powda tele
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Posts posted by powda tele
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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.
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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.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.
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,
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an old guy in an onsen who gave me his spare modesty towel because he thought I might be more comfortable,
© three guys in an onsen who wanted to talk about why I was in Japan,
(d) a couple of Japanese skiers who were happy for me to join them for some off-piste skiing,
(e) a local butcher who asked if I liked the special yakiniku sauce she had sold me the day before, and then couldn't stop laughing when she learnt how much I had eaten, and
(e) a young ski tech guy in a ski shop who was lamenting that his English wasn't good enough to give technical details to his foreign customers.
That was all in the space of one weekend. Prejudice? Yeah, all in all, I feel like I got pretty special treatment. -
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 keep people from ducking ropes into bad areas that day, but people will always (naively and stupidly) manage to lay tracks into dangerous areas, even if they are just off-piste.
For once, I agree with Toque. Niseko isn't as safe as it looks. Nowhere in Japan is, really. And Niseko has it's fair share of avalanches every season. If you look at the maps that show where avie deaths have occured in Japan, you'll often find those crosses clustered around the resorts. You better know what you're doing if you go off-piste, or get a guide.
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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"? What part of an orrange rope that blocks access, a sign, and a patrol guy with a whistle is difficult to understand? Besides, the only standard they need to follow is to make it safe. Explaining reasons for closures doesn't make it safer, as such. It only makes us happier because we understand why. Nor is it something Japanese resorts have to do just because Western resorts do it. We could be big enough (and step out of our Western frame of thinking that strongly wants to know why) to accept that if it's closed there's a reason.
I would love more open areas, and I do support resorts that do their best to open things up, but I'm not pompous enough to think that resorts are obliged to open things up, or they're obliged to explain why they don't. It's a resort! There's the back country for no-rules, take-responsibility-for-yourself skiing.
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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!
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They don't advertise that at all. In fact, as has already been said above, they have ropes and gates.Quote:Originally posted by Fattwins:
It is a Niseko marketing strategy to say that they are the only ones with no ropes.
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 it's our right to have more areas open. That's how many of you are coming across. Ski resorts are managed by companies, and they control what goes on on that land. What part of paying to use their services don't you understand? You can't stand there and self righteously demand they open more areas. You can prod and hope, but some of you come across as if it's your right. It aint.
2) If you get busted out of bounds, and they shout at you or take your ticket, you really can't complain or argue. Yes, I go OB all the time (often under ropes), but I'm older than 10 years old, so I accept that if I get caught doing the wrong thing I'll have to take the consequences. To argue with patrol, who are doing their job, is childish.
3) Patrol don't have to explain why they close areas. Remember, us foreigners who (rightly or wrongly) expect reasons are a tiny minority. Most Japanese would see the ropes and accept there's a reason for the closure. You want patrol to suddenly make a huge cultural leap and start explaining (to a comparatively small group of foreigners) why areas are closed? Presumably, they wouldn't be very comfortable stepping outside their cultural norm. Nobody is. Yes, I'd like it explained, but I don't presume they have to explain it. I could just imagine patrol trying to explain to every skier at Niseko (or any resort for that matter) why each area is closed.
4) Many ski resorts are run at a loss, under subsidies. To expect them to fork out their short funds to train patrol in avie assessment is unrealistic, at least if you're expecting a quick change. I see things changing for the better in some of the bigger resorts. Not as fast as I'd like, but they are changing in some areas I ski.
5) You, as an educated and enlightened skier with supreme skills, may be able to decide for yourself what is safe and what is dangerous, but you are not everybody. There's a hell of a lot of plodders out there (including a lot of foreigners - and some of my friends) who grossly overestimate their skills and underestimate their avie knowledge. Last year I saw people hike to the top of Hirafu to ride down into an area that had had a 1m crown fracture that morning, despite the fact that patrol were warning people at the top chair. I've also been half way down the back side of Mt Annupuri and had skiers/boarders ask me which run they will bottom out on. You may be good, but rules are generally made not for the enlightened few, but for the dangerous masses.
