fritzonline

I love Madarao, but I guess I was spoiled. We got stuck there by the big blizzard in mid-Feb, and I had the resort virtually to myself, with ~80cm of untouched snow on the Powder Theatre/Powder Wave II section. It was a bit hairy breaking trail along the top ridge (Adventure Aisle?) in a blizzard, having never been along there in clear conditions, but I persevered and it was definitely worth it. I can imagine the lifts getting pretty busy, though. It takes forever to get back up 12 & 13 even without waiting in line. Come on Hokuriku Shinkansen!

Definitely worth it, and even if it's not open, it's not too long of a climb from the top of the Pair Lift No. 3 to the top of Pair Lift No.5, and there will be even fewer people along with you. I've even considered skinning it when that top lift is open and busy; anything is preferable to waiting. Not to hijack the thread (by which I mean I'm absolutely hijacking the thread) but does anyone have any advice on skiing to the right or left of the Gondola trail? I've always returned to the piste above the top Gondola station, but I have seen people dropping off to the right of the Giant cours

If your budget is $170, then I suggest you rent. You won't find anything better than rental skis/boards at that price, and he could even try out a few different skis over the course of your trip. When you have a little more time, and a slightly higher budget, then use the end-of-season clearances to find some suitable skis, and get your board shipped to you. I'd suggest $400 at the absolute minimum for decent skis, but I picked up some great skis for my wife at 60% off which brought them down to $290.

How long exactly is "a couple of weeks"? With the markups in Japan, the clearance sales end up around US retail prices. If you want a decent pair of skis on that budget, you'd probably do better finding online clearance sales, and factoring in the shipping time and Aus import duties. Sites like Evo usually have great deals that end up cheaper for me, even with import duties. With that said, I second the notion that you won't find a decent pair for 18000. As for second hand skis, I'm ultra-conservative as I come from a climbing background, but I usually steer clear of any safety equipme

Great stuff. I've not been confident enough to head back there before, and always just stuck to runs directly off the piste, like dropping down directly to the right or left of the connecting course to Tashiro from the top of the main Kagura run. After seeing your pics (and some scary Colorado backcountry last year) I'll definitely skin up next time, and even lend my boarder buddies some snowshoes if they want to come along.

I've seen a few boarders stuck head-first while others ride merrily by. Last week we were stopped on the lift and saw someone bail off the side of the run directly below us. Despite (or maybe due to) us shouting at the 10 or so boarders who rode directly past the guy for 10 mins, no-one even slowed down to check how he was. By the time we reached him a good 15 mins later, he had pulled himself out with his head above the snow, but he was completely gassed. After reading this news on the train home on Tuesday, my buddy and I have tightened up our protocols a little, and I like the idea of w

Here's a fairly cheap place in Kamata. 5700 yen per night for normal reservation, with a bunch of different specials for much cheaper. The site is only in Japanese, but if you call the number they should be able to find someone to take a reservation in English. Hotel Sunline Kamata

The flights through Haneda tend to be cheaper because many are in the undesirable late night/early morning slots. When arriving you can usually make it into town, with the last train to Tokyo station leaving just after midnight, but early departures usually require catching the last train out, which reaches Haneda around 0100. The international terminal is fairly comfortable at night, with padded chairs and a 24 hour coffee shop. If you can't stand sleeping in the airport, the airport hotels are a little more expensive than the cheaper places in town, but when you balance the savings on th

Kagura was very empty on Tuesday. At times we had the Dynamic and Challenge courses to ourselves, with about 80cm of fresh powder to be had even in the late afternoon. I've heard rumours through Japanese skiiers of possible contamination on the eastern slopes (especially Gunma). I highly doubt the veracity of these rumours, but if they're around, it might affect where people choose to ski.