danz

do you know of any mountains that don't parctice this double standard?? I'd like to know... have you complained to Nozawa about not opening the tree run under the quad at top?? how many complaints before they open it?? My guess is most of these type of complaints come from people like us (gaijin that is), and i doubt a change...unless you know otherwise... i will keep ducking ropes and getting my powder fix...filing a comlaint, the way things work in japan, would take too much of my time... maybe we should start a massive campaign... Snow Riders For Better Snow

AGREED! if its not ropped off, than thats bullsh!t... but face it...in general, japanese are just super worry-worries... I mean, we are talking about people that insist on wearing snow-chains/snow-tires if you drive to the mtn (forget the fact that the roads could be completly dry!)... patrol just assumes that a stationary tree posses more danger than a Tanaka moving at 20km/hr off a death kicker... no point in trying to analyze...just learn to live with it... danz ------------------ pray for snow

I live near the base of the towering, massive, yet elusive Mt. Tsukuba...the pride of Ibaraki... A ropeway can take you to the top, where the finest and steepest backcountry awaits... over the last year Tsukuba-san has been blessed with a whopping 10cm of snow...and that is probably a conservative estimate... This is no mountain for the weak hearted... no weekend warriors here...only the hardest of the hard-core... you may ask, "if this is such a great mt, why haven't SJG covered it yet??" well my friends...this is the greatest secret in japan, and it would not

yeeeee-haaaaaw.... i've created a 100post thread! I feel very accomplished... a proud day indeed... danz ------------------ pray for snow

Matt... are you kidding?? I love driving here... i've been here for a yr now...and if i'm driving under 90km, i feel like i'm going slow...at least out here in tsukuba cops are nowhere to be found... and those cardboard cut-outs of cop-cars and officers are also VERY effective (ha ha) i did get pulled over once...and for 20 minutes i was pulling the "no comprendo japanese" bit, and the officer gave up out of frustration... driving here is better than a PS2...word danz ------------------ pray for snow

hutch... if it is an in-bounds powder run, shouldn't patrol be doing some sort of avalanche control (blasting...)?? or is this just another one of my delusional views on how a ski-resort should be run... danz ------------------ pray for snow

sounds good... anyone know how long of a drive it is from tokyo area?? danz

NEED 24-HR CASH MACHINES!!!! i spent 1.5hrs this morning waiting for the atm to open so i could get my car out of a parking lot... kirin has a sneaky way of making you forget stuff... danz

ahh...my belle... a skier at heart...don't fight it... come back to the good side... ocean11's board might take up too much space on the quad, so let us ride the romance chair! danz ------------------ pray for snow

aha...you can't hide from me! I WILL break you... before next season you will be on some FAT SKIIS! Prepare yourself... danz ------------------ pray for snow

what's the dilly with this place... SJG claims the longest run is 50000m... why do I have a hard time believing that... steepest is 42 deg?? is this true... only review is about how romantic a place it is...could it be more romantic than naeba?? I have to use my FREE TICKET (thanks sjg!) (anyone jealous yet...ha ha) danz ------------------ pray for snow

wow...that's a first... so Naeba is a good place to pick up chicks... does that mean the gondola has velvet couches, dimed lights, and a bar? hey, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea... are there lubu-hoteru at midstation? or do they offer sleeper gondolas for members of the mile high club... i gots to get me to naeba... danz

Is this really happening?? doth my eyes decieve me?? a peace offering from ocean11... I'm flattered... i will certainly call upon you if i head that way again...but i will be incognito during feb....going back home for a few weeks...so you must wait till march.. peace danz ------------------ pray for snow

hey jinja... i wouldn't go offpiste at nozawa until there is another significant dump... top layer is crappy and not deep... underneath is pure nastiness from repeated freeze/thaw conditions... save yourself the trouble... danz ------------------ pray for snow

yes....more... does botsford get the chickmonk? what's in store for Arthur the Hedgehog?? and the question of the hour, is crispin a boarder or skier?? I mean, would a boarder mouse ever wear a paddington bear outfit? readers want to know... danz ------------------ pray for snow

so is there no real distinction between high-end boarding equipment and mid-range... in skiing, its like the difference between driving a Ferrari v. a Pinto...pressuring the ski is like stepping on the gas pedal... definetly performance affects cost... how bout for boarding?

thats just great ocean11... you've really nailed it this time... skiers are dorks boarders are cool... yes...most skiers in japan for some reason are stuck with their neon outfits from the 80's...but i challenge you to find a pair of green stretch pants in any ski shop these days... get over it boarders...modern ski wear is not the monster you think it is... ocean11...were you abused by a skier as child?? did they "touch you..."?? you really seem to have a major quibble with us... danz

how much does a new high-end board w/bindings cost anyway?? I can't imagine its that much cheaper than a new ski-rig... danz ------------------ pray for snow

so i wanna know more about these fatties... are they only good in the pow?? what happens when you take them on hard-pack, cordoried, ice, crud... what am i getting at...are fatties as good as having an all mtn. ski?? or are they a 1 dimensional tool... ski equip is EXPENSIVE!! gotta choose wisely... thanks... danz ------------------ pray for snow

was up at nozawa onsen this weekend... spring skiing conditions...not right for the middle of january... bottom half of the mtn. was all sugar still good coverage overall, but it needs to get cold, or else theres going to be trouble also, totally empty this weekend...no crowds anywhere...and also , NO JPOP! YEE HAW... one thing i still don't understand (echoing some previous posts) is why they rope off some of those trailss..the tree run underneath the quad at the top is completly safe...you can scout the ENTIRE run from the lift, but they rope it off...point

cat skiing... you ride those big snow-cats, usually used for gromming the mtn, up the mtn to a place where lifts wont take you... you get out and ski pow... danz ------------------ pray for snow

yo... before japan spent 6yrs in boston... had the pleasure of skiing the finest blue ice in the world around New Englan ...if it snowed like 10cm, that would be a good powder day...man made snow grows on you, I already miss it in a wierd twisted way... but...love the pow...need the pow...can't get enough of the pow...japan has been good to me so far (7 days on snow, 4 of them pow pow days) hey...could you point me to a more specific link about those atomics?? i couldn't find it on the website...very interesting... danz ------------------ pray

yo... in tsukuba now, but moving to kasiwa (chiba-ken) next month... how bout you? heading to nozawa this weekend...doin my yuki-kami-sama prayers... danz

hey hutch... I once demoed the Rossi Bandit XX (maybe last year)...I think those are in the mid-fat range...didn't have much pow to ride at the time, so can't comment on how they handle in those conditions... on the rest of the mountain, i found them very unresponsive...couldn't find any radius that really worked for those skiis...had more fun on the salamon xscreams (are those mid-fats too??)... for now i'm still riding my sl skiis... danz

blackcomb-whistler -- canada chamonix -- france Jackson Hole -- Wyoming anything you could possibly want are at those locals...enjoy danz