MagSeven

Yeah, Kurodake certainly isn't about the narrow pistes under the chair. Buy a one ride lift ticket and hike to the top!

Might see you up there Andy!

No worries chaps, hope you get some soon yourselves!

Hiked a small hill near Mikasa in central Hokkaido. Tons of snow but a little heavy. Not bad for November 17th though! Sorry the photos are kinda crap, I was solo and only had my cellphone camera. The up Cloud broke up giving some nice views Ready for the down

Already happened. Twas today, and twas a powder day!

Probably looks better this morning Andy? We got about 10cm overnight.

26km run this afternoon

Was tempted to head down this afternoon, but decided against it. I'm pretty desperate to ski, but not quite that desperate. A narrow strip of manmade ice and long lift lines, nah, I'll wait a couple of weeks for some real snow!

Great photos, Hokkaido is looking beautiful (although not too snowy) at the moment! Not a chance for Kurodake to open this weekend, very little snow up there and nothing forecast this week. Booooo!

I'd maybe advise against the final weekend as it gets so busy. It's a real fight to get anywhere. As mentioned, it's definitely worth seeing in the evening.

If it's a Saturday or Sunday then I'd be up for it.

10km run after work this avo and off to rugby training now for 2 hours.

There are few training hills dotted around in Hokkaido, although I've no idea if they have programs for anyone to try/take a short course. I did a week of skijump in France via the ESF when I was 11 or 12. But I agree with Mitch, natural airs and park jumps are much more fun!

There is snow up in Daisetsuzan now and has been for a few weeks. A couple of weeks ago there was a cold snap that brought snow at city level in and around Asahikawa. Temps aren't low enough yet for any real accumulation, but I think more should fall early next week with another cold spell coming. Of course nothing skiable yet, but Kurodake and Nakayama Touge could potentially be starting up within a month.

Yeah, the full marathon. Have done a half before, but this is the first time doing the big one. It does amuse me that in Japan, anything longer than a jog around the block is called a marathon!

I received an email yesterday confirming my place in the Tokyo Marathon in February. Any other SJers taking part? Pretty inconsiderate holding a marathon bang in the middle of ski season. Training through the winter is going to be interesting. Skiing counts as training right?

Asahikawa isn't a bad place to base yourself for a week. You could have a couple of days in Furano, Kamui, Asahidake or Kurodake. Furano is very strict on ducking ropes, but at the others, you can ride anywhere. The nightlife in the city is decent too, plenty of great places to eat and drink, and a couple of ok nightclubs. If you hire a car, the ski jo's are all within about an hours drive.

Teine's gonna be my main stomping ground. Will have the K Winter pass so I'll also be down at Rusutsu regularly. But I'll road tripping round to other hills throughout the winter.

Yeah, I think it was the same time last year (almost to the day) that Asahidake got its first dusting. Lets hope winter arrives sooner this year!

Snow fell up on Asahidake in Hokkaido last night!

Going for 100 days this winter! Will be starting up at Kurodake from as soon as there's snow. Main part of the season will be around the Sapporo and Asahikawa area, with a few trips down to Niseko, Rusutsu etc. Then finishing off up in Taisetsuzan for as long as the snow lasts. Hopefully a few stupid but fun patch skiing missions as late as July!

I got 61. Should have been more. Will be more next winter.

Heading down to Kyoto, Osaka and Nara for Golden Week. Hong Kong in July. Will be getting out on the road bike alot, starting this weekend. Then once it gets warmer, lots of hiking and camping. All the while saving for a decent touring setup, so I can get out on skis again as soon as there's enough snow next winter!

On the electricity thing, alot of the large neon signs in Sapporo, particularly in Susukino have not been lit since the earthquake. I'm sure that has to have something to do with conserving power. (Of course this is really minor!)

Yep, one side is missing, so its kind of like a big deep amphitheatre! A few pics: Hiking the ridge. Made it most of the way to the top, but the winds were just too strong once we got up close to the summit, so we didn't quite make it all the way: Down in the crater Next to one of the vents