Blair

Hello everyone Thanks for all of your posts - I'm looking forward to reading them at a more leisurely pace (joke intended)! Presently the English Web is being taken down, & ads and the like pulled. Work finished for everyone yesterday. From today a skeleton staff is shutting things down. I have until 17 July to wrap things up, so am presently contacting guests and the like with reservations as well as seasonal part-time workers. Although I will do my best to get in touch with everyone that has reservations etc, if you know of anybody that has plans to visit the re

griller Grass is always greener on the other side. The work at the Guide Center is definitely different from English teacher work. While both involve a service devoted tomaking kids happy, cold outdoor weather (& the responsibility it brings) involves many issues not normally found in a classroom.

Hi rach Yes, no interviews. I do often end up speaking over the telephone with new employees prior to their arrival at the resort though. Of course it would be ideal to conduct interviews and the like if time permitted. The other thing is that the work is seasonal, so in some cases the employeee is at the resort for as little as two months (by choice). Blair.

Hi rach Good to hear from you. In my mind the process of getting a job at the resort is the interview. I still remember all the red tape I had to go through to get a working holiday visa for Japan. If you look again at what the couple had to go through to get to the resort: ============================================== 22 October Initial E-mail enquiring about work arrived at the resort 24 October Reply forwarded requesting further details 26 October Resume arrives & is circulated internally 29 October Further det

Ho Ho Ho ...

Hello 97 The lifts are to open an hour earlier April 10 - 16, so try to make the most of it. brit-gob Glad that you remember December 2005 too! I wonder for how many years it will be talked about. People in the area still talk about Winter of 1986...

A few years back two boarders were reported missing on a Friday. Given that there was new snow at the time, regular grooming could not be done that night to avoid risking running over a body. The next morning the entire mountain was closed while the search continued. Fortunately the boarders were rescued via helicopter (out of bounds) early on the Saturday afternoon, but the day for everyone else was not what they had planned/worked for. My question is: How would you feel if you had come to the resort that day but could not ski/board (despite prime conditions) due to t

Thanks for all the posts, it always amazes me concerning the depth and width of the Snow Japan community. I'm not the person with all the answers concerning this issue. I have however witnessed from start to finish the impact that somebody dying out of bounds has on both the staff at the resort as well as their families. At Arai it is black and white in my mind as to where skiers and boarders can and cannot go. I realize that other resorts may have some grey areas. Again, thank you very much for the words of encouragement/constructive criticism concerning this issue. Maybe

Hello I've spoken with Snow Japan about the following & have received permission to go ahead. I've been very quiet over the past several months & this has been in part because the season has been exceptionally busy. While I was not intending to post again until late March/early April, there have been some unfortunate incidents at the resort I want to tell people about. Arai was a difficult mountain to bring to the public from a safety point of view, but in the end it became possible given that strict boundaries were established between safe areas and dangerous ones. Su

Hi cal Not sure if harvesting is the correct terminology or not. Essentially, the pisten bullys gather snow from areas no longer in use and take it to areas that are. Then staff gather to pat down the snow on th runs. Ocean11 The mountainboard park was a late development at the resort this summer, so I imagine that it will be promoted more fully next season - sorry to disappoint you! No photos, but I did see some wicked spills with riders getting up very slowly after them! Only for the hard skinned that sport I say!

Hey Fattwins Been awhile - good to hear from you. No, snow is not made at the resort. What is done during the latter part of the season however is to "harvest snow" from unused areas for use on runs that are still open.

Hi montoya That is about 12 days earlier than last year (when the resort opened late due to lack of snow at the start of the season).

Hello I've just been told that opening day is to be Friday, 9th of December!

Hello xxx Thanks for the comment, it's the first time I've heard something like it. In my mind if I was to take up your suggestion, it would take several years to get to the point I'm at now in my present work; That is, from my experience working in Japan to date it takes a long time to first establish yourself and even longer to get colleagues to give you the time of day. Wow, this is the first time I have posted on the new site - I'm very impressed with the improvements.

Hello V Yeah, it is tough not having "Nays" around. He was always good for a laugh, and made many people happy through his music. I understand however that this is not the end of Trio Latino. The two other members along with their production company are holding auditioning presently for a new singer. Although one never knows for sure, my guess is that this is what Nays would have wanted. Let the music play...