TeleSkier

That would be nudity, aka naked chicks....

Best Ski Movie Ever - would have to be Hot Dog the Movie. By far the best ever made. Great plot, the best actresses (Shannon Tweed), nidity, and great skiing at Squaw Valley. Can't be beat.

Ah yes the Arai debate about losing skiers. My recommendation for Arai would be as follows: Have the owners/managers take a trip to Squaw Valley or Alpine Meadows in the Lake Tahoe Area of California. They too get tons of snow (see April this year) and are able to open up vast amounts of terrain. I am by no way an expert at forcasting avalanches or avalanche prevention but with some more effort on Arai's part they can easily become the best ski area in Japan. If anyone has ever skied the KT-22 portion of Squaw Valley they would know what I am talking about. Steep terrain, long verticle,

Hit Happo on May 5th for closing and Arai last weekend for their last go at it. Wanted to get up to Fuji this week but the weather isn't cooperating with me on it. May hit it next Friday. Tateyama for sure sometime in the upcoming weeks. Last year my wife and I got turns on July 5th up at Mt. Norikura right off the road up there. It was close to 8,000 ft and were about 20 people skiing up there that day. Highly recommend it if you get a chance.

Yeah, thought about it but physically I was kind of hurting. Had a raging headache going on. There were some tracks into it and it looked sweet. Maybe this time when I head up. I think I am going to bring some aspirin this time. I guess living at 200ft above sea level isn't helping the higher altitude hiking situation.

Right now skiing on 195cm K2 AK Launchers for teleskiing. Looked at my alpine boards this last weekend and they are old school Rossi Vipers, 201cm, edge pulling out, many core shots - they stayed in the closet. If I could get any setup it would have to be the Atomic R.EX or Atomic TM.EX for teleskiing. Either one would rock. Maybe a little Rossi Bandit XXX in there as well. Ebay maybe.......

Snapper - sounds like it was a great trip. Five hrs to the top is good in my book with only 20 minutes back down. At least you were able to get all the way back down to the 5th Station. Here are some photos that I posted from last year. Enjoy. http://homepage.mac.com/gregprovencher/MtFujiSkiing/PhotoAlbum3.html

Ocean, Maybe a few more answers for you. I live on the west side of Tokyo so I can be at Fuji in a little more than an hour with early morning traffic. The Gotenba parking lot is a ghost town and I am sure you can camp there if you would like. As for accomodations I am not that sure. The parking lot is plenty big and I am sure you can pitch a tent or just throw a sleeping bag out there. I didn't see anyone when I went up there. As for wearing snowboard boots. I do not recommend wearing those bad boys up there. Too long of a hike. I brought a ski parka, ski pants, gloves, and a wi

Correction - make that start hiking at 730am and summited around 130pm.

Ocean - all great questions and IM your responses seem right on with what I would say. As for me, I hiked to Gotenba trail on the southeast side of Fuji. I just kind of lucked out since it looks like that side of Fuji usually has the most snow. As for what to bring. Well that all depends on the weather and the forecast. When I went last year in June it was quite warm for the most part. I hiked up in hiking boots all the way to the summit and didn't need crampons. Like IM said, the snow sets up in the spring and you won't be post-holing up there. As for the clouds - I recommend looking

Not too bad I guess, considering... Got two days in late November then nothing until the last week when I have gotten four days in during warm spring skiing days. Still planning on hitting Fuji as well as a trip up to the Marudo Plateau and Tateyama for a few days.

No Fakie, Great work - those photos already have me scheming another trip up there this spring. Igloo, this is definitely a "snow" topic if you are interested in backcountry skiing in the Japan Alps. Usually shows updated photos throughout the day taken at the Marudo Plateau (elev 7,500 ft) looking toward the summit of Mt. Tateyam. It also shows the amount of snowpack left. This was the site that I was using that no longer works..... Now that I just checked it again it looks as if it is working as of 8 May. Looks pretty good up there. Anybody else do any skiing up there??? ht

Does anyone know the status of the Mt Tateyama webcam. I can't get it to put up recent photos. I am stuck back in November.

Haven't been a ton of places in Japan but I like the views riding up the upper lifts at Happo of the Japan Alps. I've been up to Tateyama a few times now and that is hard to beat. Last spring I was able to see Fuji from the top of Tateyama. Back in the States, east coast has to be Wildcat which has Mt. Washington and the famous Tuckerman Ravine across the street. West coast I enjoy the Lake Tahoe area.

