anything

Heretic! he must mean that its not a good place to start, because its the last place you will ever ski once you've experienced mt granview, you'll never want to go anywhere else.

wait, whats going on i thought everyone here actually loves niseko, but posts all negative stuff about it to reduce the numbers going there.

were you thinking something naughty? olden style skiing had no carve and no edges, and you could barely turn and so had no breaks! you ski with this huge pole you stick it between your legs and almost sit down on it (while holding it up with arms) and it drags on the ground and acts as a break. i think they also use it on either side to help turn too. random google image:

as part of the 50year Niseko celebration last year they had some old style skiing happening on some weekends. the whole deal. even with the pole between the legs / etc. those dudes really seemed to know their stuff. friend of mine was getting around on custom made powder skis at the same time, so turned a lot of heads when people thought he was nuking through 1foot deep pow on old skis they were designed for the trip and each one looks different, because the real wood top sheet looks different dont have a pic handy, but stole a similar image from their website to give you an idea

those ultra top racers have specialized staff that manage their wax even minutes before a race. so if theyre doing it it must make some sort of difference. i thought id also note that that report also seems to be centered around cross country skiing. for us non-pro plebs its obviously not as important, but I still only wax my skis once, at most twice a year. mostly because i cant be bothered. but also cause in powder it doesnt matter. and if im not skiing powder, id rather be doing something else .... (insert wax joke here?) but i do definitely notice a difference after a fresh wax

skiiers like flow bindings also, they make a mixed group much easier to get around with. non flow binding instructions: step 1: stop in the middle of the exit ramp, blocking the path. step 2: repeatedly slam your board down making an ultra loud thump and digging a divot in the hard packed snow. step 3: plomp down on your ass and sigh a little, how hard your life is. relax for a second and look around at the scenery. step 4: realize people are waiting for you. start to clear every last grain of snow out of your bindings, even tho it doesnt matter if there is some in there step 5: final

yeah gopro3 has wifi (connect to it with your phone) and a remote wifi is really cool imo. it means you can see what its recording, and line it up properly. no more 2 hours of footage looking at the sky type problems. alternatively, you could carry a mirror? lol

I think Crisps posted because its probably an indication of things to come.

Surely you mean out into the backcountry or at the very least sidecountry? Not just the off-piste? Or should we all have gear if we venture just a few metres into the trees on the side of a piste run? Because this 'tourist muppet' who lived in Niseko for 7 years skied off-piste without any gear at all in Niseko all the time lol yeah, meant the sidecountry and back country (ie, out the gates) hehe i was just imagining the nannies going soo far that some future aussie ski resort will have laser detectors (like in tennis) that track if you go off the groomer so they can clip ur pass

i heard that some aussie resorts are requiring helmets now or they wont <something something> (i zoned out). i think wont let you take lessons maybe? in any case, the adjustable and removable vents / etc in my helmet make it my go to head keeperer warmer upperer for any day skiing. plus i dont want to be associated in any way with those tourist muppets heading out into off piste with no gear at all. my insurance may not cover a fall out there. but a helmet has definitely meant the difference between "haha i hope you got that triple forward flip stack on camera" vs "helicopter pleas

<- quickly adds some queensland parts to his profile *edit, wrote it backwards!

there are several companies (eg NGS) that run day trip busses from niseko welcome center to rusutsu, and also do the reverse i think too? the price often includes lift ticket off the top of my head NGS cost 6800.

ive never tried the points pass, my impression was that its for day trippers who do one or two runs and call it a day. eg, a 12 trip pass will only last 3 runs. the lesser houly tickets are just half day and one day tickets, but the 30 and 50 hour passes will probably last you a lot more than your 8 days (50 hour pass is plenty for 2-3 weeks) the leftover time is not meant to be transferable ... oh, you can pay by credit card / etc, but theyll get angry if you dont bring 1000yen cash deposit for each lift ticket (unless theyve changed it). theres a 'plus' atm in town now. you wi

