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Yeah there were a TON of cars in the parking lot today, I was kind of shocked, never seen it this crowded on a weekday - the hill itself was OK though. BAD news re: park rats - this year there are a bunch of rails set up in that flat space above the Kagura Gondola top station. Meh. A bunch of photos here - http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/gallery/album/218-kagura-dec-4-2012/ You can see how little cover there is on the bottom slopes.

With nothing better to do while sitting on the Shink, here's a quick update on Kagura today. Overall quite happy for first turns on Dec 4th! Raining at Echigo Yuzawa and Mitsumata bottom station in the AM as forecast. The Kagura slopes up top also got a bit of rain overnight, so any untouched "fresh" was an unrideable sticky goop (think, wallpaper glue) - awful! Spent the morning bombing groomers wondering where the "mod snow" from the forecast went. The snow came around 11am, first some sugary type grains bordering on hail, then nice fat flakes. It started dumping properly, so I hit u

Sciclone, glad your happy with your contour. Just speaking from personal experience from riding with two friends who own them. "Did you get that??" "Oh.. Phook".. Gets old real quick Will have to do some tests with the gopro. Also keep in mind you probably have your cell phone on at the same time (I carry mine in the jacket's inside pocket). Probably has a much stronger EMI signature and it's never been a problem, including a full day using beacons in the field for AST1 course in Hakkoda

Good info re: search mode. In the heat of the moment, it may be hard to remember to turn the camera off, especially while fumbling with the gopro buttons on your head That being said, I like the gopro over the contour for a very simple reason. The contour lens is recessed slightly in the body so taking faceshots tends to plug up the lens with snow. My style conscious contour-wearing friends have this problem constantly. Faceshots are the whole reason i ride pow so for me this is a deal-breaker. The gopro housing has a rounded lens and I mostly done have this problem, although depending on

Thanks ippy! Where do you get your weather stats? I normally just look at the resort info page here on SJ but the long-term forecast doesn't seem very reliable. Just wondering if there's any better source

Awesome thanks guys! Maybe a quick squirt on Tuesday...

Does anyone know if Kagura is open on the weekdays yet? Or is it a weekend-only thing until official opening on the 8th? And is the bus from the station running already? Sorry couldn't quite piece it together from the nihongo page

＾That looks intense!

Yep taking the far right drainage from the peak will strand you on top of some cliffs. The terrain under the cable car is SICK though, and well protected snow due to trees and steep slope.. Again, need to know where to go. Agree with everyone else, neither place is beginner friendly - and why is this thread in the avvy and BC section?

Aiming for 30, though realistically more like 20? (40 last year... living in Tokyo...) Including a week in - ALASKA!!

Jeremy Jones' "Further" was quite nice.

What a dreadful auto-translation That's pretty crazy. Glad it sounds like the guy was well prepared (tent), though spending a couple nights up there can't be too warm... It says he's exhausted and can't get back down himself, but I wonder how much of that is just altitude sickness screwing with your head.. Last time I climbed it (in summer), I felt like death at the top, but by the time I got back to the bottom I had all my energy back. Pls post up if you hear any more!! -D

Saw it last night at Trailwalker finish line. It was nighttime but could tell it's still quite white, nice! Fresh snow is not great thou, let's give it a bit more time to stabilize then..

Anyone still up to do this? Getting into mid-late May so conditions should be alot more stable?

From the point of view of someone chasing steep and deep in the backcountry... - Niseko had somewhat better snow, although not as much as last year. Some sunny weather allowed us to venture into new terrain. Very crowded and the easy access stuff gets tracked out quick. - Hakuba has BIG mountains (for Japan..); the scenery is gorgeous and it was a great feeling just being out in the mountains. The snow isn't quite as good as either Niseko or elsewhere in Nagano/Niigata (it's on the "wrong" side of the range i.e. in the rainshadow). However, several places this season scored higher tha

Oooh snap, that's the other Fuji, haha! Climbed that this year, shoulda known.... Now it all makes sense. But where's the 30m snow wall???

Nice pic! Haven't ben paying attention, where is that really? That kicker looks like you could get some great action shots with the right camera angle

Anyone planning to head out to Tateyama in the next few weeks? I've never been and really want to check it out, but all my normal riding crew has already checked out for the season to focus on summerly things like golf (heathens!) If anyone wants to join up for a trip would be awesome! Cheers, -D

I really want to do it, but I know I don't have the BC or mountain experience necessary to lead the charge on something like this. If we can get a good group together, I'm definitely there though! My most useful function at the moment is probably as cheerleader - Leeeeet's Fuujii! Added a couple more shots from that day. Anyone care to venture a guess at what these features are in the snow? The big lines on the right could probably be fracture lines from previous slides, but they don't look like normal slab crown fractures.. On the left side though, those crater like things look even mo

Let's Fuji!

Shit, second guy almost flipped it.. Yeah highmarkers are really just asking for it. Seen too many youtube vids with dude falling back down a chute with the sled tumbling right behind him Also c.f. the story of the sledder caught in a slide and rescued, only to get back on and get killed in a second slide on the same slope later the same day.

Rode out for a quick recon mission around Fuji today. All the free access roads are still closed, including the rindos on the north side so looks like the toll road is the only option until GW.. Hopefully this gives an indication of the snow conditions at the moment to someone who's more familiar with the mountain. It was about 8*C at the base (1000m) so probably quite chilly still up top. Weather was perfectly clear though, with very little wind. No sign of plumes at the top either, but a big banner cloud over the East face developed pretty quickly in the afternoon and prevented me from

Nice! Sitting out this weekend but I'd be up for 10/11 if you go again Cheers -D

Is that the Huiten peak on Tavan Bogd? Sounds crazy! Altai is a beautiful area. If you need a Russian speaking guide let me know ;-) I was born in Kazakhstan and still have family that live out in the eastern part. My "never gonna happen" goal for next year is to continue the exponential day-count of the past few years: 2009 = 4 2010 = 8 2011 = 23 (cut short by 3/11) 2012 = 39 (trying to make 46.. let's see) 2013 = 80+? Yeah right.. On the must-do shortlist: - Kurodake, Asahidake - Some touring off the backside of Hakuba - Nozawa, Myoko, Kagura (staples) Also really want

If it's still open on July 24th I'll go up for a birthday ride, haha!