Markie - you will have to excuse me for my most heineious error with the spelling of that thing that is at the top of Fuji that sometimes spills hot liquid magma (lava). Problem is, I have only been back in Japan for a few days and I have been pretty much been on a five day bender....Anyway there was a little snow in that hole in late August when I was up there. Don't worry, I don't think it is going to turn into a glacier or something to that effect. BTW, when I went up there in the beginning of last June there were ski tracks down into it. Definitely pretty cool. I may head up there ne

I hiked Fuji again at the end of last August and there was still a little snow in the creator.

I would estimate skiable snow disappears from Fuji in mid June. For best results I would say now to the end of May for skiing. I saw Fuji a few days ago and I recommend doing the Gotenba trail since most of the snow is on the southeast side of the mountain.

Ended up hitting Happo-One today for their last day of the year. They were just riding the upper lifts and the skiing couldn't have been better for warm springs. Got a little behind because we could not find a store that sold beer up in Hakuba Valley - no go at 7-11 or the Lawson near Hakuba Village at Happo-One. Had to go down to the main street. My buddies and I armed with 6 packs of talls made way for the Happo gondola. At the bottom we were debating shorts. Put the pants on anyway - rode the gondola up, took pants off. Constructed snow cooler near the lodge at the top of the gondola

Ocean11 - I was the winner of an all expenses paid trip to the Persian Gulf for 3 months so not much skiing for me. Looking to make the best of the end of the season. Looking to hit Goryu/47 tomorrow, Arai this weekend, Fuji the following week, and then up to Tateyama and the Japan Alps for some more backcountry skiing. So if you are out tomorrow - stop on by, we'll be burrying the beer in the snow, it will be ice cold, and I'm sure it will provide some highlights in the afternoon.

Just wondering - did anyone hit Hakuba 47/Goryu or Happo-One this weekend and how were the conditions. What was open at Happo - was it just the upper quad. What do you think would be better tomorrow 47 or Happo if they are both going to be open. I'll be up there tomorrow with a decent size posse and we'll be doing a little beer drinking (liquid courage) as well. Stop by and say hi - I'll be on teleskis mounted on K2 AK Launchers. Hope the weather stays nice tomorrow for some nice spring turns. Haven't skied since December.

Saw Mt. Fuji for the first time today and it looks as if there is quite a bit of snow. I am going to try and hit it next week from the Gotanda trail. That's where there seems to be the most snow. Anybody hit it so far this year? Last year I didn't get up there til the first week and June and they was quite a bit less snow. Really looking forward to it. May need a couple of turns up at Arai on this upcoming Monday though to loosen up.

Does anyone know who is still open in the Nagano and Niigate regions? Is Happo or Hakuba 47/Goryu open and how long are they planning on staying open? Need to get some turns in big time. Thanks

Yeah - Japan is a hard place to get cash in. Been to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and they all have the ATM thing figured out. Kind of puzzles me over here. I recommend getting cash at Narita at an ATM there. I am pretty sure but there are on the same level as the arrival terminal. Use the credit card as much as possible. Quite a few hotels and some restaurants will take your credit card - Visa/Mastercard. As you will quickly find out - yen goes quickly over here. Y4,600 for a ticket, Y3,000+ for hotel, lunch Y800, etc. You can do the math. Hope you have a good visit.

Yeah - got to second IM there. Tele skiing rocks. Love it big time. I have a hard time putting on my alpine stuff anymore. It is just so restrictive - feels like below my knees I'm attached to some boards via cinder blcoks. Been teleing for 12 yrs now and it keeps getting better. Somewhat of a lighter setup than alpine, less restrictive with the boots, and something about realy laying some turns down on the tele skis. Stick with it - it is hard to get good at. Just got to keep doing it - I've taken a few ski tips in the chest - shake it off and keep charging.

They have a place up in Hakuba about 50m north of the train station on the right hand side of the road that sells some tele stuff and skins for sure. They have Scarpa T1's,T2's, and G3 skins. A little pricey but not too bad for Japan. Are you able to order online? If you are there are a few site out there you may want to look at. www.REI.com www.mgear.com www.bentgate.com www.thebackcountry.net www.backcountrystore.com Not sure how you would get them to mail over here. If you are still having a problem let me know and I'm sure I can figure out some way to get some st