[Winter 2009-2010]

the taisetsuzan range has a base now--

 

I was up on asahidake at the bottom of the ropeway just to hit the onsen and take a look around last week, about 10cm in the parking lots--

 

its going to be a killer year-

[Ski Movies Filmed in Japan (part 2)]

From the movie "Realtime"

 

this clip was all filmed on Asahidake- Hokkaido

 

[Skiing in japan late march-april ?]

in Hokkaido...

 

depends on what you want to ski-- Asahidake/ Kitataisetsu (an old ski hill in the middle of nowhere with one seater lifts.. cheap, and awesome if you jump off-piste (skiers right)) for some potential powder- Kurodake if you dig hiking--

 

other than that furano is still in full(ish) swing that time of year.

[Proud owners (or soon to be owners) of new gear]

 

66,900yen total ordering from the states-

[has anybody skied Vector Glide skis? im looking for an all mountain ski...]

this past season, for the first half I had been skiing on some head mojo60 177 skis-- they were good, but the lift wasnt what I wanted..

 

So I grabbed some year old Armada ANT skis- 191cm (one size)-- great lift, long, big skis.. and very, very fast. they are great on groomers, they get a lot of lift and control in the deep powder. due to their size, they dont do short turns, and handle terribly at slow speeds. but once they get up to speed they handle perfectly.. very precise.

 

I suppose the problem with them and me is that I am only 179cm tall, and light... these skis are real big, and very very fast. I am a good skiier, but not fantastic. these skis are a bit higher than my level-- but I mean, thats the best way to improve right?

 

coincidentally, at the end of this year on asahidake (theres still snow there!)--fantastic conditions, first run we were all racing for the pow, I picked up way too much speed in the trees, made a stop (just to slow down)-- the back side of my left ski just kept going, got a rather bad knee twist and a pop- took me out for the rest of the season, (that was 3-4 weeks ago) it still hurts a bit.

 

I should note that they come in multiple sizes this year (I think)

 

as for other skis, a buddy of mine who has 30 seasons under his belt swears by his Volkl Mantras-

 

I also skiied on some Armada JP's-- with their weird "elf shoe" camber-- those were a lot of fun... had I more cash I would grab some of those. fantastic lift and great control at all speeds.

[Just how bad was this season?]

yeahh for all the average days ive had this year.. I have had a few really really awesome days. cant complain all in all.

[Skier or snowboarder THE POLL]

skier..

[Just how bad was this season?]

yoo well its my first post. I live in Hokkaido, dead center near Asahikawa, at the foot of Asahidake. this has been my second season.

 

This year definitely lacked the snowfall and cold that last year had. Typically, we get a good base (ground-level) by mid december, and it snows every day until feb, then it gets reallly cold.

 

we didnt get a good base until christmas(ish)-- and we had a few days of rain through january, and only a few good storms. honestly last year, from december till febuary I only remember seeing the sun 3-4 times. this year it was sunny quite a bit.

 

that being said, it has been a late winter and its snowing right now, this time last year spring was in full swing. from the last week in febuary we probably doubled our snowfall (where I am) the local hill that I go to (Kamui) has closed, but Asahidake still has some awesome powder. Furano I havent been to this year, Kurodake is in the same boat as Asahidake, as is the Kita-Taisetsu area.

 

but anyway- I am spoiled living here so i shouldnt bitch.