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dyna8800

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Posts posted by dyna8800

    Best resort for a total snowboard newbie

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Tsugaike, hands down. Absolutely the best for beginners, with its gentle slopes at the base of the mountain, uncrowded on the left side.

     

    In Yuzawa, Iwappara is pretty good, mountain shape similar to Tsugaike. I was an instructor for a weeklong school ski camp there a few years ago.

     

    For reference, look at Ski Mapple or similar publication which lists all the ski runs (courses) with minimum and maximum slope angles.

     

    Have you taken any lessons?

    Poll: Your Favorite Mt. 6 Resort

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    That's awesome, Muikabochi! I have also been to all 6 and wanted to hear the opinions of everyone else.

     

    Here is my order...

     

    Nozawa Onsen

    Zao Onsen

    Shiga Kogen

    Hakuba Happo-One

    Akakura

    Kusatsu

     

    The reason why I like Nozawa is that the people treat it like a national treasure, which is rightfully is. The village has a certain unique charm not found anywhere else. In the evening, people stroll the streets. Here is a snipped from my personal overview.

     

    Nozawa Onsen is the quintessentential Japanese ski resort.

     

    Calling it a resort is somewhat of a misnomer. Nozawa is a traditional style ski area, set in Nozawa Onsen Village, a widespread group of ski lodges, minshuku, and a few hotels with the attraction of 13 different onsen hot springs throughout the town. Onsen lovers can spend time exploring each hot spring while ski and snowboard fans can spend the time on the many mountain trails. The most famous ski trail is the 8 km. long Skyline trail, the longest in Japan.

     

    Nozawa is included in the Mt. 6 Best of the Classic Mountain Resorts, a group of 6 ski areas consisting of Nozawa Onsen, Yamagata Zao Onsen, Shiga Kogen, Kusatsu, Hakuba Happo-One, and Myoko Kogen. It is unclear who made the list, but they are traditional ski areas with onsen hot springs, perhaps an arbitrary alliance of resorts to help attract more people. But I can say that almost all of these would be included on any skiers top ten list, with the exception of Kusatsu.

     

    Nozawa is also famous as the birthplace of skiing in Japan, and the Japan Ski Museum houses some memorabilia from the first days of skiing in Japan.

    Nozawa Onsen Vs Furano

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Just a quick note, legal poaching (although guess it ain't called poaching if it's legal) is much better on the Kitanomine side. On the Furano side, there are ropes EVERYWHERE along with signs stating that out of bounds is considered backcountry and not to be entered, rescue cost at own expense, etc.

     

    On the Kitanomine side, there were plenty of poles but there were no ropes alongside the ski runs, only nets and ropes at strategic locations where you would not want to enter and fall into a creek bed, etc.

     

    The best powder to be found was on the Challenge course, which had untracked powder in the trees as well as many spots along the run. We were getting knee to thigh high powder and I got a couple of face shots on some steeper drop offs.

     

    There was plenty of poaching being done with rope duckers going in the trees underneath the Downhill No. 3 lift, between the Panorama and Technical runs.

     

    That being said, there was virtually no patrol that was seen, unlike in Niseko...

     

    To compare, in Nozawa, the Grand Prix run off Skyline was much better for steps, and some pockets in there held windbuff pretty well. Compare to Zao.

     

    P.S. Cheeseman, the best cheese to be had was in Shizukuishi, from Koiwa farms. If you find someplace with decent raclette, please be sure to let me know!

    Socks / Toasty feet

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Hi, Patricia! Sounds like you are going to get completely outfitted for the season.

     

    The new wool socks such as Smartwool are not the old itchy socks of yesteryear, and are super soft. Many people prefer natural fibers compared to the synthetics although I like both.

     

    X-Socks provide more support and compression in the arch area. Some people find they they feel "tight" compared to other socks. And they are expensive.

     

    In the old skool days, they used to advocate a thin liner and a thick outer sock. No longer. You are much better off with one pair of thin or medium weight sock, which will let your foot breathe as well as let the blood circulate. Poor circulation leads to cold feet.

     

    Stemik has great advice to make sure to dry the boot liners after each day of skiing...and make sure to keep your boots inside and not get cold. Putting on cold boots...yuck.

     

    Performance skiers normally use the thinnest sock possible in order to increase the "feel" and the transmission of energy to the boot. For reference, I wear the Euro Socks Ski Super Lite, although would probably recommend the Ski Elite.

     

    When your boot liners start to pack out (compress from lots of use), then you can switch to a thicker sock.

     

    There are covers that go over the outside of the ski boots, made by Dryguy, called BootGlove.

     

    I do not suggest putting small packets of hokkairo (chemical heat packets) in your boots.

     

    Hotronic and Therm-ic have boot heater solutions that run US$ 2-300 and require installation into your ski boots.

     

    Happy warm feet to you,

    New Gloves - Which to Buy?

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Originally Posted By: Chilulu
    Bought a pair of Burton-brand gloves last year in Jimbocho. I can't believe it, but they're already falling apart. Especially the finger-tips--the top layer is peeling away...

