powda tele

Quote: Originally posted by 3decks: Just home from Niseko - Just my experiences - We were a large group of Aussie guys and a few girls (10+) we never experienced a midnight curfew - we drank well into the morning on a few occasions. We never experienced any problems. All of us look forward to experiencing Japanese culture, food and trying to take on a bit of the language. Maybe that is a different attitude, we spent most of our time drinking with Japanese and practising (humbly) our language skills and vice versa. There was a few occasions when the group was the only Aussies in the pla

Perhaps, or they will just tell you to drive straight home and don't be a naughty boy by driving anywhere else on the way, as happened to someone I know. Whether they follow up on drink driving penalties is very hit and miss. I wish they'd enforce it more, and include random breath testing.

Quote: Originally posted by Meathelmet: Thought that if i want to travel half the world for skiing,it might be nice to be met with "minimal amount" of prejudice,or something. So we choose something else. What a wank. Have you thought about pointing this back at yourself? It'd be nice if you visited the place, had a great time, met some really nice people, and then made your own judgements. Last time I was there this season, I saw: (a) a little old lady in Seicomart who did her best to help a big Aussie tourist who was bumbling through his shopping with gestures, ( an old guy in an

I'll second the vote for Nao as a good Niseko guide. His English is good enough. He's fun. By the way, I've seen a metre-deep fracture at Hirafu, directly between where you first hit the ridge above the top single chair (if you hike up) and the top Hanazono chair. That area was closed, but the gate to the summit was open. Plenty of people were dropping in before the summit and riding/falling their way down into the slide path that had only slid that morning. That slide was on the resort side of the mountain, and within 100m of the piste. Patrol were doing their best to warn people, and to

They advertise a 'no ropes' policy? Doubt it, but if you prove me wrong I'll take it back. I'm sure they advertise a very open ski area, which it is. As to the tour companies not advertising the avo dangers the tourists may be getting into, that's a different matter. I think they're negligent there. More information as to why areas are closed would be great, but not something they're obliged to do. If you come into my house and smoke, I'll tell you not to. I don't have to explain why. It's my house. "Resorts around the world need to follow standards that are aeasy to understand"? Wha

SO SPOGGO, CONSIDERING YOU NOW ADMIT YOU MAY HAVE BEEN A LITTLE NAIVE, DO YOU THINK IT WAS ACCEPTABLE TO COME ONTO A PUBLIC FORUM AND BASH A SKI SHOP THAT HAS A GOOD NAME AND (MOST PEOPLE THINK) PROVIDES GOOD SERVICE? I THINK NOT. OH, BY THE WAY. WOULD YOU DO THE GENERAL SNOW JAPAN COMMUNITY A HUGE FAVOUR AND TURN OFF YOUR ****ING CAPS! I DON'T LIKE BEING SHOUTED AT! thank you very much!

Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: It is a Niseko marketing strategy to say that they are the only ones with no ropes. They don't advertise that at all. In fact, as has already been said above, they have ropes and gates. I'm surprised how many people demanding open areas and demanding things be explained to them have apparently been here many years. Have you not thought beyond your own perspective? Surely a few years in Japan would teach you that, if nothing else. I throw up a few points to consider: 1) While we all would love more areas open (myself included), we can't assume

Forget bringing credit cards. Forget bringing travellers cheques. There are ATMs at Chitose airport, and apparently in Kutchan. The banking system in Japan is way behind the times. I've had more success with banks in Myanmar than in Japan when it comes to transactions.

Have to agree with Dizzy. NAC service is good, and Ross (the owner) has his heart very much in the right place concerning Niseko. I've always found it a good place to go.

Like so many disputes, there are two wrongs here. The Chinese government isn't really actively inciting trouble, but it is standing passively by and enjoying the fuss. Likewise, the Japanese government isn't actively encouraging the right wingers, but it too stands by as the racists broadcast their filth in an equally racist and repugnant manner. Perhaps a lot of the Japanese who are concerned about the Chinese reaction should consider what their own government is (or more importantly isn't) doing to resolve the tension. Of course, this involves stepping outside the box that the media bui

Two weeks in hospital and some other stuff, but here it is (finally). Hope it helps: http://www.sandan.net/bbs/light.cgi

Sorry to hear that. Translator/researcher has been in hospital for the last two weeks. Just out. I'll ask again.

