as well. During our Curry and Rice, (very nice I must add) the days plan changed when we got a call from Mami. Her and James had come up the Mitsumata ropeway and were making snowmen. Rika then decided we had to get there as soon as possible. So off we went.
Looking at the ski Tracks app showing our progress across the resort, it appears we up every lift except tashiro pair 5 which was closed, and tashiro high speed lift 1. Unfortunately the visibility deteriorated as we left the restaurant so we didn't get to see much as we made our way over to Misumata. It was a case of going up a lift, heading in the right direction ie left of the top of the lift facing downhill and hoping there was a lift at the bottom to take us back up.
Eventually we got to the top of the Kagura main slope, but still couldn't see a thing. We only knew it was the Kagura main slope as we could only head down and not across. By this time Rika was getting a bit annoyed with the whole idea of skiing, and took to sitting down asking if we were there yet. As this was my first time at Kagura I had no idea. When we got down the main slope to the top gondola station I actually though it was the top of the ropeway. Duh. But by saying it was just around the corner to each "are we there yet" we managed to make it to the bottom gondola station, up the pair lift to the top of the hill overlooking Mitsumata Station. Well at the time I thought it was the right place, as the visibility was now down to about 10 metres and I really had no idea where I was. Eventually a couple of buildings appeared in the fog and we heard Mami and James calling out to us.
It was now 3:30 and that was it for Rika, but I was determined to keep going. I kind of understood why the resort was so quiet, anyone with any sense would either have not come, or given up and gone home. While the snow was good, not being able to see anything made skiing hard.
I got a bit lost trying to make my way back to the gondola, went up the pair lift, but missed the sign to the gondola, so ended up back at the bottom. Going up the hooded quad let me get the map out to find were I had gone wrong, so I got to the gondola on the second try. As gondolas go this one seemed to be pretty slow. Definitely not as fast as the gondola at Kusatsu.
Getting of the gondola the visibility was great, the top half of the mountain was beautifully clear, while looking down the mountain all that could be seen was fog. By now it was getting late, but I still managed to get in two runs down the Kagura main slope before the lifts shut. I was the last but one on the lift heading up the second time and had the whole main slope to myself. (except for a couple of ski patrol who came down behind me)
There seemed to be a number of lifts and runs that were closed by the time I got back up to the Kagura area. I'm not sure if this was time related or conditions related.
Then it was a nice ski down the gondola course, passing a lot of boarders who were walking, it really is a very gentle slope. I'm not sure how they got all the way back, as I got to the pair lift by the gondola just before it closed. Heading down towards the ropeway I decided to ski down rather than take the ropeway. Turns out the run down was one of the best of the day. The run is narrow, steep and was a bit icy. But great fun, the corners had deep tracks in them were everyone had turned, so were banked up. Great fun riding on the banks.
Overall it was a great day. The snow the night before, and what fell during the day left a covering of powder on the slopes that made it a lot more pleasant to ski on than the hard icy snow I was on the day before. there was still a few icy patches, mainly on the steeper sections.
The resort is so big that even though I got to ski almost all of it in one day, I felt that I hadn't even scratched the surface of the place. I can see why it's the favorite of a number of people on SnowJapan. There are areas for everyone, and the trees looked fun. I say looked because with the visibility being so bad I had no way of working out how to get out, if I was silly enough to go in.
Once down the bottom it was a visit to the local onsen for Mami and Rika, (James didn't want to go so I stayed in the car with him), then the dreaded Kan-etsu. The drive home took 4 hours 40 minutes, thanks to some heavy traffic, Thats the same time as it took me to go from Totsuka to Osaka a couple of weeks ago, more than twice the distance.
The closest I got top the top area
Stats from Ski tracks
Max speed 37.9 km/h
Ski distance 27.1 km, ascent 17.0 km
Ski vertical 3394 m, ascent 3112 m
14 runs
06:01:47 duration
Nothing to do with over-priced American diners but rather, my plan to hit the slopes again this Friday. Looks like there might be a bit of fresh snow about, so I'm aiming at taking one of the cheap 'n' cheerful nightbuses from Shinjuku on Thursday night. The 6 million Yen question is, where should I go?? I'm not helping matters by wanting to go to a resort that I've never been to before, so looking at my trusty nightbus brochure, and in no particular order, I'm thinking of one of the following:-
Trying to line up a 2.5 day trip with Lady Peetan March 21(pm) to March 23/24.
