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woah stolen jacket!, where are you skiing? ... id like to avoid the area.
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So far this year ive found about 3 gloves, goggles, a beanie, half a ski pole, and a ski boot.
Check at the local police station? at least report it for insurance claim
Have heard stories from friends where they go up as the snow melts in spring and pick up all the sacrifices. They find avi beacons, phones, mp3 players and even skis.
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Weiss is privately operated by NAC. No other cat tours go there.
Ive never done it either, but from videos ive seen and stories from people who have it looks like some pretty awesome terrain.
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Marry a Japanese national and have a kid. You'll get one quick enough.
lol, is that all.
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Yep I am on a Permanent residence visa, which never expires and never needs renuing!!!!
i want one!
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looks like we got a pretty big dump last night
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was cool to see you out on wed Mike, pity new goggles were driving me insane!
following day (an extra 40cm on top) was one of my best days ever at Niseko, look forward to hearing your report.
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yeah i went past again about 5 this arvo, and it hasnt moved, still completely covered in snow.
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when i walked past this morning the cat's engine was running. perhaps they had their first customers today. tho i havent been past since to see if its actually moved.
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yay the snow is back.
but uh oh. must have been quite a bit of snow last night, i cant open my door
dont panic if you see a dude jumping out a window with some skis
"Snowcats are having difficulties to groom the higher slopes due to too deep snow" lol
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ordered my board from rakuten.
my latest skis came from rakuten also
more expensive than from us, but when you take into account shipping it was cheaper.
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afaik, that's about an average price for cat skiing in niseko
tho other companies have less numbers (eg: max 5 instead of 12) and more than one guide & photographer
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Rusutsu or Niseko on 12/18-19, undecided but if anyone wants to meet up give a shout
Niseko 1/14-18, 21-25, 28-2/1, with almost certainly a day or two or three at Rusutsu during those stays.
gimmie a yell if you like. always looking for people to ski with. (im based in hirafu again this year)
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looks freaking awesome
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Edit: on the plus side, I just took a peek at the webcams, looks like another blue day, I hope for you there's still plenty of untracked to be had.
after yesterday my raccoon tan is coming along nicely
was very busy in the morning with what seemed like every local and tourist out to make the most of the blue sky day. in the more accessible areas the 20cm ish of fresh snow was tracked super quickly into a choppy leg smasher
by midday it was almost empty, was rare to see another person on a run.
but even at 2pm i was still getting some fresh turns in the more out of the way areas. the snow had started to show a bit of a crunch tho from the sun beating down on it all day.
after only 3cm last night, the sun, and tracked out stuff yesterday, i was too lazy to head out today. interested to hear how it was tho.
2 blue skys in 2 days. how rare!
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I think half the reason the have to be strict about it is that if one person ducks, everyone else sees their tracks and follows suit and assumes that it is safe - next thing you know, youve gotten someone else killed
in addition to the areas mike mentioned,
Niseko Hirafu - Super Ridge
level 5 - 7 (often instant pass pulled)
Ive seen many ski patrollers hanging around on the other side of the ridge, and even hiding in the trees, waiting and pulling passes as people come back in bounds. Seen one or two season passes pulled too. Such a risk for only 4 extra turns, lol. the reason is because there is a cliff there, and it avalanches regularly i assume (no trees is a dead giveaway, pun intended)
Niseko - the Rope between gate 4 and 5 (above hanazono 3 quad) and between 2 and 1.
Level 5 or 6 (they call ahead to other ski patrol waiting at the bottom)
Is funny seeing people duck the rope 5 mins before the gates open. then all they do is ski 1m next to the rope, where everyone can see them. may as well wave it in patrollers face. idiots deserve losing pass.
generally otherwise ive not had troubles in Niseko, because most other ropes can be skied around above or below, so I dont have to "duck" (but still ducking in the spirit of the rope). they just seem to be there to keep the noobs out from getting stuck.
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ive used that Nikwax stuff a couple of times.
no real gauge on the effectiveness. but to give you a base line, im only just now thinking about replacing my 4 year (100 days a year) old ski pants, because theyve somehow shrunk while sitting in the cupboard (hehe).
i dont know at all, but perhaps the damage has already been done by washing with normal detergents?
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I tried on about 10 pair of boots before getting my most recent.
the sizes were all over the place, some larger, some smaller, some for skinner feet, some for wider feet. specific brands didnt seem to have any pattern.
i think its all about what fits you personally. everyone has different feet. so nobody can give you advice on a make/model or size.
like Chriselle said, careful about loose fitting boots. the liners will pack out over time (especially so the first couple of days) making them even looser. so go tight.
also, when your feet are warm in the shop theyre actually bigger (cause theyre full of blood). so you should go even tighter.
and if you havent been skiing in a while, your feet are bigger still.
i think boots are the most important part of a kit. if you have to choose between expensive boots vs cheap boots and new skis youve been eyeing off, definitely go the boots.
but i thought id add that ski boots can be 1/2 to 1/3 the price in usa. its crazy how expensive they can be in japan.
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saw superheros of stoke today
not the greatest msp film, it felt very generic, but maybe just because it was trying to cover the history of msp films and history of extreme skiing.
but still worth seeing.
had some cool segments still, a pretty cool longer than usual chick segment, and some deep powder shots from Japan.
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There was one in Niseko.....think it was Hanazono.......when I was there a couple of years ago
Hanazono have had one every year for the last couple of years
but theres almost no advertising, so who knows when its actually available
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As light as the new snow was and as enticing making turns today was I sat this one out hoping that by tomorrow the rain crust / ice layer will be well covered and hidden.
Seemed like 15-20cm on top of an icy crunch from yesterday, but found if I was fast and light enough I wouldn't punch through.
For a while I had private access to the whole rinkan valley, until they opened the triple.
The snow meant my tracks were gone after 2-3 runs and the bad vis this morning seemed to help keep it quiet, but by lunch the runs started to get very tracked out and choppy.
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Woah, looks like you're having heaps of troubles with the hidden 'features'
Didnt get a chance to try your fatter pair to see if the better float makes a difference?
I didnt have much troubles with the sasa last year, but I wasnt cutting into the trees this early either. I've been skiing on 105mm tho.
Ive got some skis with 86. Considering the rain damage maybe i should give them a go instead tomorrow.
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wtf, here i have been paying for day tickets like a sucker!
Marker Duke bindings
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
ski tuning type shops will fit your bindings for you for a few $. so if you can find them somewhere else you shouldn't have to send your skis away
i got my markers last year from websportsjp via rakuten,