Plenty of fun up here. I even got some powder on Sunday - most unusual for April.

Hm. Might be waiting a while for that link. She's just gone into hospital for a week (operation). I'll get it when she comes out.

Thought you would. It was your kitchen.

Sure. Good idea. My translator went down sick today, and doesn't sound like she'll be back at work until Mon. I'll try. Feel free to PM me a reminder as I'm a forgetful bastard.

I'll try and get a better description today. I'm getting info from a forum that includes a close friend of the deceased and at least one of the rescue party. I'm getting it second hand through a Japanese friend. Apparently, the guy (and presumably the girl) were not risk-takers. He always carried avo gear and dug pits, etc. They dug a pit that day, and thought it was OK. He rode first. After not too much riding (just over 50m?) the slab slid, fracturing 50m above him. It appears to have slid on a layer of ice. One of the rescue team has posted that it was a classic slab avalanche. We

Hm. Still getting dribs and drabs. Seems as though a chopper flew in and found them on the day of the avo, but couldn't land due to a blizzard. Starting to make some sense.

Latest news is saying that the rescue team tried to get there the same day, but they couldn't. The couple had to wait one night. The woman got frostbite but she was fine. The guy died. I guess, whatever happened with the rescue team, the result is the same either way. It's still a grim reminder to us all. Sock Monkey - I agree, I'd read a reasonable amount before my basic course, but a practical course is much better. I think a course is better than a beacon (though I'd recommend both, and practice). Don't know anything about rescue teams etc in Japan. I do suspect it varies greatly,

I have twist locks that work fine without freezing or locking. They're old Komperdells, that also extend out and lock together to make an emergency avo probe (not as good as a normal probe). I have heard, however, that the flick locks are better. I think three-section poles are good if you're a boarder, but if you're a skier you'd do fine with two-section poles. As a skier, it's not like I ever need to get my poles really small and stash them away in my pack. The more sections you have the more they cost and weigh.

If we put the tragedy aside for a sec, it's a good (for want of a far better word) reminder to us all to keep our heads up and be careful out there. That's two avie accidents with serious consequences in Hokkaido in the same day. I was BC on Yotei with two others the same day. The pit we dug showed a good stability for where we were. Frightening to think of the dramas unfolding not so far away at the same time!

Interesting. Montoya, your Japanese is clearly far superior to mine. since many of us don't have jobs where we can sit around studying Japanese (I'm not suggesting you do, but some teachers here do), could you please give a rough translation for the ignorant such as myself? Also, can you find anything about the Eniwadake avo. It's not far at all from Sapporo. Thanks for the info. A rescue team of 57 for someone who was already dug up? I don't want to believe it, but I suspect it might be true. If it's true, it certaily doesn't sound like an efficient response, large but perhaps not f

I'm only getting the info in dribs and drabs, but it seems the girl dug up her boyfriend quite quickly. He was dug up unconscious, and she imediately called some kind of emergency/rescue service, but they "couldn't come Sunday" so they spent the night on the mountain. When the rescue team arrived on Monday, he was already dead. Very sad. Also, there was an avalanche at Eniwadake on the same day. One man was buried but survived with terrible injuries. I'm getting this from a Japanese friend who is translating it and passing it on, so I don't know why the rescue team couldn't get to th

I agree Iran and Turkey would be good. Lots of eastern Europe would be good. Try central Asia as well. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for example, have big mountains. Russia - so much there. India is done by many a tourist, but still interesting. Nepal - if you think it's politically safe enough. Chile is also done by many, but there's a lot more in South America. Then there's China, and don't forget checking Africa. Don't limit your ideas by what you've heard about in the past. Do some googling and search for ideas. I bet people have done ski trips to anywhere there's snow. Many of them put someth

Or maybe Ashiribetsu, at 12.30.