Two options are Shiga koen, and Appi.
For those who have been to Appi, would you say it was worth it for this time of year? the hotel looks pretty nice. Is there anything there that we wouldn't find back closer to home?
Hi, probably I hit a rock and now there is a crack/crevice on the edge in the middle of the board( not at the nose nor the tail). But arent edges supposed to be ductile, so that even if I hit a rock, the edge should protrude out instead of cracking?
Finally getting around to putting a seasonal trip report out for me and Kamafuseyama. I'll putting up daily reports (as I go) and visits to the surrounding area. Lets get things started with a freshly minted review!
The most northern ski slope in Honshu, Mount Kamafuse is a minimalistic ski resort that doesn’t warrant a special pilgrimage to visit, but if you are local to the area, it can become an excellent daily escape from the business of life.
View from sea level
Lodge walking up from Parking Lot #2
Kamafuse is considered a family resort for the people of Mutsu but offers little in the ways of accomidation that you’d expect from larger resorts. Despite it’s small size, there are several chatlets for overnight stays and a few restaurants at base level to include a cafeteria in the lodge. Ski rentals are available across from the ticket office.
There are 5 parking lots staircased in the mountain on the road up, but the most I’ve ever seen full was the first two (furthest up) There is also parking available in front of the tennis court that is not in use during the winter.
Across from the second parking lot (again second from the top, and are numbered as such) there is a childrens sledding area. I have not explored this area in great depth because it is seperate from the rest of the mountain and I have no children but every day I go there is a good crowd of mothers and their children with plastic sleds. There is also what seems to be a seperate lodge beside it to rest, eat and use the bathroom.
After a short or long hike up (depending how far down you parked) you’ll find the ticket office on the left side of the road as a separate building from the lodge, but right next to it. A sign is to the right of the ticket office with prices and a map of the mountain.
Hiking up to the ticket office (seen on the left with red roof)
Many options are available, more than I have seen at other resorts. A 1 time ticket,, 2, 4 and 8 hour tickets are all available as well as a season pass of course.
Map of Mountain
The main lodge, called センターハウス (Center House) by the vinyls on the window faces the mountain and surprisingly offers everything except a water fountain. There is seating for 120 people as well as vending machines, lockers, bathrooms, changing rooms, and a fire place, which I have yet to see in use. The cafeteria is currently not in use this season according to a sign, but a frozen food vending machine was set in place in lieu of, offering gyoza, rice and a few other decently filling foods for about 300Y. Once making a choice, it spits it into the microwave and heats it up for you. Itadakimasu!
View from inside the lodge
In front of the lodge proper are racks for your gear and on a busy day they will be completely full and you may have to stick them in the snow along the fence.
Gear Rack
Once you’re ready to head up, the first lift (Technically the second lift according to the map) is about 20m from the equipment racks and sports a nifty automatic gate and conveyor that is slightly awkward to get used to.
Bottom Lift (Not the yellow restaurant in the background)
When you’re cleared to enter, the arms open and you slide down and onto the treadmill. It’ll run you forward until the next lift scoops you up.
The lift takes about 7 minutes to reach the top and offers a good preview of the first slopes layout
Video of first lift ride
On the far right, a snow park can be seen, although it leaves much to be desired. Sporting two box rails and two kickers, it manages to give those park rats a taste without traveling too far from home.
First Box Rail
Back of first box
Approaching Jump
Back of first jump
On the left closest to the lifts you’ll catch the chatlets and the old decomissioned ski jump. Would that it was still in use! A 40m ramp and huge landing pad, but it has vines and rust growing all over it and a big do not enter sign on it.
At the top of the first lift (Second) the, second lift (first) is a short 20m away and will take you to the top of the mountain. While the bottom lift, is a two seater, the top lift is a precarious one seat lift. If you brave the climb, its another 7 minutes until exit. If you have a long snowboard, be sure to pay attention to the lift posts as my 166cm came precariously close to hitting one.
