Metabo Oyaji
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Posts posted by Metabo Oyaji
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Cheese Tara checking out the Family Course at Grandee Hatoriko, Fukushima.
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I have heard of signing one's name in yellow in the snow before, but never seen an actual photo.
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Originally Posted By: gareth_oausupposedly drinking American beer is like making love in a canoe
its f^^king close to water
In reference to pie-eater's picture, bear in mind that Budweiser is a) not American, and
not beer.
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Nice. I think the kid's hooked.
Nice colors here:
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I guess I can do with or without poles for generic schussing, though there is some comfort feeling from tucking them under the armpits. Also very handy to have them when standing in a sloped lift line (to avoid plowing into the person in front).
In practice, I end up carrying two sets of poles rather often, whenever the kid decides to go freehand.
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Oh, and cheese, of course.
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Mostly gloves, hat and other stuff for the kid to put on and take off frequently during the day. Plus Pocari Sweat, sunscreen, band-aids, hokensho and digicam. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, candy for energy boosts as needed.
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Those are insane bargains, for them in position to take advantage.
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Yes, Kan-Etsu to Numata IC, then 120 from there.
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Originally Posted By: i like sproutsI live 20 minutes to the south of Nikko and hoping to get out on the slopes this winter in the area and as far as my car will take me for day trips.
Good location. You have a pretty wide day-trip range, from Gunma and southern Niigata to Fukushima, at least?
I'll be in your neighborhood this weekend, checking out Grandee Hatoriko and possibly Hunter Mountain. Also passed through on the way to Marunuma a little over a month ago. (And am now in the middle of planning the next trip to Marunuma (courtesy of SJ) from the Numata side, since the Konsei Touge is now closed.)
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Originally Posted By: grungy-gonadsYou sound like a veteran fan, Metabo!
What can I say? I know when I'm not worthy:
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Originally Posted By: stemik
Where are my cars?
This looks like something out of Star Wars. -
Not for lack of effort on Kobayashi Sachiko's part. She really outdid herself this year, standing in the palms of a giant statue of herself! Masterful. Mikawa Ken-ichi was no competition this year.
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Add me to the list that is glad to hear of new places. (Not that I have been to that many myself.)
Googling around, it looks like this was a ski area that went out of business and has just come back from the dead? Hope they can make a go of it this time -- gotta root for the underdog!
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That's a danger-loving cheese.
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Originally Posted By: thursdayHave you got a huge crash helmet?
Yes, it's for my belly.
Quote:that sticker is 10cm x 10cm.
Actually, the sticker sheet I got had one large one and two smaller ones on it. That's one of the smaller ones. -
Looks like a beautiful Christmas morning.
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Merry Christmas, Cheeseman:
String cheese at Gran Deco.
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Thanks for comments, all.
MB: Oops, forgot to link to Cheeseman's thread. Thanks for the reminder. Will rectify.
Muika: I would not call it a large resort. Reasonably deep (~3 km?), but not very wide, though that is disguised a bit by the way the runs snake around and through each other. The treed runs are mostly in the top 1/3 of the vertical. Fantastic views from the top of the #3 quad if you get a clear day, by the way.
Pezby: You'll have to ask the site administrators. My stickers came as an extra when I won a giveaway ticket.
Joshnii: Don't worry, I seem to eat and drink enough when not skiing to maintain my figure with ease.
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Have a fun and safe trip, MB and Seemore.
Grandee Hatoriko, Fukushima 2010.1.9-10
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Checked out Grandee Hatoriko over the weekend of Jan. 9-10 with the kid. Had low expectations at first, but ended up having an outstanding weekend there. This was partly due to having chosen a hotel/ski plan using their affiliated hotel near the Shirakawa interchange, chosen for ease of access to Hunter Mtn. the second day (I had brought some Hunter tickets that were purchased pre-season, but we ended up going back to Hatoriko the second day instead), and this hotel turned out to be a private luxury golf club! Very surprising for the price, but a verrry nice surprise.
The ski area itself turned out to have enough interesting features and courses to keep the kid thoroughly entertained for two days, and clamoring to go back for more. Expert skiers would be bored, but as an intermediate and beginner family resort, it turned out to be something of a hidden gem; being located just beyond the Tokyoite crowd traps of Hunter Mtn. and Mt. Jeans, it was surprisingly uncrowded, with hardly any lift lines.
It snowed much of the time, and was fairly windy and cold at times, especially at the top of the high-speed quad (which is unhooded). Much less windy around the pair lifts and associated courses, which were better shielded by trees.
Family Course from Pair Lift #3:
High Speed Quad from #3 Rest House cafeteria:
Top of High Speed Quad:
Nanchatte Cross -- one of the kid's favorite spots:
No Entry, observed in the breach:
Wavy section underneath Pair Lift #1 -- another favorite of the kid:
Near top of Pair Lift #1:
Hollywood Course, a pleasant wooded cruiser:
Boarder Valley. Hard to tell from this picture, but the course becomes basically a giant, serpentine natural half-pipe, especially lower down below where this was taken. Tremendous fun for skiers, too:
Family Course: