hutch
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Posts posted by hutch
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I have stayed in the Log Kanon....decent place with a great large room that sleeps about 6?
It's on the SJG Niseko accom section.
Communal kitchen to do a cook up too. About a 5 min walk to the Alpen lift
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Montoya
the place to stay on the mt is
the Hakkouda Mt Lodge : Hakkouda Sansoo...
a single night there starts are 10,000 per person and includes two AMAZING homecooked meals....dinner and breakfast (which alone would got for about 4,000 yen together)
They can provide you with info on how to get from Aomori eki to the ropeway by bus:
check out their website: http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~h-sansou/bimi.html
Also check out the info on site: http://www.skijapanguide.com/2002/resorts/demo.php?resid=86
FYI I am putting the finishing touches on a feature article on the Hakkouda Ropeway area.... due out next Monday on SJG.
peacethruPOW
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You can find email access (about 500yen/hour) in the Niseko Adventure Centre....in JoJo's (the restaurant there)...great nachos and burgers...plus the store and indoor climbing wall
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no
not a guide.
just love the mountain and the powder lifestyle it provides
done most of the backcountry routes in the northern Hakkodas.....7 main peaks in the northern range with two mt cabins
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Danz
Hakkoda..... looks like a feature article I'll be writing on the Hakkoda Ropeway Powder Mecca will be out on Feb 11th.
It'll be pretty in-depth.
In March I'll be writing one on the backcountry.... about the guide club etc.
You are seriously in luck as the Guide Club there rocks. Sooma-san is the head guide....cool guy. All with advanced CAA cert and first aid. A full day (excluding ropeway pass) is only 4000 (including insurance).
I'd say March skiing is powder heaven until mid March...then it gets a little bit heavier by the end of the month....but then again I'm a self-admitted powder snob.
when are you coming up this way....maybe show you the stashes.
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SJG
could you guys fix the spelling of Hakkoda?
I had to punch in Hakkouda into the search engine.....
easier to find it
cheers
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any info you need I can help you out
i actually just interview the head guide for a SJG feature I'll be writing on the backcountry there (out in March)
in the meantime I think my feature on the ropeway area will be out on Feb 11th.
check out the info/reviews page connected to Hakkoda on SJG: http://www.skijapanguide.com/2002/resorts/demo.php?resid=86
backcountry guide trips for only 4,000 per person for a whole day! How much pow can you eat?
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They don't SELL them on the site....but have them in the NAC store. Might still have a few pairs left 2 man reduced from 6 man
send them an email....see if you can work it to pay by cc and send by takyubin. Haven't seen them sold anywhere ever.
Atomic Deep Powder 130mm fat tip to tail 180cm long
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Danz
thought this might interest you ....
as you live at the base of Tsukuba-san...came across this in The Japan Times:
Twin peaks offer a double take on plants
By GERARD TAAFFE
The summit of Mount Tsukuba in southern Ibaraki Prefecture has two peaks,
one regarded as female and the other as male. Rising to 876 meters, with
a shrine on the top dedicated to Izanami no Mikoto, the female creator deity,
Nyotaisan is just 6 meters higher than Nantaisan, topped by a shrine to
the male creator deity, Izanagi no Mikoto. Tsukuba Shrine is located at
the foot of the mountain, which is mentioned in the eighth-century Man'yoshu
collection of poems, and close by is Omido Buddhist Temple.
Mount Tsukuba (top) hosts a rich variety of fauna and flora, including this
ancient ginkgo biloba by Tsukuba Shrine (above) and the evergreen climber
Euonymus fortunei (below).
The formation of Mount Tsukuba, which is now part of the Suigo Tsukuba Quasi-National
Park, began around 300 million years ago, when molten granite erupted through
the Earth's crust deep under the ocean. Subsequently subjected to enormous
tectonic pressure, this igneous extrusion was gradually pushed upward to
create both the twin peaks and the hilly land that extends to the north
and east, with the Kanto plain to the west. However, until the Jomon Period,
from 10,000 to 3,000 B.C., the Kasumigaura inlet close to the town of Tsuchiura
still extended all the way round to the western base of Mount Tsukuba. Seashells
discarded by settlers at that time can be found on the lower western slopes.
As fascinating as all this is, though, what makes Mount Tsukuba so interesting
is that it now hosts plant communities from both the cool-temperate and
warm-temperate regions. For instance, cool-temperate trees such as buna
(Fagus crenata; Japanese beech) can be seen growing near the summit of the
male peak, while warm-temperate, evergreen aka-gashi (Quercus acuta; Japanese
red oak) can be seen on lower slopes and also near the summit on its southern
side. This latter tree gets its common name from the reddish color of its
timber.
Close to the male summit there is a splendid, 1.5-km woodland trail along
which many of the larger plants are labeled with both their botanical and
Japanese names. The trail's three viewpoints offer different perspectives
of the landscape below. When the weather is fine, it is possible to see
Mount Fuji in the distance.