View from first lift
Right side course (Groomed)
Left Side Course (Powder)
Second/Top Lift
As you go up, you’ll have a great view of the other two courses. The one to the left and closes to the lift remains ungroomed for the length of the season due to the natural contours of the mountain. This side I tend to call the powder side due to the great accumulation it gets. If you go down to far, you’ll miss the cut through to hit the lift again, but I have seen some skiers shoot to the bottom and trek back up. If you’re a snowboarder, I wouldn't risk it., and just be sure to dart over when you need to.
Video of Second Lift Ride
The right side course remains groomed and I would consider it the most difficult course based on the angle of the slope. You can stick to the side near the trees (going down the slope on the left) or dip into the bowl which is not groomed. Both come together at the bottom where you can hop back on the top lift or ride the rest of the way down the mountain.
At the exit of the top lift, there is no ramp, only a flat platform, so you need to be sure to get out of the way before the seat takes you out. There is plenty of room for a few people to strap in, then go down the shoot that puts you on the slope. The chute has little room for error, so you need to be careful or you’ll fall off the slope and it’s a pain to get yourself back over.
Strapping in at the Top Lift Exit
The best part of the entire resort in my opinion is the amazing view of Mutsu Bay. Because of the location (this is a southern facing slope) you get a beautiful scene of the bay and the "axe handle" of Shimokita. On a good clear day you can make out the wind turbines of Mutsu Yokohama as well as Cape Shiriyazaki. Tsugaru Strait is barely visible and I think I can see the shadow of Hokkaido as well. More often than not you'll be looking at the bay or will have it in your eyeline on the ride down. While not the same as a big mountain range, it's very relaxing and unique to the area
View from the top-Mutsu City on the Left
View from the top- Ominato Self Defense Harbor
The beginner slope, or main slope is very wide and there are many contours and ways down and even on a busy day it’s incredibly spacious, short of at the top where people mingle.
I've been visiting Kamafuse since opening week and although the weather across Japan hasn’t been great this winter, the base cover has been good and enjoy spending a few hours every other day here.
If you ever find yourself this far north in mainland Japan (highly unlikely!) and visit Shimokita Penninsula in the winter, then Kamafuse is a great (and the only!) snow resort to enjoy.
I was planning to hit Kagura again this sunday - looks like there's gonna be plenty of snow.
However, latest forecast is now calling for severe gale force winds from Saturday night through Sunday which will very likely result in the top lifts being closed. Kagura isn't worth going to for me without the top quad open.
Usually when the forecast was like this I'd go to Kandatsu - it was in a sheltered valley so didn't tend to be affected by strong winds - however, that place has now closed down.
I wonder if anyone has recommendations for resorts in the Yuzawa area which don't get affected much by strong winds?
As a lucky recipient of one of the Hanazono Powder Guides “First Tracks Backcountry Tour” giveaway, recently offered by Snow Japan, I herewith gratefully submit my review of the experience-
As a bit of preamble to provide some context and a background report on my trip in general, I was boarding with a group of friends in Niseko from February 10th ~ 19th, my second time visiting this region and once again staying in the Niseko Village area of the resort.
We landed on snow mid way through an unusually dry spell which had hit this part of Hokkaido. We experienced some spectacular bluebird days which although quite nice, unfortunately brought only minimal dustings of snow occasionally interrupting the generally clear skies – let’s face it if you want sunshine on your snow holiday then Niseko is probably the last place you would choose to go. This weather meant that the resort conditions were packed snow, with a well developed sun/wind crust formed on the exposed areas, moguls on the ungroomed runs, and any remaining powder amongst the trees fairly well shredded to bits by the lack of any recent fresh top-ups.
By day 4 we had an improvement in the snow situation - the avalanche report stating 20cm of fresh snow overnight at the base, the day brought sunny skies with only moderate wind. This was good, allowing the top lifts to open and although the wind had scoured a lot of the new snow off the exposed areas, there were some deeper pockets to be found in gullies and amongst the trees.
Knowing that my days on snow were limited, and after a taste of a little pow I had to make the call to HPG to book in my guided tour.
Weather watch can sometimes be like a kind of torture - short range forecasts were fairly ambiguous, often contradicting and/or changing their tune with regard to the upcoming conditions. It was clear that there was a low pressure system trying to set up for a decent dump, but just when the storm would hit and for how long the wind would shut down the upper mountain was not clear.
