gogalago
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Posts posted by gogalago
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you can walk it in under 20 minutes... that said there is likely to be new shuttle bus starting up in the next few days.
there are also a couple of drinking/places places around happo/wadano too... ;-)
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Some countries I have visited have little stalls on the side of the road where you can buy/rent chains and have them installed on your way to the mountains. If this is what you mean by "get chain up near the resorts", be aware that I haven't ever seen this system over here, so chains might become a several hour detour as you search local towns for an autobacs or whatever. **Get them in Tokyo**, and judging by my experience of buggering about for 45 minutes in a blizzard in the dark, would suggest you experiment putting them on as a trial before you take the drive.
Snow tyres ("studless") are the bomb however and would highly recommend them instead of chains - as an "avid snow sports fan", surely you are planning a few trips.
For the roofrack, ask at the same place where you buy your chains/tyres... they will either help you out themselves or point you in the right direction.
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Wandering into your random travel agent armed with a calendar and the words "hakuba" and "bus" will probably be sufficient to get confirmation and potentially even a ticket.
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In terms of bars there are likely very few places in Hakuba that will actually "bar" him at the door... but serving alcohol will be a problem. Here proprietors are held far more liable for their customers behavior in general, so issues with underage drinking will be taken quite seriously.
For bigger parties though, he may well have a problem gaining entry, and probably rightly so...
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Most convenience stores are also courier pick up points, so effectively 24hours a day then too...
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You should seriously look into posting your board instead of lugging it back and forth across the country. Look out for the kuroneko (black cat courier) at the airport and send it to your spot in myoko. If I remember right they are happy to store it for a few days en-route... and the you can send it straight back to the airport too when you're done. Think it only costs around 1500yen either way... definitely worth it, and won't having you choosing places to stay based on carrying distance...
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Was hoping to delay the change over to snow tyres for another few weeks until I'm permanently in town, and make good use of the last few mm that remain on my regular ones to travel back and forth for the next few weekends.
Was taken a bit by surprise by the amount that's come down already, but doesn't look like there will be much more coming before Sunday though...
Car is 4wd though... any one there got some input on the road conditions? See there is rain forecast, so nervous that it might freeze up...
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Doesn't look properly scraped to me, unless you have a pretty scratched up base. The first close-up picture you took has kind of a round pattern in it which looks a bit like it coulda been made by an iron... how does it feel? It should feel like plastic rather than wax.
When I first learnt how to wax, was all rather disappointed that you pretty much have to scrape off as much as you can get off the board after all the "effort" of spreading it everywhere first, so if you are getting any significant amount coming off on your nail, its not properly done. You want it scraped right down to the p-tex - so if it feels waxy at all and your hand doesn't slide smoothly over it you need to buy a scraper. The tool for this is a straight edged piece of perspex. If it has been scraped though, you might still want to buff it to a nicer finish. In your local ski shop you will find them selling twin packs of kind of scouring pad type things; one dark grey and one white. The white one is the one you want to use last. (The dark one is for removing old wax before you put new wax on).
And with all scraping/buffing activities don't forget to go only in one direction: tip to tail.... which is why that circular pattern bugs me a bit.
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I'm just the guy looking smug.
we'll see just how smug come tomorrow morning/tuesday.
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despite indications to the contrary I remain a believer in the last dump... got some coming in this week, mostly on friday apparently. The temperature has been plummeting in Hakuba.
Call me a foolish optimist, but I think somethings up for next week too.
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Quote:The only advantage I see of more snow is the fact that the season can last longer.
Inbounds maybe so.... a few more advantages for those going beyond:
1) More snow covers more things -
a) some drops with rocky bottoms become doable
some rivers get better cover/snow bridges meaning they are easier crossed.c) smaller vegetation gets covered, so fewer face scratches and random whippings.
2) The weight of a lot of snow pushes smaller trees flat, meaning lines that were doable two years ago, but were filled with trees last year are once again fair game.