The overall shape of deciduous trees is best observed in winter. Take, for
example, the mizunara oak (Q. mongolica var. grosseserrata), whose rough,
light-brown bark has vertical fissures and whose leaves have large teeth
along the margin. The upper half of the leaf is wide and the leafstalk,
or petiole, is very short, because mizunara oaks are adapted for growth
in windy areas; on Mount Tsukuba they grow alongside hardy Japanese beeches.
Beech trees are loved by all and are the kings of the deciduous forests.
They can grow up to 30 meters high, with trunks 1 meter in diameter. There
are only two prefectures in Japan where beech trees do not grow naturally
-- Chiba and Okinawa -- and Mount Tsukuba has the best stand of them close
to Tokyo.
Beech trees have a great capacity to absorb water, and the country's largest
specimens are found in mountainous areas along the Sea of Japan, where annual
snowfall is high. In winter, these trees' bark is easy to identify as it
is smooth and light metallic-gray in color.
Winter buds on beech trees are brown and slender, from 1 to 3 cm long and
pointed at the tip, while oak buds are fat and rounded. Beech trees are
also monoecious, meaning that male and female flowers occur as single-sexed
flowers on the same plant, opening in May just as the new leaves emerge.
Closely associated with Mount Tsukuba's beech and mizunara oak woods is
the bamboolike sasa that covers large areas of the woodland floor. Along
the Pacific Ocean side of Japan, including the Mount Tsukuba area, suzu-dake
growing to between 1 and 2 meters are common. Botanically known as Sasamorpha
borealis, these are less rampant than sasa.
Meanwhile, on some beech trees, especially on the north side of Mount Tsukuba,
you can see the climbing evergreen tsuru-masaki (Euonymus fortunei; spindle
bush). Like ivy, this climbs with the aid of adventitious roots -- i.e.,
ones that grow from stems. The leaves are small, being only 2-6 cm long,
and are oblong with tiny serrations along the margin.
As well, Tsuru-ajisai (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris; climbing hydrangea)
can be seen growing on large rocks in the area. Its flowers, which open
during the rainy season of June and July, are large, flat-headed panicles
10-18 cm in diameter.
Yet another deciduous climber encountered on the mountain is tsuru-ume-
modoki (Celastrus orbiculatus). During the winter months the bright orange-red
fruits, each 7-8 mm in diameter, hang in bunches from the branches and are
a favorite food of the musasabi (Petaurista leucogenys; giant flying squirrels)
and Honshu-momonga (Pteromys momonga) living in Mount Tsukuba's woods.
Togoku-mitsubatsutsuji (Rhododendron wadanum) is a deciduous rhododendron
that also grows in Mount Tsukuba's arboreal wonderland, and the first word
in its compound Japanese name alludes to the Kanto area where the species
grows. Its mauve-colored flowers open between April and June as the leaves
emerge. At the same time, too, nirinso (Anemone flaccida; Japanese woodland
anemone) comes into bloom, its white-to-light-pink flowers borne in pairs
just below the whorls of three-lobed leaves. Also around the same time you
may be lucky enough to see the small, pinkish-white flowers of the Eizan-sumire
(Viola eizanensis; Eizan violet), which is also distinguished by its leaves
with three deeply divided lobes, somewhat like a cut-leafed maple.
Botanists have identified more than 65 species of ferns in Mount Tsukuba's
forests, and many plants were first discovered there. As a result, many
plants' names include that of the mountain, such as Tsukuba-kinmonso (Ajuga
yesoensis var. tsukubana), a native bugle that only grows on the Pacific
Ocean side of Japan, and Tsukuba-torikabuto (Aconitum japonicum ssp. maritimum;
Tsukuba- aconitum).
Enjoy Mount Tsukuba; take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.
To get to Mount Tsukuba, take an express bus from the Yaesu South Gate of
Tokyo Station and alight at Tsukuba bus station, then take a bus or taxi
to Tsukuba Shrine, from where the summit is reached either by ropeway or
a 1-hour hike. Return fare is 1,020 yen for adults.
For more information, visit www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/
The Japan Times: Jan. 24, 2002
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Danz
you were asking about any resorts that don't practice the double standard:
Hakkoda-san in Aomori.... deep pow tree skiing that has no ropes....not enforced really. They stop a rookie who might duck under.
There'll be a feature out on the gondola area likely on Feb 11th.
330cm of POW right now....70cm dump over the weekend!!
The attitude there is all about the POW
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delusional I'm afraid.
Hakkoda is unique .....particularly to Japan
I'll be writing a feature on the gondola area of Hakkoda in February. Full details then.
The patrol (numbering bout 20) are primarily there to bail people out when they get hurt or to go looking for people in the backcountry. This is a blessing truly.....no music, no crowds, no courses, no ticket loss for ducking what few ropes exist.....just your ass if you loose the orange poles on the two routes down the mt.
No blasting really necessary.....that small slope I was on is the only nadare susceptible slope really 'in bounds' and by in bounds I mean between the routes (not courses) that run down the ridges to either side.
