ozsnowbum

i hate them ever since i tried a splitboard. they can be good in certain situations though. having said that, in my experience yes there is a huge difference between good and bad snowshoes. i was on a set of borrowed cheap ones vs my mates msr ones and i was struggling to even climb in his tracks they were so bad. we swapped and i broke trail and he lagged behind. they were fine on the flat but hopeless climbing. what are you going to use them for? id seriously suggest putting that money towards a split set up, no-one ever regrets this.

Hakuba 47: 17 Hakuba Cortina: 12 (+) Hakuba Goryu: 19 (-)

Hakuba 47: 17 Hakuba Cortina: 12 (+) Hakuba Goryu: 19 (-)

Hakuba 47 - 17 Hakuba Cortina - 10 + Hakuba Goryu - 16 - Happo-one - 5

well im only comparing my experience with the backpacker hostels i found and im a seasoned backpacker. it was about $50 a night in niseko for pretty average dorms and $25 in hakuba in pretty good dorms and then even cheaper at nozawa onsen. maybe you're right about other types of accommodation though but theres no question niseko is way more expensive for hostels. lift tickets is obvious. and then travel costs are slightly more again.

ah yep, ive spent countless hours going through all of them. the problem is i cant read japanese and google translate makes a mess of it.

when i take into consideration that niseko is quite a bit more expensive, its not even close, hakuba hands down.

Hakuba 47 - 13 Hakuba Cortina - 14(+) Hakuba Goryu - 13 (-) Happo-one - 6

very interesting report on keichozan and maple hill. definitely interested in aizu area if you have the time, thanks a lot!

yeh cheers for that tubby, its out of the way so i wont bother with it.

Hakuba 47 - 12 Hakuba Cortina - 14 (+) Hakuba Goryu - 11 (-) Happo-one - 9

thanks for akazurayama metabo. i just found where that is, appreciate that. would you be kind enough to point out a few more you know of? i know of another two azuma and captain coast

true

snowboarder who wishes he could ski

think of it from the owners perspective. just gone broke, forced to close resort, likely owe tons in debt. spend tons more money dismantling lifts for no reason? or just gtfo and leave. japan has a big urbex scene, they even have a name for it. HAIKYO. look it up, theres lots of sites dedicated to some incredible places. Its probably the best country in the world to get into it being so much safer etc.

Hakuba 47 - 11 Hakuba Cortina - 11 Hakuba Goryu - 11 (-) Happo-one - 6 Tsugaike Kogen - 6 (+)

i think sapporo teine has a rotting lift too that ive seen photos of.

for me the skin up is just as enjoyable, if not more than riding down. i think id spend at least 2 days here, squatting overnight in the abandoned buildings would be an amazing experience.

Hakuba 47 - 12 Hakuba Cortina - 9 Hakuba Goryu - 10(-) Hakuba Iwatake - 2 Happo-one - 7 Tsugaike Kogen - 5 (+)

that's encouraging that those guys got such a clear day on February! i thought it wouldnt be climbable due to weather. so is oshidomari trail from the north or west?

you can get beacon, shovel, probe packs for $300-350 brand new on ebay which is pretty reasonable. you'd want to make sure with buying a 2nd hand beacon to not get a super old one also.

from google maps, it doesnt look too difficult to get there, and id just walk from as close as i can get.

has anyone here climbed this? is it tech? it looks so beautiful, id love to have a go some day. im guessing sometime around april would be ideal? there looks to be 2 routes, north and west approaches?

actually its yuki-ita. so maybe that makes more sense.

no dont be. it would be pretty dumb for most people to go up there