Flame away, but lets get some perspective here and remember we're skiing in Japanese resorts - resorts that are trying to cope with a sudden change in what people want, and trying to cope under tight financial conditions in most cases. They also make the rules and we pay to use their services under those rules. -
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.
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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.
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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 builds, and thinking from a more objective point of view. Likewise, the Chinese government should be doing more to resolve the issue, rather than standing by and watching it play out.
Really, the Japanese and Chinese government are both using the ingrained fears of their people to play geopolitical games. Pathetic really, but until the people of both countries rise above the pettiness of their governments, the squables will continue.
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Two weeks in hospital and some other stuff, but here it is (finally). Hope it helps:
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Sorry to hear that. Translator/researcher has been in hospital for the last two weeks. Just out. I'll ask again.
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Plenty of fun up here. I even got some powder on Sunday - most unusual for April.
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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.
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Thought you would. It was your kitchen.
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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.
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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 were out BC on the same day (Yotei) and noticed several (at least three) layers of ice in the first 1.5m. There has been a lot of warm weather up here recently, with some melting and refreezing going on. Our pit was quite well bonded. The rescue guy on the forum thinks the area where the accident happend was wind loaded (as slabs usually are).
From the translation above, it's difficult to say when the chopper was dispatched. Perhaps it was dispatched well before the party of 7, and they were only later dispatched when the chopper couldn't make the lift. Difficult to say the way it's written, and the press do often initially get the facts mixed up.
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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.
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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, depending on your prefecture. I have heard that in some prefectures it is free, while in others it'll cost you a fortune. Of course, if an accident happens, financial cost wouldn't cross my mind. Nothing would cost as much as a dead friend. A while ago there was a rant on the main forum about ambulance services in Japan. The quality and training of your ambulance service depends very much on your prefecture, so I suspect the same would be true of emergency wilderness response teams.
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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.
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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!
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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 fast. We do have to keep in mind that the media often get the details all wrong as they rush to get the story out. Difficult to make judgements until we really know.
Fattwins - good point about skiing with buddy system. I don't ski in large groups, but if I did, I think it's a good idea.
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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 the couple on Ashiribetsu dake. It does sound strange though. If the avo was at 12.30, and she dug him up quickly and called for help. It seems like there would be a fair bit of time for the team to respond. It'd be interesting to find out what went on there. Hard to criticize fairly without all the info though.
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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 something in mags or on the net. There's a wealth of info out there if you go through it all. Good luck.
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Or maybe Ashiribetsu, at 12.30.
Niseko Probs
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
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 place. Either I am naive or we were well received....
I did however notice quite a few older male tour groups - it reminded me of the end of season footy trip.... those guys sucks no matter where they are from - please dont generalise and paint all Aussies with the same brush...
I do see the point how a 6ft4 guy isnt the norm for Japan and that can be intimidating - Ive still got bumps of my head to remind me (from the small door frames, low flying lights etc) - again maybe its an attitude thing, Beav was lapping up the attention it brought at the KFC disco. I didnt perceive any problems either.
I guess the key is dont judge a book by its cover - a quick hello (in whatever language or format) Id hope would always get you a friendly smile and a reply we are on holidays after all and fun is what it should be about.
By the way, it's not my main resort, not even my favourite area. I defend it because I hear so much antistoke from people on this site who have never been there or who haven't been in years, yet those that go can't stop talking about all the pow they ate.
On a different note, Niseko has had a huge foreign input for a long time. It's more visible now because the tourists are white, but Chinese, Koreans, and Taiwanese have been visiting in droves for a long time. When I first came to Sapporo, one of the local ski shop staff told me that they get a lot of business from Chinese over on ski trips. When I stay at a resort near Niseko, I hear far more non-Japanese Asian language than I hear English.