zwelgen
-
Content Count
919 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never
Posts posted by zwelgen
-
-
I guess another consideration for Hakuba is that there is more of a "scene", more foreiners (if you want to speak English to people) and it has a few night spots. Nozawa doesnt really have that to the same extent but if youve got a group of mates youll be so tired from ripping the pow youll be in bed early so you can get first tracks and do it again and again the next day.
I guess what Im trying to say is although Nozawa has a cool Japanese atmosphere there are good chances that you wont really see any other foreigners - if thats important (not important to me but didnt want to falsely represent the place)
I agree with what Fattwins says about Hakuba, some places are more lenient than others but if youre being an idiot and dropping in in full view they are going to get shitty. But I still think Nozawa are the most lenient, esp when they get to realise you can hold youre own and are fine.
-
dunno but after seeing the dude Im never going to try it!Quote:Originally posted by alferg:
whats "P" zwelgen?
Pure methamphetamine or summat? Its supposed to be the big boogieman here at the moment. -
Oh thanks db and barok, ya know how to make a gal feel appreicated. shucks
I agree with what everyone has said. Id def consider the Nagano-Niigata triangle. You could plan a route, get the train or bus to Nagano and bus out to "do" the Hakuba valley for a while. Lots of places and lots to ride. I have to give Cortina the thumbs up but it is tough to get here if you dont have a ride. Happo on a good day is good, its huge, its got reasonably good lifts. 47/goryu is also worth a day or so, if just to fall in the creek
Bus back to Nagano City and bus to Nozawa, def worth a few days (I am extremely biased about Nozawa because it was my stomping ground but it almost never failed to deliver the goods but the park is pretty lame. Great powder, lax about rope ducking and pretty much empty on a weekday) and the village is nice, free superhot onsens and one of the few places with a bit of atmosphere.
Arai on the day AFTER a powder dump would be massive but dont expect any budget friendly facilities and take your own grub. Just make sure the conditional zones are open otherwise its not worth it. Myoko has many good things said about it. To get to Myoko/Arai youre going to have to go back to Nagano city and then train out if you dont have a car.
Id give the big thumbs up if youre looking for a change from Hokkaido. I had a good time in Hokkaido but unfortunately when we were there the weather wasnt really on our side. I guess the advantage of Nagano is that it doesnt get so much of the strong winds that shut lifts in Niseko.
Good luck and a shame Im not there anymore to slide with ya.
-
personally I hate the drive up to Shiga Kogen. The road is icy as hell, one lane winding and lots of Tokyo posers there. I think you can have better times in other places BUT
good if you arent driving
good if beginning or end of season (its very high up)
good if you are a Tokyo ****er
-
Yes guilty, McDs in my last year at High School. I seemed to earn shit loads of money though? Dont know how that happened.
Umm worst thing? Stealing food, giving food for free to mates and giving them lots of change, deep frying non-edible stuff, serving old as stuff to drunk people, shagging the guy who made the rosters and sleeping in the stores cupboard on late night or early morning shifts.
I met some cool people though and like Ilivetoski said it was a good incentive to study a bit harder when I saw the full timers and their sad sad lives. I used to keep my work gear in a cupboard by itself and the cupboard stunk of grease. Even now the only burger I can bring myself to eat is a hamburger and occasionally a filletofish.
quarterpounders are evil
, ditto big mac sauce -
bagmigs with the heavy talk!
Im a big fan of the old saying, something like give a man a fish he can eat, teach him to fish and he can feed his whole fam etc.
give a hand up not a hand out
now if we could just do this in an environmentally sustaiable, culturally sensitive, non-discriminatory way...
-
Following on from another thread...
I was talking to a friend the other day who is interested in giving skiing a go and she asked me "so what are skiers like?"
I had a good think about the skiers I know and the best I could come up with is "cheap". Meaning the people I know will sleep in their cars, borrow their mates stuff, look hard for the best deals and (where I am in NZ) drive 4 hrs each way for a days riding. When you think about it skiing is one of the more expensive sports as not only is the gear costy but the day passes arent cheap either.
So what do you think folks? How would you answer the question
-
Id just go to the closest resort and find a wide groomed slope thats not too flat. Every resort has them so find the cheapest one and go for it. Also check out pricing systems as sometimes they have a deal for just the bottom slopes etc so you can save a bit of cash as if youre a dead beginner youre probably not skiing the whole mtn on your first few days.
good luck
-
Thats cool Blair, Im looking forward to the next lot of answers if thats the case. It is interesting to see what is the reasoning of top dogs at Japanese resorts.
-
Dont you think that keeping beginners out of the pipe is a bit elitist? Im sure thats not what youre getting at Nofakie but whats wrong with people learning new stuff on the mtn. I suck big time at the pipe but on a day with not much else on offer it makes a nice change. Charging a fee for something I suck at isnt very nice I think, esp as you have to do plenty of runs on a pipe to get any improvement.
Just me 5cents
-
I was at a party on Sat night and was chatting to a dude. Turns out I used to go to school with him and OMG what a change.
He looked about 35 (hes 25) had teeth falling out, wrinkled face, hair falling out and not a pretty sight - weirdest thing is he used to be a babyface and look much younger than he was.
He was telling me about how he was addicted to P and had basically screwed himself. So folks dont do P!
-
I was at Turoa on Wednesday - first day out back in NZ and damn that was one freaky thing to see. They had been blasting all morning higher up as about half a metre of heavy pow had fallen and they were looking at opening up a t-bar at the top. I think they just never thought it would be so big and that it would keep going. Reports say that the bottom layer of hard ice and old snow came away too thats why it got so big and fast.
