TeleSkier

Great post - check out www.mulletsgalore.com for a little more info on mullets. They are thriving in places out there. I especially like the saying when referring to a mullet, "business in the front - party in the rear."

Going to have to say at many of the resorts there are not enough trails to support the lifts there. At Arai - they have this huge mountain with almost 900m vertical but only 8 trails. Get some more trails out there. Drove by Fujii Panaroma on the way back from Nagano and stopped by at this ski area next to the Chuo expressway. They pretty much had a 6-8 person gondola to the top of a 700m vertical mountain with only pretty much one way down. That is completely ridiculous. They need at least 10+ trails there and it would be a much more enjoyable experience.

There are a couple out there: 1. The stictness of their out of bounds policy. I think it is rediculous. With some avalanche control some incredible areas could be opened. See Arai for this one. Arai has potential to be a great area - they just need to open more terrian. If anyone has been to Squaw Valley I'm sure they would agree. 2. Have to second Ocean11 with the smoking - just way too much of it at lunch time.

Ocean, I would think many people would say the same about football (soccer) that it is dull to watch. Kind of like watching American football versus rugby. Rugby doesn't really do it for me. By the way - go Red Sox. Nomar rules.

If anyone can explain how to post pictures within a post here could you please let me know. I'll put a few photos in from the trip to Norikura.

Forget to mention - a close second place to the skiing was seeing 3 snow monkeys swinging around the trees and eating a bunch of plants in Kamikochi. They were classic...

Just got back today from a few turns up at Mt. Norikura in Gifu - about 1 hour drive or so west from Matsumoto. Was planning on just going camping in the Kamikochi area but decided to toss the skis in the car and take a ride up to Mt. Norikura since they just opened the road up to it. Took rte 158 out of Matsumoto and then headed to Norikura. Great ride that deposited us at 2600m or so. You actually get to drive through a few runs at Norikura Heights ski area. There was still some decent snow up near the top. About three weeks ago it must have rocked. About 15 people were skiing. The s

Check out this website. The camera is located at the Marudo Platuea and by the looks of it there is still quite a bit of snow up there. http://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/pc/live/cgi-bin/live.cgi?camera=20&area=04 Hope this works for you. Looks like you can still get some turns up there....

Depending on where you are coming from it may be cheaper to bring equipment with you. In January one of my friends got the top of the line Technica Icons which go for $600 for $300. So if you look you find the stuff. In the Tokyo area go to the Ogawamachi section of the city. There are tons of ski/snowboard stores right there in that area. I've never seen that much retail in one spot.

IM - some good info there. Another thing - the weather here sometimes is not the greatest for flying. The summer is extremely hazy in places and often rainy as it is right now. The fall and winter are nice out there with excellent views to be had. The flying rules here are almost identical to back in the states so need not worry. Just many mountains out there so fewer airports.

You would probably think it was really difficult - I'm not saying it isn't - but you have one huge thing on your side alreeady - english is the official language of flying and they even use it over here. So you need not worry about that. Some things to worry about though are the costs. Even though I am not exactly sure but I would assume an hour of flying in a Cessna would get near the $150+ range over here with the cost of gas. But there are some beautiful places to fly over here. Factor in no tolls in the skies and then you may almost have a deal.

From NH near Portsmouth. Been up to Tucks many times. Too bad you were unable to get up there. Last time I skied it was Spring 99 - too long ago for me.

Started way back with hiking my alpine equipment up to Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire. I wanted something lighter to carry instead of the dreaded Lange boots at the time. Saw people telemarking so thought - lets give this a try. So back then it was leather boots and skinny skis with metal edges. Today it has come full circle with Scarpa hard plastic tele boots with a pair of K2 AK Launchers mounted. Not sure if I'm saving much weight now but I sure am hooked.

All right - lets get somewhat realistic here. As for 69° that is incredibly steep - was snow able to stick to it - and that is an amazing accomplishment if you could ski that. As for me this is the rule of thumb that I kind of go by... 35° - pretty decent - most likely steeper than any ski area around here. Don't know for all of Japan but for Happo-One, Arai, Goryu/47, and Shiga-Kogen nothing there is close to 35° of sustained pitch. You may see a few turns that steep but nothing of substantial vertical. 40°-45° - pretty steep - when skiing you will most likely have snow kicking o

Went up to Mt. Tateyama via the Karobe Alpine route on Monday and did some skiing/camping. Drove to the Karobe Alpine route and paid for a trip to the Marudo Plateau and back (somewhat pricey at Y8,500)) but well worth it. The ride to Marudo is pretty sweet by bus, walking, cable car, ropeway, and another bus. Took two hours to get up there. After getting the lay of the land in Marudo - we set off for the Summit of Tateyama. Great hike and it didn't take too long - 1.5hrs. The view from the top was excellent - could see much of the Alps as well as Mt. Fuji. From there skied almost from

I started from the Gotenba trail. I took the Tomei Expressway and got off Gotenba. Then just drove toward Fuji and there is a sign for Mt. Fuji. That sign leads you to the Gotenba Trail. It is about a 10km ride from the Highway to the base where you start hiking there. From my understanding the more northern side of the mountain if quite a bit more popular for hiking. Not real sure about that one though. Hope this helps.

Don't really know - First year here. I was around there last July and there was hardly any left....

Hit Mt. Fuji yesterday under perfect conditions - totally blue skies, warm, and no wind. First time to the top. Brought the skis and had about 800m of skiing from the top. Great conditions but getting thin. Hike up was 6 hrs and down 2 hrs with the skiing. Long day all in all but well worth it. Wish I hit it a few weeks ago. Hope to have a few pictures on the reader's gallery.

Anybody have the scoop on the spring backcoutnry scene in Hakuba. The possibilies look endless. What's the deal with Mt. Tateyama and getting up to the Karobe Dam and doing some skiing up there. What is the camping situation up there - huts, etc. How long does the season last. As from the looks of it I'm guessing well into June and pssibly July. Looking forward to getting out there. Thanks.

Just curious - are there any discounts at hotels this weekend in the Hakuba area or should I expect to pay the normal price. Happo was Y3,600 on Monday...

Would have to have been April 1st for me at Happo One. Great soft snow, no crowds, lots of sun, lunch hanging out at the top with a few Asahi talls. Hoping to maybe repeat again this Sunday if the weather holds.

Depending on where you are in Tokyo - I live near Atsugi City and it is about 275km and takes around 4 hrs without too much traffic. So I would think you should be able to make it there in that amount of time but depends on how long it takes for you to get out of the Tokyo area.

Hit Happo today and it was great. Temps were real warm with just skiing in the fleece vest and mucho sun tan lotion. Probably the last day to ski down to the gondola though. There is still quite a bit of snow up top about 2m+ or so. Plenty of sun, great turns in the hero snow, and some tall Asahi's made the day perfect. Since it is my first year skiing here - when do some of the bigger resorts close. Looking to maybe head up to Nozawa the following weekend and wondering how much snow they will have left. So - I'm looking for the scoop on where the best spring skiing is - gotta love t

How is the skiing at Gala. I looked at the map and looks like it only has about 400m of vertical. Is it steep, flat, lots of snow, and how are the crowds. Just curious because I'm thinking of doing this offer with the train. Thanks

Interesting topic of discussion here. At Happo-One tickets are Y4,600 with the yen rate for $ at about 130 right now it is about $35 per day of skiing. That is quite good compared to many places back in the USA which on weekends are in the low to mid $50 range. But one has to factor in toll costs as well as food. Tolls from down in Tokyo to Hakuba are close to Y5,000 each way. So you factor that in and it gets expensive quickly.