    I guess I can't trust brand-names anymore... Can anyone recommend what kind of gloves I should get as replacements? I need to get them before my next trip on the 24th...

    Thanks in advance!


    You might want to try to send them back to Burton to see if it is a "manufacturing defect".

    Stick with the big names and they usually stand behind their products.

    I had a pair of Marmot gloves with an unraveling seam. They replaced it with a brand new pair of current year model...

    Most of the backcountry guys swear by Black Diamond. Great gloves but a little pricy.

    Newbie question alert - left and right skis?

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    First of all, thank you grungy-gonads! lol

     

    Patricia, my post was not meant to be "competitive", as you point out that it is a "newbie" question. My comment that "we like to chat" is that there are a lot of frequent posters that can offer up lots of differing opinions and advice. As in any internet forum, you must then inspect the different responses and decide exactly which one(s) are correct, i.e. read with a grain of salt.

     

    Here is additional information for your perusal.

     

    First of all, do you have your own ski equipment, or will you be using rental gear? In most cases, if you are renting boots and skis, the rental shop will adjust the bindings for the boots. The better shops designate the left or right ski because they set each binding individually with the left and right boot, due to variances in the wear of the boot sole as well as the actual size differences in the length of the boot. However, in my experience, there are very few shops that do this, and only use one boot to adjust both bindings. The better shops that carry performance and demo equipment are normally the ones that take the extra time and additional step of individual adjustment.

     

    If you have your own equipment, it is important to get the bindings adjusted every year in order to compensate for the wear on the boots. Some boots have replaceable sole lugs so that you can just replace the bottoms rather than have to buy new boots. I use Serius Cat Tracks which are covers to slip on the bottom of the boot soles to improve traction and grip as well as to prevent wear and tear.

     

    Finally, there are a few skis out there that are indeed designated left and right, and they normally have "left" or "right" marked on the ski.

     

    HTH,

     

    See you on the slopes!

    Waxing question - snow temperature

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Google is your friend for the following references, and so is Hertel, which is an all temperture wax. Have not seen it in Japan.

     

    If you are more performance minded, Dominator is probably better...then you need to worry about old snow vs. new snow. Available at ICI Sports or Victoria in ski-gai area.

     

    Wax wars are religious, just like the undergarment debate. If you really want to get into it, check out the Barking Bears on Epic Ski.

     

    Best of luck,

    Special hot underclothes

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Thanks for the clarification. Your playground, I try to abide by the rules while providing lots of on topic information rather than chatter but must have misunderstood the policy. No commerciality intended...

     

    Back to the conversation. One poster mentioned neoprene. While it may be great for wetsuits and face masks (with breathing holes), it is unsuitable for undergarments because they do not breathe. The fabric needs to wick, which means to draw the water away from the body and out.

     

    The super performance fabrics not only wick water, they trap heat and release it when it is needed (if you believe the explanation from the manufacturers).

     

    Happy Boxing Day.

     

    Cheers,

    Special hot underclothes

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    Unfortunately the links which I spent time to search and post so that Patricia could make an informed decision by easily researching the various options must have gotten deleted by a moderator. Pity. So, Google is your new friend, I won't waste my time posting URLs anymore.

     

    Back to the discussion. There are big differences between the fabrics, especially when it comes to the durability wash after wash. The Uniqlo fabrics are inexpensive, good for the recreational skier/rider. But the performance fabrics stand up to repeated use and stay warm. Some of the Uniqlo garments start to pill.

     

    Like I said before, if you are cold blooded, you will enjoy the benefits of a much better solution. Whether you value that as a multiple of the price of the cheapo Uniqlo garments is a subjective decision.

     

    If you really want to know about what to use in extreme, cold weather conditions, do a search for what backcountry skiers/riders use.

     

    All the best,

    Special hot underclothes

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

    You are probably referring to the "performance" fabrics made by a handful of manufacturers.

     

    Outlast

    Breath Thermo by Mizuno

    Capilene by Patagonia

    Uniqlo Heat Tech

     

    You get what you pay for, basically. My hot blooded gaijin friends can all get by with cotton thermals or cheapo Uniqlo Heat Tech undergarments while I spare no expense to stay warm on the slopes being the frosty man I am. I wear expedition (thick) weight Outlast on top and Breath Thermo on the bottom.

     

    Also might want to take a look at CW-X and similar which "provides targeted support to specific muscles and joints in the body where it is needed most." In other words, these are the compression tights which are used by professional atheletes.

     

    All the best,

     

    First Aid / Rescue-Tokyo

    in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry

    Posted

     Originally Posted By: dizzy

    One case in point I can think of is how the Heimlich Manouver is unheard of here. All those poor people who choke on mochi every year. I heard the common technique here is to lean over the back of a chair and jump up and down so that the highback on the chair pushes into the stomach to dislodge the food. Or something like that.
    (Then again, I also heard the American Red Cross now considers "abdominal thrusts" better treatment for choking than the HM.--Dyna, can you confirm this?)


    Here are some references.

    American Red Cross

    Wikipedia article on chokinig


    You can do the abdominal thrusts on yourself, better than a chair.

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