. I was on the lift when the avalanche happened and I didnt see it sliding but what was left behiend was enough! We had been putzing around in a gully all day, kind of a natural half pipe. If you can imagine a 7m or so deep gully filled to the top with chunks of blue ice, hard snow and seeing where it had scoured away the sides of the valley to smooth smooth edges where the sun glinted off. We just sat and stared at it for about 20 mins till they got us to go down the mtn.Certianly very sobering and reminds you of your mortality. I still cant believe that no one was caught in it. Maybe they will find someone in spring? Who knows.
But looking at the slide path makes me think that there would be no way to get someone out of that. So deep and solid as anything, no soft fluffy stuff there.
It sucked because we had to leave early
-
Thanks for the feedback guys. Lots to think about. Am off to Colorado in Nov for the season so mostly riding whatever I can get there.
I went skiing on Wednesday (yep at Turoa where the avalanche was - crazy!) and had rentals. I was soooo glad they werent mine because of the amount of rocks I skied over Id have to be doing some repair work and Id almost rather pay out 20 bucks and not have to worry.
Right lots more to think about. So what do people think of 1080s? That was second on my list (esp as the new season ones are a sexy electric blue!)
Im about 168cm tall 60kg
-
ok last (maybe) of the zwelgen ski questions
been looking/researching and have just about narrowed it down. Just wondering what people on the board reckon about K2 skis, am looking at the K2 T:nine X
domo
-
I agree whole heartedly with Enderzero
I lived an easy 30 mins drive from Arai but I went there only once. The terrain is great but I just felt like a kid in an expensive restaurant ie uncomfortable and unwelcome. The ticket was expensive and when we got there on a hot sunny day looking forward to a half pipe session we were told it would cost extra - something ridiculous like 500 yen a pop
. I dont see why I should pay to use the pipe when I dont have to anywhere else and it isnt even serviced by a lift, and if Im riding the pipe then Im not extending the lift lines anywhere else at the resort. The food was costy and tasteless and unsubstantial and we had problems finding some chow at 1:30pm. WTF?Basically what me (and others here) are saying is fellow forum readers, unless you have money to bleed you will have a better time, feel more comforable and not have to pay for the pipe if you go to a different resort so if youre trying to make up your mind then take these things into consideration.
Steeno - agreed with what you said about whistler. I know its mostly just the gaijin who are cheap but is that such a bad thing? And having more foreigners on the slope would make the resort look good. One of my J-mates told me she thought groups of gaijin look cool and if your resort looks cool people want to go there (and spend money).
Also Blair if you propose to answer the hard qs maybe answer the hard qs (not just the ones about terrain) and save the corporate jargon cos most of us on here dont give a stuff.
At the end of the day I dont really give a damn who goes where and what policies etc but if you go to a resturant and get bad service or food not up to par then you tell your mates, so thats what Ender and myself are doing.
-
Lots of beginner skiers waste their thumb when they are holding their pole grips wrong. If you put your hand under your strap you can sprain it easy as when you fall. Gotta clamp down over it. hard to explain but easy if you have a go.
I think a common strain is also to the cashflow. Need money but want to ski, catch 22 really
-
my mum wanted one of those pretty canisters that you put tea in. has washi round the outside etc. cheap light and mum likes it. We are all a happy family.
-
Nah Im back IN NZ now. Hotel mum and dad oh yeah. The report is that its freezing and the mtns are closed due to a big storm so might head up early next week. Snowing but lots of wind though so hopefully wont take the snow off.
When I flew in across the mtns I was salivating seeing all the snow covered peaks. I tell ya folks, its beautiful!
And munching some seriously good food. You forget what youre missing folks!
-
flag the tube and get yourself a 700 yen sled. those things are the bomb and they go preety fast so make sure youve got a good run out at the bottom. My first year I had a good laugh sledding off my neighbours roof. Sleds boys and gals SLEDS
-
Togari sucks. spend your money on somewhere else. And just my humble 2c but skiing in Nagano around Christmas kicks ass. I spent the last 3 Christmases at Nozawa and I got massive dumps of bottomless powder and even better no punters there to get it. It was me mine MY, this last christmas I had to wait until boxing day but I reckon if you book it then the powder will come.
-
Jared that is just disgusting. Does that guy actually think he looks good? Id rather wear jeans and duct tape
-
I am starting phase II of my plan to conquer the world and in the forseable future that doesnt involve Japan - well at least until Im broke and ready to sell a kidney for some decent powder.
-
I too have done some clap testing and have come to the following conclusions.
I usually clap with the lump where my fingers join my hand making contact with the other hand just below the same lump. The bump where my little fingers come out of my hand touches each other.
I went to the toilets at work and examined the other clapping styles mentioned by other people and I think that the "Alpha Male" clap isnt for me. It just looks stupid. The fingers spread clap just looks naff for me but probably not so bad on a cutie J-girl and my style of clapping, lets call it the "pinkie touch" for no reason other than I feel like it, suits me best.
Its my last day at work today and Ive nuttin to do. Clap experiments. Oh dear...
-
outta here on Friday for good. Ive got my last day at work today and the house is packed, getting the 6:12 train out of Iiyama and my journey begins! Im spending a month in Mongolia on the way home and its going to be F*CKEN AWESOME.
So sayonara Japan dudes, thanks for the good times.
need help with my hit-list for next season
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
but at the same time, I went to Hokkaido at the beginning of March and had pow but nothing spesh, got back to Nagano and had waist deep snow dumped on my doorstep. Its just the luck of the draw mate, say your prayers!