olivermauss

A little apres ski anyone? Planning on making some mulled wine(Glueh Wein, Hot Wine, Spiced wine) at the Niseko J-First Cafe deck(outside) on Saturday from approx 4:30 pm. Feel free to drop by after a day or boardin or to warm up before the naita. Let me know if youre interested!!

We were there on the 2nd and it was great, if you know where to go. But with the current conditions I would be a little more careful and only venture in with a full kit(beacon, shovel, probe, snowshoes, etc for all involved).

Day was fantastic, crowds were totally manageable. Glad we went on the 2nd and not 3rd. Presume that the avalanche was inbounds not out of bounds?

Thinking of heading up to Naeba tomorrow for a higaeri, anyone up there over the last few days to let me know what kind of crowds I can expect? I seem to recall that its a mob over the new years break, but every year is different. Thanks.

I went last weekend and had two epic day in DEC!!! Mid Feb conditions thi early in the season are quite rare, so I agree with Bushpig... Luck of the draw, however, your odds in Niseko(or any place else in Hokky for that matter) are way better than in most other countries around the world...

I heard that they dont allow you to do the gondola run anymore. i.e. price of a lift ticket includes one ride up and down only. If you want to go again, you have to pay.. Can anyone confirm?

Defo BC. Can anyone recomend guides up there? I've read some of the historic posts on the subject, but not too much info on where to go. I usually wnat to be pretty safe on my first excursion into new BC territory. Happy to pay "non-official" guides as well, if we can work something out...

I dont think you have to worry about it at all. March is still awesome. However, this year you may have to deal with a differnt kind of issue rahter than whether you have enough snow or not(ovecrowding, quick caching of good off-piste, etc). Weve usually had excellent sessions way into April. BUT, bring your snoshoes...

Anyone read Dogs and Demons by Alex Kerr? Good for long time residents, bad for newbies... Pretty indepth analysis of some of the reason behind all of the $%ed up spending in good ole Japan. You dont have to gree with everyting he sez, but you can certainly see where he`s coming from.

I've heard the stories, been there once and was majorly dissapointed by the short steep section at the top and then the long flat ride back to the gondola. What gives?　Do I give it another try? It Asahidake one of those "awesome on a blue sky, fresh dump day but crap on a cloudy/snowy day" mountains? TRying to sort out my boarding life in 2006 and would love to add some fresh lines to the repertoir...

Ditto on Kicking Horse. Still trying to finagle a trip to KH in FEb with the boys, but the birth of my second son is making that a littel bit difficult logistically. Ive skied in several places on the west coast including Whistler ans this time chose KH becuase I hear that the powder and dependability is comparable to Niseko which is my stomping ground. Plus you have cat skiing helibaording and tons of offpiste so ive heard from people that swear by the mountain. Coming from Japan is also realtively easy if you fly via Vanc, transfer to Calg and then car it the 2.5 hours from there.... I thi

Also if you go to stay overnight, stay at the sangorogoya at the top. Cheap, decent food, run by a gaijin/japanese couple who are pretty cool, plus you can go out at night and build jumps on the slopes right outside the lodge without people bugging you.... Ive always had lots of fun at Zao, not too much off piste although it can be had if youre willing to hike a litte and duck a few ropes. If youre a bit of a speed demon, you can defo have fun as long as you stickj to the runs that drop you back in town and not on the back side of the mountain which I agree is flatish...

@ iambenw You need to take the #3 ropeway, go left out of the peak station, all around the hill, pass under the gondola and then takes the closest bee line that will take you back to the bottom station of said gondola. I cant remember how long it took us to do this run but it was between 5-10 minutes. If you do it right(i.e. dont stop) your leggs will be shaking seriously when you hit the bottom and there will be more adrenaline coursing through your body than you know what to do with...

@ Toque... INCOMING!!!!

What do you mean by powder lesson?