Ski Beaver
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Posts posted by Ski Beaver
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Some more pics, going well this trip and should be puking for next 4 days.
Me, back in the white room:
And again:
Mike Dechell, finally out from behind the lens:
Ev, first day out on the snow after a week of drinking with the locals:
Matt, last day, enjoy the sunshine back in Sydney champ!
It's still puking more pics tomorrow night
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Janus, the fitness regime going well?
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Over here in Hokkaido for the next couple of weeks.
Here are some pics from yesterday.
Hopefully more to come.
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I'm biased but the Gotama gets my pick for the best grpahics.
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2 pages to go.
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Fattwins how many are you expecting to catch this season? Everytime you throw a line out these days you seem to catch another one.
As you know I'm heading back to Niseko next year - because it's so flat and I'm sick of Whistler, Kicking Horse, Fernie, Banff Resorts and Europe etc.
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Haven't posted in this thread yet.
Best snow ever - Niseko.
Best fresh snow and terrain - Fernie
Best Terrain - tie between Whistler Blackcomb and Kicking Horse
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Nope not Niseko.
Steepest stuff I've skied is in Kicking Horse - similar steepness to above pic, your elbow and shoulder can be used to slow you down if needed.
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Steepness is hard to define, when something is steep it just means that it is steeper than the other stuff you were skiing.
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Nope it can't get better.
80% of the days we skied there every single run was illegal - ie we did not ski one groomed run nor did we ski any of the designated off piste areas. We had our own areas that we found early on in the trip, we had names for the runs, the diferent chutes and we knew most of the features in this area very well. We were also radioed up so that we could keep each other alert for the patrollers.
Without the secret runs we were doing our holiday to Niseko would not have been as memorable - untouched, waist deep, steep runs 3 days after the last storm - that is what makes a great place. Also we skied mostly at Higashiyama and Annipuri, Hirafu is overated in my opinion and Hanazono is flat, and gets tracked quickly.
La Ponte and Rusutsu are pretty good too.
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At no time was I challenged by the terrain, however i was continually amazed at how much snow fell from the sky, first 9 days it stopped snowing for only a couple of hours on one afternoon - the rest was just dumping.Quote:Originally posted by Toque:
Ski Beaver - Sure there is lots of powder but did you find the terrain challenged you?
I got my powder fix, should last me a while, I am still dreaming of the steeps I had at Kicking Horse, Fernie, Whislter, Banff resorts, the stuff that makes your mind sharpen up and concentrate, and gives you that rush after skiing down. Hence the Jackson Hole, Snowbird/Alta trip, then Europe(again) - but this time with stronger skiers.
A powder rush is just as exciting, just not as scary. -
I had a great time - as the photos show! the snow was so deep, so consistent and a great town too with awesome people and food.
As to whether i will be back next year, I doubt it. I have other places to go first starting with Jackson Hole / Utah trip in Feb 06, then an assault on Europes finest, then maybe settle back into Japan.
It's not that I wouldn't be satisfied going back there year after year, it's just that there are other places on this planet that I would like to ski.
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Didn't see any sign of yobboish behaviour at all.
Did see some snobs , but that's a different story.
The Asahi Shimbun SAPPORO-It started with a smattering of ``G'days'' and a trickle of discarded Vegemite jars in the early 1990s
Then came the occasional English-language billboard
Soon the number of Australian faces in and around Hokkaido's Niseko ski resort had snowballed from several to scores to thousands
Now, tourists and investors from Down Under are gradually making some of Japan's most popular ski hills their own
Hard on the heels of skiers, Australian businesses and private investors are financing construction of condominiums, resorts and commercial complexes that promise to transform Niseko in the coming years
With 1,308-meter-high Niseko Annupuri mountain at its center, the ski resort encompasses the towns of Kutchan, Niseko and Rankoshi. Two-and-a-half hours drive west of Sapporo, the area attracts about 700,000 skiers and snowboarders in winter
Word of mouth and media reports about the great snow gradually attracted more winter revelers from Australia
In the last two years, the influx of Antipodean powder-lovers spiked sharply. The number of such tourists who stayed in Kutchan, where three of the seven ski slopes in the Niseko area are located, reached 2,924 in fiscal 2003, up from 214 in fiscal 2001
The figure is expected to grow to 5,000-6,000 in the current fiscal year, according to Hajime Sekiguchi, director of the commerce, industry and tourism section of the Kutchan municipal government
Australian Airlines started direct flights between Cairns and New Chitose Airport near Sapporo in November. The seasonal operation of the two round-trip flights a week will continue until March 26
In November, Harmony Resorts Niseko Pty. Ltd., a resort development company based in Melbourne, purchased the Hanazono ski field from Tokyu Land Corp., a major real estate company, in partnership with a Tokyu Land subsidiary. The field is part of the Niseko Hirafu Ski Resort, the largest skiing facility in Kutchan
Nihon Harmony Resorts KK, a joint venture 99.55 percent owned by the Australian firm, plans to spend 24 billion yen to build a resort complex, comprising a hotel, apartments and commercial facilities, in the ski field. Construction will start in 2006 for completion in 10 years
Colin Hackworth, president of the joint venture, said the complex will accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 guests
Hokkaido Tracks, a developer of Western-style apartments for holiday rental and investment, has built 12 condominium units in two buildings in Kutchan since it was set up in August
Company President Simon Robinson said all the units in its third condominium building due to start construction in March are sold out
For Australians, Niseko has the advantage of being closer and cheaper than European ski resorts
A two-week package tour to the area from Australia is typically priced at about A$3,000 (about 240,000 yen), roughly half that to North American and European destinations
Australians are in a spending mood thanks to a strong economy and the rise in the Australian dollar against the yen, which has made it cheaper for Australians to holiday in Japan. The currency rose to about 80 yen at the end of 2004 from about 64 yen four years ago
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oh damn, never before has a tougher question been asked of me!
Can I have two runs, please.
Seriously difficult question.
probably 3 turns, to straight.
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More pics from the last few days.
It is still going off here and I am continuously amazed at the amount of snow that we have been getting.
Some more pics:
Ski Beaver
Taking in the air
LH going well on the board.
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More pow, than you can shake a XXX at:
Ash on the board
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Some more pics, these are of some mates in Japow!
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A-Rod
T-Bone:
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Yep, that`s Fatty Matt, we rode with him a couple of days this week, the guy is a speed machine.Quote:Originally posted by Toque:
Is Matt the snowboarder also known as Fatty?
Looks like the same red jacket, blue goggles and helmet combo.
Nice looking pics. Looks really deep.
Niseko - ski pics of a flat resort.
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Another day, another foot of fresh, during the day it was snowing at over 15 cm per hour - amazing day today. More snow forecast for tomorrow too.
Ski Beaver
And again:
Ev, coming in hot.
Two mates went down yesterday, one ruptured medial ligament (drinking accident) and the other possible fractured wrist (skiing accident).