Setting out from my house in Gunma at 5:30 in the morning I wasn't sure exactly what to expect both from the drive and the conditions when I arrived at Ryuoo. I decided to take the toll free course up the 145 towards Kusatsu but with the 292 obviously being closed in winter headed over the pass towards Ueda then through Sugadaira and finally down through Suzaka and finally to Ryuoo. The drive was beautiful. Mt. Asama having been hit by the fresh snow looked like a gigantic pile of whipped cream. The views from Suzaka of Mt Myoko and the alps where also amazing and had me thinking "I could live here".
Looking at the weather forecast and seeing the weather in Gunma I wasn’t sure what to expect for snow conditions. Fresh snow had fallen on Friday but on Thursday heavy rains had fallen, destroying what was left of the previous weeks snow fall. As we approached the base of Ryuoo I started to have some hope. Things were looking fluffy! I new there would be an ice layer but would there be enough snow on top of it? It turned out to be much better than I was expecting The sky area which is above the ropeway was reporting 50 cm of fresh snow!
During my previous trip to Ryuoo I stayed for the most part in the sky area but riding down from the ropeway at the end of the day turned out to be my most interesting run by far. My plan was to spend the day riding up and down the ropeway from as many angles as possible.
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The ropeway tends to be uncomfortably packed but on my first trip up I ended up by the window and was able to scope out the scenery a bit. My first ride down I went straight for the course I had enjoyed my previous trip the descending b course. Many riders were going over to to the course looking at it saying "yabai" and then walking away which after Muikabochi`s post gave me a laugh.
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The course was already a bit mangled up top so I went straight for the trees on the left of the course. They were stunning to board through and the snow was feeling pretty good! If I didn't turn too sharply I wasn't digging into the ice layer at all.
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My first run I pretty much rode beside the descending b course all the way down. The top trees mentioned earlier aren't that steep but as the trail turns that changes. On the steeps I encountered the problem of ice boulders that had formed from the previous days rain. They definitely tripped my up a few times. I also was digging into the ice layer much harder in the steeps but despite the minor difficulties was still having a great time! You can make out much of my run in the picture below.
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After coming out into the "Valley Area" I decided to see if I could catch the next car up the ropeway. They are every 20 minutes so missing one slows things down. Not being overly interested in hitting jumps I burned down the groomers and came to the ropeway as it was loading. I ended up being one of the last people on but made it One advantage of being the last person on is you end up by the window.
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I also got this shot of where courses b and e merge from the ropeway.
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The next run I was planning to hit the other side of the ropeway using course c but this area was closed until 12:30 so I went back for another go at course b. This time I dropped into the trees before the turn in the course. Another fun run but I noticed I was enjoying the less steep areas maybe slightly more than the steeps due to the conditions. On the third and fourth run I followed the ridge line beside course b even farther and found new lines to hit on the steeps.
After this I moved to the c course on the other side of the ropeway. My first run I dropped into the trees soon after starting the course. The top was amazing! I didn't really bottom out at all despite the steepness. After this I inadvertently ended up under the line for the ropeway. This area is a nice run but looked ready to slide at any moment, I even ended up having to hop a little glide crack. This was not the fun I was looking for so I rode back in to the trees and towards course b.
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My second run on the "e" side of the ropeway I decided to go down the ridge line after course e turns and check out that area. The traverse was beautiful with no bottoming out and nice frosty trees but I started to lose speed at the wrong time and turned into an area that didn't look the best for descending into. It was very steep and I saw some big holes. Being alone was starting to feel like a very bad idea. I took it slow and made it down but it was more of a slow careful adventure than good riding. Below this there were also many of the previously mentioned ice boulders which made the whole ride down a workout. This turned out to be the only run where I was not able to catch the next ropeway car. If I go back to Ryuoo I would prefer to ride with other people.
My third run I dropped into the trees just before the turn in the trail and then went back into the trees after crossing course e. The top was great but the bottom was more ice boulders.
After riding the ropeway back up I decided to spend a little time in the "Sky Area". This is a great place for beginners but had me pretty bored after one run. I did try some other angles riding down but after descending from the ropeway the whole area just didn't seem that fun to ride. though it was pretty![:)]()
Highly recommend this area to beginners! great place to learn.
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After this I decided to take some pictures. The trees were lookin nice![;)]()
These were the kind of trees I was riding through on many of my ridge line traverses.