I took a punt and booked the tour for my second last day, crossing fingers and praying to snow gods that the storm would deliver the goods and then the weather would clear up so I would get to score lovely fresh deep powder and access to the peak gates.
Two days before my tour date the storm hit, generating blizzard conditions and delivering 20cm overnight. The strong wind meant that the top lifts closed at all resorts and Niseko Village & Annupuri Gondolas also shut down. Had some good riding down low, with the wind moving so much snow around that there were plenty of fresh tracks found in the more protected areas.
The day before my tour the relentless wind continued to batter the area savagely The blizzard conditions had shut down the top of the mountain once again, winds were strong enough that at both Annupuri and Hanazono only the very lowest lifts were able to open. Visibility was atrocious at times – to be able to go anywhere you really needed a guide dog who grew up on the mountain and also possessed some kind of high-tech sonar/radar gear and a GPS device - the lights came on at 1pm over at Annupuri, but they did absolutely nothing to improve the situation!! Still, the snow was quite good, and I was amping for my tour tomorrow morning.
On the morning of my tour the harsh weather had not abated. I called HPG, and was told that the tour was postponed due to wind closing the top lifts and avalanche hazard shutting all but the lowest gates. I was advised that it would be possible to do a tour in 2 days once the weather cleared, however as I would be flying out by then I asked if I could do the tour in whatever terrain was available in Hanazono on the day – even if that was only Strawberry / Blueberry fields. The tour operator Joe agreed that if I was happy with this, then it could be done – this meant that I was lucky enough to be the only guest going out that day with the guide
Joe jumped in his car and picked me up shortly after 7am, stopping to collect my guide Matt on the way over to Hanazono.
Once we arrived at Hanazono I was given a backpack with poles, shovel & avalanche beacon, shown how to switch into search mode and follow a signal should Matt be caught in a slide. Joe stressed that I should only attempt a rescue if it was safe to do so without further endangering myself – if in doubt I was advised to get ski patrol on the scene post-haste !! Although unlikely to be used due to the areas we were able to access, it was nevertheless reassuring to know we had the gear if needed.
Matt & Joe were in constant radio contact with ski patrol and the resort lifties, who updated them on the conditions, lifts and gates opening situation. The first tracks tour allows you to ride the lifts from as early as 7:30am, an hour before the general public - giving guaranteed freshies with no crowds competing for the goodness!!
With another 30cm fresh snow overnight to add to the previous 2 days of snowfall I was super pumped to ride whatever was on offer - Hanazono #3 was definitely not going to open due to wind, however they were working on getting Hanazono #2 open shortly which would open up a bit more of the mountain.
We got onto the base lift just before 8am as the staff were still loading chairs and did our first run through Strawberry Fields – It was wind scoured at the top but once we got amongst the trees the snow was fantastic - fresh lines all the way, knee to thigh deep and great powder conditions. Floating on the almost soundless cushion of powder snow after the abrasive noise of the crust on the ridge area was absolute bliss. This is exactly what started my addiction to Hokkaido snow riding – the effortless delight of weightless powder, coupled with experiencing nature - I love being out in the bush and it was particularly sublime to be there with only one other person riding in these conditions. Truly privileged.
Some pics ( with many apologies to all of the good photographers out there ! )
At the entrance to Strawberry Fields:
Upper Strawberry Fields:
Traversing across to find the sweet, sweet pow:
Lower Strawberries - Plenty of freshies !!!!
More superb runs in Strawberries then Blueberries followed, with fresh tracks each time. Once the Hanazono #2 lift opened we headed up for a run out of Gate 9. Immediately out the gate there was a short hike across a forested plateau through thigh to waist deep snow ( initially Matt broke a trail and I tried to follow him on my board using the poles provided – but as the poles were sinking all the way down in the fresh snow I was making slow progress so I elected to unstrap and slog it on foot ) Although somewhat exhausting (Note to self – more training is required for next season!!), the effort was well worth it as Matt had lead us to a drop in point at the start of a great run down a wide open slope of deep powder which resulted in yet more fresh tracks and face-shots-a-plenty before winding our way down through the trees and joining the piste again.
