Metabo Oyaji

Pics from Metabo Oyaji and Squirmy Kid's trip to Gran Deco yesterday. Are we there yet? Somewhere on the Ban-Etsu: View from the gondola: Mr. and Mrs. Santa. Nice couple, handed out candy in the lift line. Didn't ask permission to post on web, so Mrs. Santa's face is obscured: Lower Mint Course. I like this course for the trees -- reminds me of skiing as a kid. Squirmy Kid hitting the powder at the edges of the piste: Background: #1 Quad lift and Center 33 Course, which is the 33-degree mogully centerpiece of the base area. Proud

Looks nice. Going on the to-do list.

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Alts Bandai is a cool hill as well Haven't been there yet, but it's definitely on my to-do list.

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Originally Posted By: Metabo Oyaji Hitting Gran Deco tomorrow. The first day this season that they will be fully open. Nice....I went there 2 years ago, really liked it. Very compact resort, nice runs at the top and when we were there it was quiet up until lunchtime, so we had the runs pretty much to ourselves!! Had a great day today. Will upload some pics later; snowed heavily all day, so no panoramas. And I see it has shown up on the Webcam page now. Thanks!

Originally Posted By: boardbaka fukushima isn`t it ? Yup, Ura-Bandai. I quite like it. More importantly, my kid loves it.

Hitting Gran Deco tomorrow. The first day this season that they will be fully open.

Looks fun! Only, if it is holding back one of those technicolor tailings ponds, I might worry about the healthiness of playing in the snow around there...

Drive 2.5-3 freaking hours to nearest ski area. Quite ready to go by then.

How in the heck do you get that much contrast?

If you are in Nagano, you might try googling "JTB23ã‚¹ã‚­ãƒ¼å ´å…±é€šã‚·ãƒ¼ã‚ºãƒ³åˆ¸". 11 of the 23 ski areas it covers are in Nagano-ken.

Originally Posted By: Go Native Some Niseko dump porn from around the village yesterday. Pillow!

5 days until my 3rd outing this season, and the first on natural snow. In the meantime, soaking in the white-out on the webcams.

Originally Posted By: pontins Will be going here courtesy of the Giveaway on this site. Many thanks! Will be going back courtesy of the Giveaway. Many thanks for the ticket, and stickers!

Fumpf. It was fumpfing on the webcams today.

Hit the Gran Deco opening this past weekend. Thighs pleasantly sore.

Originally Posted By: klingon So can I presume then that you are fully informed, read-up and knowledgeable on each and every subject out there? Nope.

Originally Posted By: klingon But why would someone who is, say, an accountant (insert any other job/profession that has nothing to do with science) have the need for much detailed science and scienfific methods knowledge? So they can make informed public policy decisions in the voting booth?

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Do skiers wear leashes? Used to, back in the day. They seem to have been replaced by spring-loaded brakes that automatically deploy when a boot is released from the binding. Those ski leashes were dangerous, actually -- don't really want a spinning ski tethered to you in a wipe-out.

Originally Posted By: SantaCruz I've done a rope pull and tbars before. Rope poll looks semi-similar to the nut-cracker but you just hold on to the rope. Of course it gives a good jerk when you grab on. And it shredded a pair of my gloves as well, lame. The one I've used was really short too, I don't think they're used for medium distances even. When I was growing up, someone would occasionally set up a tractor or engine at the top of a small hill, and make a rope tow for us kids to use. Rope didn't go that fast, but was very heavy to try to hold up off the ground. But hey, it beat

Thanks for all the nice comments. Originally Posted By: BagOfCrisps Nice Metabo! Do you live nearby or is it a hike to get there for you? Bit of a hike, but still possible as a day trip.

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver The only 1 seater lift with a safety bar I have seen is in Scotland at Glenshee.....this thing is REALLY antiquated. The single chair lift at Mad River Glen in the US also has a safety bar. (Another antique classic.)

Originally Posted By: grungy-gonads Get any pics to share Mr Oyaji? Let's see if I can make this work. [Ok, got it.] Bear in mind that these were taken over a week ago, and there is more snow coverage now. Cobalt Course. (Is that Diamond Head in the background???) Looking up at confluence of Rose, Violet and Cobalt Courses. That moment of anticipation: Top of Violet Course. Moon Over Marunuma.

Originally Posted By: The Skiing Lawyer TDo any one man lifts have any lind of safety bar? I can't recall seeing one. Never seen one in Japan, now that you mention it. (Not that I've been that many places.) Maybe it's the rule that stemik mentioned -- I guess that means only high-speed lifts are required to have bars? Not much demand for high-speed singles, I suppose.

There is a report on the Nikkei web site that the highway tolls will revert to normal from 12/26 through 12/31, to reduce traffic jams and keep highway shipping flowing. On the flip side, the 1000 yen tolls will apply from Jan. 1st through the 5th, including the weekdays of the 4th and 5th. Argh. That throws a wrench into my post-Christmas ski trip plans...

Yuuna, while skilled, is a bit too studied for my tastes. For the home team, I used to prefer Ando Miki over Asada Mao, but that has reversed lately. Kind of enjoy rooting for the second-tier kids now, such as Nakano Yukari. For boys, Oda Nobunari and Takahashi Daisuke are fun to watch.