Will Lee
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Posts posted by Will Lee
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11 times so far...not enough?
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My friend and I will be up there from Sun as well(for 3 days). We`ll be staying at Nikko Annupuri. Maybe we`ll run into eachother on the slopes? Can`t wait!
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Sorry man, where is this place?
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Don`t forget to bring a "neck warmer" too(one that you can pull up and cover the lower part of your face). Hokkaido mountains can be vicious.
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Alright folks, didn`t get a chance to tell y`all about my fantastic trip right after I got back so here`s a jist of what happened... Day One(Wed 25th): Caught the first ski bus from Shin-Chitose Airport and headed directly to Sapporo International. It was a beautiful day...almost too beautiful that it made me worry(didn`t see nearly as much snow on the way there compared to the same time I was there last year). Fortunately all of my worries disappeared as soon as I arrived at the ski area. After no more than a couple of runs lo and be hold the sky changed completely and it started snowing as predicted by the weather forecast, HEAVILY. Man did it snow...it was dumping tons of my favorite Hokkaido variety! My buddy, being his first time in Hokkaido and all, was way too moved at the sheer volume and top notch quality of the snow he was witnessing to blurp out more than a few words. I myself also had almost forgotten just exactly how divine Hokkaido snow is. Within the span of an hour or so the entire ski area transformed into any boarder`s wettest wet dream! We had so much fun riding&plowing through them freshies we totally lost track of time. It was pure bliss!(mental note...I did the right thing this time by bringing a neck warmer with me) We wanted to board til the end so much that we ended up changing on the ski bus. Day Two(Thur 26th): Went to Teine Highland and once again we had beautiful weather. The snow condition couldn`t compare to the kind we had the day before but that still meant it kicked ass. Unfortunately it seems this ski area is a very popular destination for Hokkaido school kids taking their winter PE classes(same thing I ran into last year). There were ski school groups everywhere and at times it was a pain in the butt to avoid them. We spent most of our time on the top part of the mountain and it started snowing by about 1pm. The newly fallen snow did wonder for us as we tried out a "semi" off piste run that I had discovered the last time I was up there...it was thoroughly fun! Day Three(Fri 27th): Didn`t know til we got out of our hotel that it had been DUMPING serious amount of snow since the early morning. Because of this even the ever tough Hokkaido highways were forced to shut down. As a result our ski bus had to slowly make its way to Kiroro by local roads...it took more than 3hr!(precious time wasted) Kiroro is famous for shutting down half of its operation due to snow storms but luckily on this day only the gondola was stopped. We had a blast right away by going through untouched powder even on the lower, more popular runs. I was pleased to find out that Kiroro has finally gotten serious with setting up more kickers but due to bad weather condition they were all closed(but that didn`t mean it stopped me from trying out a few jumps ). We started heading toward the back side of the resort and my oh my what a different world we had discovered! There was so much pow ON THE COURSE if you were to fall or stop in the middle you`d be SOL`d. I mean, it was at least knee deep everywhere and waist deep in many places. I was so excited I did not take a break that whole day...I was determined to mooch up more pow than I could`ve possibly ridden(me greedy bastard). In the end my buddy and I left Hokkaido exhausted&sore but EXTREMELY satisfied. I think on a few occasions I even yelled, "this is better than doing the nasty" while I was blasting down the powdery slopes. This had got to be the BEST Hokkaido trip for me so far, and I`ve been up there quite a few times(but I`m sure my Niseko trip in a couple of weeks will top that)! If someone asks me to sum up this trip, I`d have to say, "powder overload!" Well, I`m off to Tohoku tonight. Have a happy New Year everyone!
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Yeah, just(literally)booked my 1 day night bus trip there. Will be going the second week in January. I`ve always wanted to try this place out. The only worry I have is that I may not be able to check out all of the courses...it looks absolutely huge on the map! Looking forward to it.
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On the 3rd? In Yuzawa? Are you kidding?! That area will be PACKED! Generally speaking Japanese ski areas begin to pick up crowd again from the 2nd. That`s why my buddies and I will head for a not so well known(and a bit out of the way)spot. Hope you won`t wait in line too long.
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Lots and lots of powdery, fluffy snow up in Hokkaido!*grin* Thanks, Santa!
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Yeah, ditto here. Don`t go to Karuizawa...it`s a joke!
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My buddy found out one of the straps on his right binding snapped in half just as he was about to try out some jumps while we were up in Hokkaido. A bad thing but good timing. If he had gone ahead with the jump on that huge kicker at Teine...
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It`s a nice place but be sure to set up camp on the Goryu side...the "ski center" there`s much bigger and better with a big bath too(not to mention being closer from the highway). Compared to Goryu, 47`s is a joke.
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Hi all. Not that I want to rub it in y`all faces but just wanna politely announce that I`ll be heading up there for the first of my three planned trips this season. My package this time is "Sapporo city stay." My mate and I will be up at Sapporo International on Wed, Teine Highland on Thur and Kiroro on Fri...gobbing up all the pow. If any of you SJ memebers happen to be riding up there too please don`t hesitate to send a shout-out our way! I`ll be wearing a Seattle Mariners beanie(I know, very unboarder- like...but I dare to be different). Don`t eat too much Xmas cake tonight!
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According to my Japanese source...they`d say, "saku saku."
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Tanbara had two HUGE and one medium sized kickers when I went last Fri, plus a bunch of waves. I reckon Hakuba 47 should also have some of its gears out already(they had a plastic tube, one rail and 2 small kickers when I went back in the middle of Nov).
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Yeah, I know what you guys mean. I do acknowledge during the "season" that place could get quite a bit of snow and they`d have a complete board park up and running(I did do my homework). What I didn`t like about the place was the fact that all the runs were so damn narrow&most of them not all that long. Also, the locker room system they use at GALA is just such a rip I felt insulted. The BIGGEST turn off was the shitty attitude from that jiji working the lift at the bottom. He left such a sour taste in my mouth I doubt I`ll ever spend my money there again. If y`all must know why I chose the place in the middle of Dec...(I think I`ve already said it)the Shinkansen package was only 6500yen. Oh well, it`ll be part of my experience.
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I`d say go for it! For 6400yen it doesn`t matter where they take you you can`t really complain all that much. Enjoy!
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All I`ve gotta say is they don`t have the slightest idea of the meaning "grooming" up in Myoko! Get a damn assetsu toraku ya friggin cheap-ass bastards!
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Pardon my ignorance, but where is this Hakkoda place? Anywhere near Tokyo?
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circuit racing
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It was supposed to be quite busy at the slopes last weekend(being a long weekend and all)but to my surprise the ski area I went to on Sunday wasn`t all THAT crowded(not complaining `bout that, though), even though it`s a pretty well-known place. But nothing compares to the New Year rush...watch out if you plan on hitting the slopes after the first of Jan!
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Be the first one up there and eat up all the pow! It is definitely worth the extra effort.
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Stay away from the bottom especially if you are a boarder...it`s way flat! The courses up on top are a drag to connect, in my opinion. The snow wasn`t all that, either.
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Yup, they`ve got plenty of that up in Myoko Suginohara on Sunday! I was pissed! More on that later...
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Yeah, the heel strap on my Ride(Jeff Brushie model)binding was nearly torn in half after only 1 season... From now on I`ll always bring a backup piece with me!
Going to Hokkaido tomorrow!
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
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Just wait for my Niseko report!