teikiatsulover

Thanks for the link to the mountain Muikabochi. It's always hard to tell from maps, but it looks like it's a smaller resort? But considering it's right off the highway, and not a one hour meander through the mountain roads after getting off, I can see why it would get crowded. Love the names on the other side!! GunGun ZokuZoku GuiGui!

Only 10 minutes to the slopes? Very jealous. I wish I lived that close! Need to move I think. How crowded does Maiko get? Is it big? For 500 yen, you can't go wrong can you? That is an incredible price for a few hours of skiing.

Thanks Rider69. Don't use a gopro, radio, or a gps but do carry a cell phone. Maybe more people need to be practicing with full gear when doing beacon practice and actually see the effects. Are places that do avie courses here in Japan dealing with those issues? Since we are on the topic of beacons and avies, I wonder how many people here still use an analog beacon? I used to but now use a digital and have probably used a digital one the last 7-8 years. Regardless of how good you are with a beacon, when it comes down to seconds and minutes when saving somebody's life, I would not want to b

That was cool to go through and see the transformation of the telephone booth! Is there a reason why it's famous? Love to watch the snow increasing. More snow pics please!

Glad to hear that!

Glad we skipped Cortina today then! Saw some cracks out there today. Nasty rain layer topped with so much snow had made stability poor. We decided against venturing into the alpine and enjoyed the trees. Skied 3 different resorts the last 3 days and they have all been excellent, but watch out for patrol they are taking passes.

Rappies in Hakuba can do it for you.

Happy New Years from Hakuba! I hope everybody has been having a great season! Things are finally good here again after that nasty rain we had. Didnt like that at all, but it has been dumping the last day. It was deep out there! Enjoy your turns and have a great season!

Kansaiash, yes, they were. It was such a beautiful day in Hakuba! Now we have nothing but rain Thanks Seemore, I hope to take some more pics soon - enough of the rain!

Tubby, that sounds great! I have never stayed there at that hotel, but I know it. There is a Ryokan just down the road that my missus and I prefer because it's cheaper! Thank you for posting that information

I found, while having two fantastic days at Cortina, that they have a daycare center for 1000yen/hour! Not bad! That allows my wife and I to ski together while the little one stays nice and warm. With all this snow we are getting at the moment, I think another Cortina day is a must tomorrow! Thank you Sanjo. That is a good point. It also helps us decide things easier if we know which resorts have this. I want to ski powder, my wife wants to ski with me some, and the little one enjoys a nice warm room (for now).

Thank you SJ-David

Hi! My family and I are up in Hakuba over the winter holidays so I thought I would post a few pictures from our vacation. My wife's favorite My favorite: Sorry I dont know how to use everything so well. I will try to figure it all out!

WOW!!! I think I need to get up to Maiko someday!!!

Wow! Great giveaways! I think I need to post more before I can enter? I will try to post some pictures, too. But I need to figure out how to upload them first. Give me a second to figure all of this stuff out.

I have. Besides Natasha Richardson, Sonny Bono and Michael Kennedy, when I was growing up (before anyone even thought to use helmets when skiing), there was always someone who died every year on the local slopes from a head injury, including an elementary school kid who smashed his head open on a lift tower. I've had a couple of close calls due to not wearing a helmet, both at work and while skiing, including one trip to the hospital and one time I didn't go but probably should have, so I'm convinced a helmet makes sense for me. I'm just not naturally lucky enough not to need one. And a

Metabo, I have never heard of anybody dying from a head injury, nor becoming a vegetable from only smacking their head skiing on the gelende or off piste. I am sure it has happened, but have never heard of it. Friends have torn ACLs, broken wrists/arms/ribs, The only major head injuries that I have heard of are people hitting trees when taken down by an avie, and then even helmets dont often prevent head injuries because of the severity of the situation. I think that it would be silly to take all things into consideration and force people to wear helmets when skiing because they might smack th

SJ-David, thank you anyways! Sounds like there is so much work being put into these forums! Otsukaresama desu! I am sure you're very busy so don't worry with answering this now, but will some information like that be available in the future? I am sure there are other parents who might be interested in such information. Metabo Oyaji, since we live in Kansai, thinking primarily of Hakuba, Nozawa, Myoko as that's about as far as we can realistically get for a weekend trip. If I am going to drive 3 plus hours or so to Gifu, I'd much rather tack on an extra few and have better terrain and snow

I love this photo! Your pictures are amazing!! Surely it's the camera! I love taking shots of scenery, too, but mine pale in comparison Good reason to practice more. Thank you for sharing these! I hope to be able to post something like this some day

Hi everybody. I tried a search for kids and resorts, but the topics seemed to deal with skiing rather than places for kids to hang out where it is nice and warm for them. My missus and I have a little girl who is just over one years old, and we would like to be able to go skiing together, but would need a baby sitter. Have any of you seen anything like that at resorts? If so, would you mind sharing? At the very least, a place for her to play while we alternate skiing would be the minimum we would need. Maybe they have some kid rooms inside some of those big hotels at resorts, but I just can't

Mikepow, those pics are outstanding!! Wow! I wish I was the one in them!!

Hi Ippy, always enjoyed your essays on the forums Heading up to the slopes soon eh! Have fun!!

I found that starting the ski season in good shape helps lessen muscle pain tremendously! Otherwise, onsen, stretching, and copious amounts of alcohol usually work.

Great video Magseven

I always wear a helmet. Mainly because when I am riding the gondola I can put my goggles up on my helmet and they don't fog up. I have always liked that aspect about helmets. Also, I find it to be warmer than just a beanie, but that is just me. Probably the last reason why I wear a helmet is because you can punch through tree branches easier with it than without - I would much rather have my helmet smacked by the branch, which has happened more times than I could ever count, than my head. I think the whole argument about them being safer is a bit flawed. Look at most injuries people get w