(working on getting a map of Hakkoda on the SJG site as we speak)
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biiru
that new awashu (bubble shit) in Japan has about 15% of their market.....it isn't even beer!! seriously can't even be classified as beer! it is cheap and high in alcohol content....tastes like crap...what's with this country!? THe big 3 beer co. trying to sell more with these crap bi-annual promotions on new non-beer!??! #)$"#&$!
As for beer overseas....Vancouver Island Brewery has a VERY dark lager called Herman's....once a year they take it and do something magical with it....making the HERMANATOR (no shitting you)....pours like maple syrup almost and has a alcohol content of about 11%!
As for Japanese beer....here's a good vocab to remember: JI BIIRU = micro brew....hard to find but always a welcome change from Kirin Asahi and Sapporo.
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slacker in the house
have the PC on pretty much all day so post between working
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defintely thinking freelancers.....keeping the coin for lift passes eh?!
trick park as opposed to 'snowboard park'..... you tongue depressors might have inspired it but twin tips are moving in.
thank Mike Douglas and Salomon Japan for that invention!
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Yep...
I did cut the slope
and I did have two spotters
pretty confident about taking the slope as it's a in bounds powder course that I've run countless times.....plus no trees to run out.
Think I was damn lucky that it was my first slab slide experience.
Am going to take the CAA rec 1 level course.
There are a few guys that run this CAA RECOGNIZED course within Japan. One being Dave Enright. Just gotta get to Nagano or Hokkaido to do it
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about 20 times first year
30 in 2nd
40 in 3rd
going for 50 in 4th year here?
Nice having a powder mt nearby....Hakkoda in Aomori
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They need to discover the CLIF bar....still edible at -20 unlike the power bar that goes to pure rock
I always stock up on cases of CLIF bars thru Foreign Buyers Club out of Kobe: http://www.fbc.usa
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WHo is it that runs Niseko Hirafu?
and do they run any other resorts?
prince hotels run Shizukuishi in Iwate (93 downhill worldcup venue) ......
what are the big players here in the industry?
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When are they going to bring all the stuff together into one park?
The rails over on Hanazono
the pipe under the gondola.....
I read something in a SJG feature article about the 'school trip ski instructors' fighting against having it all together at the base where rookie highschoolers can more easily break their necks.... when is the resort going to wake up? Sure the kids bring in the coin.....but shit, are they held ransom by these school trips?
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We all know about the crap conditions we were all bitching about last week........it seemed the dumping that we received on the Thurs and Friday night in northern Tohoku made for prime conditions for NADARE (avalanche) ..... skiing a ridge within the gondola area of Hakkoda I dropped down a beautiful uncut slope of about 45 degrees.... down onto the gut of Mokozawa (the main 'backcountry' run within the gondola area)..... it was about high noon and the snow was heating up sightly. BIG MISTAKE.....a boarder friend cut hard at the top of the slope and the whole thing released in a slab slide. Thank god the slope was not that long and blew out into the gut of the run. The slab was about 15m across 30cm deep and about 20m long. Hit me FAST........couldn't believe just how fast. I rode it for the first 5m but just tried swimming for the top. Ended up down about 20m and headup buried as if in a major hipcheck went wrong.
Wondering if anyone else has had any other instances such as these (at Hakkoda or otherwise)..... in nadare prone areas....and where to stay away from.
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I just got word from http://snowboardnet.jp/
that the CORE GAMES will be on again this year.
To be held March 30 and 31 at ISHIUCHI MARUYAMA in Shiozawa town in Niigata-ken.
Here's the SJG info on resort: http://www.skijapanguide.com/2002/resorts/demo.php?resid=8
The website for the resort is: http://www.ishiuchi.or.jp/
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The Salomon Xcreams (men's) are selling for about $600 right now at backcountry.com quite possibly the best all-mt ski of all time....and most defintely the best selling ski in history. decent salamon titanium 900+ series bindings can be had at about $200 ....and that's top of the line
You can find cheap FATS at about $200-$300....as they are seriously a novelty item for deep POW dayz.....don't want to ride them on crud. Worth having for those amazing deep days of 30cm+
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Anyone seen anywhere selling/showboating the new Volants???
Shane McConkey's making..... the Spatula (sp?) fat at the tip....even fatter at the centre and think at the tail. Much like a pair of water skis......taking the weight where you need it most to float.
I heard they'd be out for next season ......as per the pic and expl in POWDER at couple of months ago.
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Snowboarders actually reading this topic?....what's going on??? Tell me those that TURNED years back from the toothpix to the toungedepressor aren't just a little interested in riding FATS.....these things are FAT FAT FAT.....even puts the pocket rockets to shame (FYI Hakkoda's RENTALS this year are the pocket rocket.....tells you a bit 'bout the mt eh?)
..... so just how fat do boards get?
Think you could handle two FAT edges instead of one?
Hakuba epic powder holiday
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Hakkoda was pretty sweet.....knee deep and face shots at most turns..... so great launches off bowed trees.
Just in time for powdertopia ....about 25 JETs from all over Japan descending on Hakkoda Thurs -Sunday Feb 14-17
pray4pow
ps. heard from a buddy Nagano was sick....top 5 ever!