cram400

stellar pics. absolutely stellar.

Had a great season myself. Started the season late and ended it early as my work took me away from Japan, but got to enjoy the goods during the high season.. Niseko for 9 days, hitting both the backbowls and Shiribetsu-dake near Rusutsu, did BC rours at Goryu and Tsugaike in Hakuba, and hit Shiga Kogen and Tenjindaira after massive dumps on serveral occasions each. Maybe I will hit Gassan for a little spring/summer skiing if i can get back in time.

i miss the snow.. nice coverage for mid April.. i guess that's pretty normal for hokkaido..

nice pics! thanks for sharing. what are the snow depths at gassan now?? i heard a while back that during the winter it gets up to 10m and they have to wait until the spring for the some of the base to melt off in order to open the place..

Generally speaking the SB reception is crap. I was just there in early Feb and at the top of the mountain reception was non-existent. At middle part of the mountain (around the King Bell and Ace Hill) it's still non-existent. At the base of the mountain the reception is good in the Hirafu, Niseko Village and Annupuri areas. Hanazono reception is sketchy at best. Reception cuts in and out and is very unstable.

Bravo! So how accesible are the powder runs? Skiing/Riding the pow in between the monsters are permitted, yes?

looks a lot like last season..

top of Mt. Fuji.. only place in Japan that recorded temps below freezing today, i believe..

i think every dog in the greater Tokyo area went bonkers last night.. they were all thinking "why the hell is everything freakin' white?!"

nice one, TB.. glad you got to see the potential of course B.. when the conditions are right it can be pretty good up there.

that downhill course is called Tajirisawa.. there's a "A" course and a "B" course.. when the "B" course is open one can access (er.. by ducking ropes) some relatively steep tree runs and avoid the narrow, groomed "A" course.. there really isn't much going on on the "A" course.. pretty unevenful IMHO..

nice one.. it's always fun to see snow in places that typically don't get a cover of snow.

Dumping in the Komazawa area of Tokyo too.. it's coming down at a pretty serious pace right now.

Fantastic pics and thanks for sharing, TB. Bummer on the conditons, but after a nice dump this place will bring a smile to your face. I went twice last season and stuck out both times - super icy conditions. Might as well have gone to the ice skate rink. The next time you think about going, keep an eye out on the forecast and when you see snow forecated for the Niigata/Gunma area just go.

not sure about accuracy, but all I know is that the latest forecast for February (released on Friday, Jan 29) is indeed looking good for all areas from Hokkaido all the way to Gifu in Honshu.. High probability for below average temps and above average snowfall.. If this forecast holds true this will easily be the best season Japan as a whole has had in 4-5 seasons, me thinks..