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After this I went for one more run using course e. It turned out to be a good one! I went into the trees about half way between the beginning of the course and the big turn and rode down to where courses b and e come together. This photo from the valley area shows the trees I rode to the left of the ropreway.
![Posted Image]()
Overall a great day of riding at Ryuoo!
Looking at the weather forecast and seeing the weather in Gunma I wasn’t sure what to expect for snow conditions. Fresh snow had fallen on Friday but on Thursday heavy rains had fallen, destroying what was left of the previous weeks snow fall. As we approached the base of Ryuoo I started to have some hope. Things were looking fluffy! I new there would be an ice layer but would there be enough snow on top of it? It turned out to be much better than I was expecting The sky area which is above the ropeway was reporting 50 cm of fresh snow!
During my previous trip to Ryuoo I stayed for the most part in the sky area but riding down from the ropeway at the end of the day turned out to be my most interesting run by far. My plan was to spend the day riding up and down the ropeway from as many angles as possible.
The ropeway tends to be uncomfortably packed but on my first trip up I ended up by the window and was able to scope out the scenery a bit. My first ride down I went straight for the course I had enjoyed my previous trip the descending b course. Many riders were going over to to the course looking at it saying "yabai" and then walking away which after Muikabochi`s post gave me a laugh.
The course was already a bit mangled up top so I went straight for the trees on the left of the course. They were stunning to board through and the snow was feeling pretty good! If I didn't turn too sharply I wasn't digging into the ice layer at all.
My first run I pretty much rode beside the descending b course all the way down. The top trees mentioned earlier aren't that steep but as the trail turns that changes. On the steeps I encountered the problem of ice boulders that had formed from the previous days rain. They definitely tripped my up a few times. I also was digging into the ice layer much harder in the steeps but despite the minor difficulties was still having a great time! You can make out much of my run in the picture below.
After coming out into the "Valley Area" I decided to see if I could catch the next car up the ropeway. They are every 20 minutes so missing one slows things down. Not being overly interested in hitting jumps I burned down the groomers and came to the ropeway as it was loading. I ended up being one of the last people on but made it One advantage of being the last person on is you end up by the window.
I also got this shot of where courses b and e merge from the ropeway.
The next run I was planning to hit the other side of the ropeway using course c but this area was closed until 12:30 so I went back for another go at course b. This time I dropped into the trees before the turn in the course. Another fun run but I noticed I was enjoying the less steep areas maybe slightly more than the steeps due to the conditions. On the third and fourth run I followed the ridge line beside course b even farther and found new lines to hit on the steeps.
After this I moved to the c course on the other side of the ropeway. My first run I dropped into the trees soon after starting the course. The top was amazing! I didn't really bottom out at all despite the steepness. After this I inadvertently ended up under the line for the ropeway. This area is a nice run but looked ready to slide at any moment, I even ended up having to hop a little glide crack. This was not the fun I was looking for so I rode back in to the trees and towards course b.
My second run on the "e" side of the ropeway I decided to go down the ridge line after course e turns and check out that area. The traverse was beautiful with no bottoming out and nice frosty trees but I started to lose speed at the wrong time and turned into an area that didn't look the best for descending into. It was very steep and I saw some big holes. Being alone was starting to feel like a very bad idea. I took it slow and made it down but it was more of a slow careful adventure than good riding. Below this there were also many of the previously mentioned ice boulders which made the whole ride down a workout. This turned out to be the only run where I was not able to catch the next ropeway car. If I go back to Ryuoo I would prefer to ride with other people.
My third run I dropped into the trees just before the turn in the trail and then went back into the trees after crossing course e. The top was great but the bottom was more ice boulders.
After riding the ropeway back up I decided to spend a little time in the "Sky Area". This is a great place for beginners but had me pretty bored after one run. I did try some other angles riding down but after descending from the ropeway the whole area just didn't seem that fun to ride. though it was pretty
Highly recommend this area to beginners! great place to learn.
After this I decided to take some pictures. The trees were lookin nice
These were the kind of trees I was riding through on many of my ridge line traverses.
After this I went for one more run using course e. It turned out to be a good one! I went into the trees about half way between the beginning of the course and the big turn and rode down to where courses b and e come together. This photo from the valley area shows the trees I rode to the left of the ropreway.
Overall a great day of riding at Ryuoo!