black diamond

Despite what you may have (or haven't) heard, there are many more great resorts here in Hokkaido. Niseko is just the starting point. This short vid of Hokkaido(containing no niseko or furano footage) will make your mouth water.

Actually Iiyamadude, I read all those articles when they came out (so I do know a little) but thanks for the link. I was referring to the differences (forward thinking) like the fact that they had a foriegner doing these write ups and promo way back in 2004 and the fact that they were trying to open and control the backcountry and explained things. There are a lot of resorts that are "way out there" that are still around. Tomamu is a perfect example. It has gone through a couple of ownership changes but the new marketting seems to be working. If Tomamu can somehow do it, why couldn't Arai be v

Good terrain, stoopid amounts of snow, forward thinking managament. Why was it so much more to operate than other resorts LM? A helipad (standard at most international resorts) and underground tunnels don't cost money once they are built. Heated plaza? do you mean the ground? That place seemed to be thinking outside the Jbox but it was tough to get customers for them...I guess a few hundred more crap resorts need to shut down first so that the good ones will have a fighting chance.

I had the pleasure of skiing with this guy last winter. There IS such a thing as natural talent (well, growing up on a ski resort probably helps too). All J stuff was shot in the Niseko area. BTW he will be featured in the new MSP movie IN DEEP (same Japan footage) Here's what he said about skiing in Japan. "I had fun times last season, skied some deep powder and travel all over the world, Russia, Italy, USA, Switzerland, France, Alaska but my favourite trip was the one to your place in Japan. Epic snow, lot's of different runs, good food and such a nice hospitaIity.. I would lo

An short "artsy" oldie that you've probably not seen.

I usually try to avoid "getting into" these forums because they can consume you, but you guys have me all flustered and I must say I'm actually enjoying it. GN, your previous example is perfect. 11 people dying in the summer due to poor choices being made by whoever was in charge. Are they going to shut down Mountain travel because of this accident? In most countries I would laugh at that the thought, but in Japan you need to actually consider it. You know as well as I do that Japan loves to "protect" the people. As ridiculous as it is, off piste skiing is actually against the rules at most

Because it's uncontrolled, you do have that choice GN, I just personally think it's a bad choice. Because it's uncontrolled I think you should be prepared. Being prepared means that you have knowledge and having konwledge means that you're wearing avie gear when you go out of bounds. If it's a controlled area, meaning checked and stabilized by patrol then yeah you "should" be fine. If you've been here or at any mountain six years you will know about wind loading snow on slopes. Slopes over 30 degrees especially with rolling features are prone to avalanche, no matter how close or far they are

Sorry thursday I forgot, avalanches don't happen in Niseko. "Avalanche strikes Niseko backcountry, man injured. Feb 20, 2009‎. He was trapped 70cm beneath the slide, and was found by the guides via beacon after about five minutes trapped under the snow."

Boyz, c'mon now, let's play nice. RD even if the stats are true, you should feel that it is your responsibility to gear up and set an example and perhaps have the chance to help someone else. What if a freak avalanche did happen like the one in Whistler a few years back that occured on an in bounds blue run mid mountain. What if you had a chance to save a person but you couldn't because you weren't prepared? Wearing a pack and beacon when stepping out of bounds should not be a debatable question, it's like wearing a seatbelt. The more you wear it it, the less you notice it and honestly y

I have to give Niseko Village and even my ol' buddy Kamiharako-san credit where credit is due. They fought the long hard battle for this. I'm still skeptical however, this whole scenario was supposed to happen last season, and the season before that and the seasn before that. The gov't could and have in the past shut the plan down at the last minute, a pretty tactical (some would say cowardly) move to save yourself a lot of greif. I think they have been reluctant thus far due to them (gov't officials) not skiing, not caring about skiing, seeing no personal benefit in helping the cause and more

Bottom line is that Hokkaido has a longer, colder and more reliable season, perhaps the most reliable in the world. Been here 11 years and have NEVER had a bad year. Powder can usually be ridden from top to bottom 3-4 months of the year. I don't think it's a marketting thing to tell it like it is. Not sure about the 15 meter/year fact that we like to spout freely however, but for myself. I have never seen better consistent conditions this crowd free and that's enough for me. Hakuba is great too, definitely more "extreme" everything including the steep backcountry, the weather patterns and e

Not sure if people are keeping up with the snow reports from Kurodake (rinyu kanko) up in Taisetsu national park but they already have a 220cm base! That must be the most snow at any resort in the world right now. We dug a pit at the top of the mountain and it measured 350cms. There is good coverage to the bottom of the mountain and the cold temps are keeping it powdery. Are there any other places out there that have a big base already?

Hello Dawn, Don't buy a new board! Used boards in Japan are like new. Try a couple of different boards. Boots board and bindings will run you between 30,000yen-60,000yen for the whole set! Or you can go down to Sapporo first before niseko, spend a day shopping and fit yourself out with last years model new stuff for around 80,000yen-100,000yen If you are going to buy one thing new it should be boots. Don't worry about the price or color (what I'm saying is that you don't need the newest gimmick boots), worry about the fit and warmth factor cause you'll be wearing them all day

Sorry CB, have to disagree with you a bit. Some areas in Niseko are closed simply because they've never been opened or managed properly. Case in point, Mizu no sawa. The management have done testing and blasting for three years and it's the local gov't who are blocking this area and others from opening simply because they don't care and don't need the hassle. I'm not even sure that the local "avie group" is even trying to help speed up the process. Someone did die there many years ago but please don't tell me that these closed areas are any more dangerous than the areas that they do open (besi

Not sure if anyone has seen the new Reasons video by Poorboyz Productions yet...probably not as they are very late in distribution. They won best video at the IF3 video awards in Montreal and the opening powder scene with JP Auclair and Chris Benchetler (all filmed in the Niseko area) is said to be one of the best ever filmed segments of Japan. A definite must for the ski freak this season.

Just went up to Kurodake (Sounkyo) for the opening weekend. 100cms base and super soft powder! Amazing mid season conditions on top of the mountain. Not a bad way to start the season... but then again that's how we start most seasons in Hokkaido. Even rode to the bottom of the ropeway! (but was super sketchy on the last 300 meters). If you've never been you have to give it a try, but if you like crowds, give it a miss because you may find yourself the only one there! Kurodake is still a realtively unknown resort located in Japan's largest national park. If you go, you'll need full a