I was pretty pissed when I heard there was no discount, but it looks like its still cheaper in the end anyway. My 'budget' from last year says that it was 152,000 with a 30% discount if you ordered before August 2011 (106,400) and 15% for October 2011 (129,200) This year it is 105,000, so we'll still save a little in the end.

sorry, my bad. i was stuck on the edit screen for a while with some sort of forum maintenance.

once youre on the bus its only 5 mins or so busses start at 8:20, but probably 8:30 by the time it gets to you. sometimes on weekends it might be full and just drive by! grand hirafu runs 'early' busses on powder days, shortly after 8:00 i think? but seems inconsistent. theres also a hanazono bus that runs even earlier too. i think the busses run until 9pm. the walk back to there could take a while. there is a footpath and i often see people walking back at night, but it can be 1/2 foot deep snow and they have to walk on the road (isnt very busy late at night). unless you want to quad

i haven't stayed there, nor even heard about it. but i found little bits of info, and wasn't sure what you had found already. it looks like they mostly do small shared (sometimes private) rooms, and that the idea is that it's a share-house, and to intermingle with whoever else is staying there. from the photos, and videos i found on youtube, it looks like this happens quite often. which is pretty cool actually. is street view looking right at it. https://maps.google....,24.05,,0,-2.95 its hard to tell without the mountains of snow that im used to, but im 99% sure this is where th

wonder if its possible to do a table of resorts with ticks and crosses for each 'feature'

lol, those things are funny. all its gonna do is cause issues with idiots trying to get the highest top speed. focus on the numbers, instead of that tree you're heading straight for. integrate a web browser, and one could update their farmville mid-turn

just another quick one, Rusutsu, Hokkaido, for a beginner; Pros: lots of wide, pretty long, excellent quality easy to intermediate groomer runs. very few flat runouts at the bottom of a run (can think of only 1). lots of open tree powder runs for someone to cut their teeth on. almost same distance and just as easy access as niseko (english speaking, busses from airport, etc). ive never waited in a lift line. Cons: ​ Accommodation seems expensive (i think its all owned by the mountain). not much of a town / village. I haven't seen any night life at all. Best for: (level range): Beginner

the Niseko United Area, Hokkaido, for a beginner; Pros: english speaking and signage. the 4 resorts combined mean many different learning areas, each with some pros n cons (some are even free). hundreds (well it seems like that) of different ski schools to choose from, with lots of other beginners. lots of kids ski schools and facilities too. powder skiing on edge of groomers (some beginners take to it very well). rare lift queues. hourly passes. Cons: the groomers can get busy on the weekends. the range of beginner ski runs can run out and become repeatative. the steeper green an

i think you probably get the idea already, light yellow for the blizzard and foggy days. but you might want some darker colors for the rare sunny days hiking the peak. but thought i'd add that i really love my zeal sppx goggles (i own two pair now) they go from almost clear yellow to dark pink, depending on the amount of UV. photochromatic i think the term is. take about 5-10mins to change. i wear them every day (and night) without problems, while others complain of viz issues. sometimes while driving for extra fashionability points. i am definitely too lazy to change a pair of goggl

somehow my ski boots & bindings have the ability to eject snowboarders from both of their bindings (flow) in a single close pass. has happened twice now. but if i go toe side i'm going to miss out on all the fun

ill be based in Niseko for the whole season, dec -> end of march be great to meet up with some SJ'ers

thought I'd add my $0.02, that my main suggestion would be don't be afraid. I ski Japan every year (usually Niseko), and I have troubles getting friends to come visit (free accom!) because theyre afraid they might get lost in the airport or train or something. to give you an idea, in the airports the signs are even in bold font english, the japanese gets the small font underneath. worst case, all you need is a smile ive skiied in 8 (i think) different countries, and so far the japanese are the nicest politest people - so much so that i feel that many tourists (aussies, brits) definitely ne