By now there were more punters at the bottom lift line, but Matt kept ahead of the pack by taking us through different tree runs, sometimes traversing further to get fresh lines and we rarely saw another skier. After we had gone through an area once, on the next run he would pull up at the top of a slope, discuss lines, show me our exit point and say “Plenty of room to move, some good deep snow over there – go for it mate” giving me miles of fresh untracked snow.
Although we were in generally mellow terrain due to not having access to the peak gates, it was great to have a guide to lead me through the tree runs, sniff out the best powder and easily find the piste again without hitting any flat spots resulting in unnecessary walking out, or coming upon any of the nasty surprises which can happen if you are in unfamiliar terrain ( EG cliff drops, open creeks or glide cracks ). On one run we pulled up to check out a potential line near the edge of a drop in to find a newly formed cornice which had partially collapsed, Matt who pulled up first spotted it and warned me to stay back, and chose another safer entry point away from the cornice area.
In all it was a great experience, I am very grateful to Snow Japan and Hanazono Powder Guides for giving me the chance to explore the great snow conditions with them.
I will definitely be booking with HPG next year and hoping that the weather co-operates and allows access to the upper mountain!
Hey SJers! I've been a little quiet on the boards these days because of my workload... hope you haven't missed me too much
I'm staring up at Mt. Fuji every day now with one thought running through my head! Anyone else considering going up there for a ski? There is still plenty of snow which will likely remain for some time now... If I can get organized enough (and get someone to come along with me!) I'm thinking about heading up there some time during Golden Week. Let me know if anyone else is interested!
Until now this season you have been able to check out the official snow depths at ski resorts and play around with sorting of that data in the Prefecture listings on the site.
You didn't know?! Well just to recap:
Sugoi! Look, there's all the ski jo in Nagano!
See the top of the columns? Click on any of those to sort the data by that field. Click on it again to sort the opposite way.
By doing this you can list up the resorts by snow depth, just like this: http://www.snowjapan...th&sortdir=DESC
Or indeed you can sort the resorts by town name or any of the other fields on that age.
Yes, I know, it's exciting stuff.
But now, and at last, we have our "all Japan" list ready.
Hurray!
The data is updated daily.
Please note the disclaimer at the bottom and use it for what it is.
If a resort is not listed, it means that there is no official snow depth data being supplied by that resort.
And we are still in the process of linking it up and making a few fine adjustments..... I just wanted to let you know here as soon as it was working.
As such I'm not putting it on our News page yet or on our ridiculously popular and fabulously thrilling Facebook page.
Date of visit: March 1, 2014. Early morning to 4pm
Snow Conditions: Early morning corduroy, turning quickly to crust, them melting to slush later. The groomers did their very best with what snow they've had, but it wasn't Top Dog quality by a long shot.
Ability Level: Improving/Intermediate, free run
Set-up: K2 Raygun161 (All Mountain Rocker), centered weight and 15/-13 angles (goofy), highbacks at 12.
~~~~~~~
I'll write a review proper if I can, but I'll just pop a few words and pictures here now.
Long story short, the resort itself is good, spacious, with a fun variety of runs and also off-piste paths. However, the snow is definitely sickly at the moment; the resort received a dusting at the end of the day, but I'm not sure it's sticking. Vegetation is starting to show. That said, on days where there is lots of pow, Takatsue can be great. I've been on a couple of pow days and it is beautiful. This year has been poor for snow. People are fewer than in other resorts, though. I prefer this, and had a good couple of runs on my own this morning.
Also, the lifts suck. As in, they tend to wipe people out frequently on the higher lifts because they go too fast or the ground isn't suitably cleared.
What I really loved were the top runs once the weather cleared up, and I could actually use my camera(phone) and the slush suited my stick more. As a relative newbie, riding a rocker on icy crusts when you can't break a carve is a pain. Literally. I just wish I could link the top runs with my favourite lower ones; flowing down a solid 5k run while being able to break into the trees and 180 off the banks would be amazing!
This is how bad the visibility was in the morning:
This is a similar area after grabbing food at 10:30..
More people came after the weather cleared, but they also went back in doors after it all went sidways
Last but not least, I couldn't spot any cheeses, but I did see a particular cheese plant... The fruit disappeared pretty quickly!
so why would I fly out of a perfectly decent summer to spend 3 weeks freezing my butt off in a house unsuitable for sane habitation.