3) Having a massive thermal sink below means fresh snow stays fresh longer on the top - works for inbounds too that.
(1b) can work as a disadvantage too - some hazards that are usually easily noticeable are slyly disguised. The other disadvantages of having places made inaccessible or features completely covered are solved simply by waiting for a bit of a melt, so I vote always for too much snow rather than the many cons of a weeny depth.
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Maybe this is an easy way to go:
They basically do snowboard sized stickers, so you can get the graphic of your choosing on any board.
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If we tell you, then it might get insane there too...?
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Goryu/47,Happo One and Tsugaike are essentially the same place.
Myoko is underrated, but not in Nagano.
The way things are looking this year, no avalanche training and no gear = no off piste.
If you are set on Nagano, ever tried Shiga Kogen?
or instead of such a rush why not Hyogo or Gifu?
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Think you are pretty much limited to vending machine can coffee for 150yen a pop.
btw the sleep room (bed and no bed types) are the first two pictures on that link I posted before. only opens from 21 Dec - actually 1000yen for the floor version and 2000 for the crowded hospital type action.
Will be up there from tomorrow for the next 110days myself(but not sleeping in escal heheh).
S=T=O=K=E=D
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Dunno when they start with this, but they sometimes open the bottom lifts really early esp on weekends in peak season.... good for a bit of a warm up. Not sure what time exactly, but I have ridden from about 7am.
Incidentally there is a huge sleep room below the locker room too.... that normally opens from around christmas though - think it was about 1500yen, but beats sleeping in your car, provided there aren't too many snorers. Makes for a cheap warm stay If you are just gonna do a day....
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There is a change room with largish lockers available on the main entrance level. Look at th purple ones about halfway down this page:
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hehehe.... free lift passes? you mean you would be keen to spend another few days stuck in the same spot?
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kumapix >I don't see how a leash raises awareness that runaway boards can kill
because making a noob do something ten times a day on their first couple of days out gets them to wonder about why they are doing it?
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I have had experience of having mates not allowed on the lifts until they have gone to get a leash (dynaland). This is not common however, and I actually got by at the same time having my leash connected from my binding back onto the binding, instead of my boot.
As has been said above the only leashes that are actually going to do anything worthwhile are the long extendable ones - the short ones are only really useful for making people aware as the vast majority of board losses happen in cases where there is no possibility to have the short one attached anyway.
Leashes aside, I rank a board loss up there with setting off an avi above someone, if not higher, so if you need a leash to keep your board close, do it!
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yah yah add another
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If you are completely set on getting that board you are taking quite a chance trying to get it in Hakuba. It may well be available though - I can't tell you yet, but from experience, there is quite a surprising lack of options there, and although you can sometimes find the odd bargain, it is not the generally recommended place to shop - you are more likely to have to make do with what you can find! I don't know if there are any shops in Tokyo that will do mail order (I assume there would be) but if you are so set on a particular model, I think you might have better luck doing it that way.
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Snowtires are wonderful things! Any car that you are likely to be able to hire up there will have them fitted.
But you will save a huge amount of money by taxiing. Last time I hired a car it wasn't much shy of 10000yen per day which is what a taxi will cost for about 3 return trips. Considering you are likely to mostly be either driving to the hill and leaving it parked there all day or going out on the piss, can't see it being money well spent. You might also find lifts with people or get shuttle buses.
Having a car though allows you to give other people rides and hook up crew, or hit mountains further afield if the mood takes you.
I wouldn't bother with a car unless you have definite plans to travel around - decide once you are here.
...although I might revise my advice if its a very short trip.
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Last season was my first on Flows, and plan to repeat it for this one.
a few other random points, I remember:
- They are heavier than other bindings, but they are lighter than my 4 (?) season old Flux's that they replaced. Think this is the area they were most criticized in and made big improvements from the earlier models. Go compare the real things and the real difference is minimal, esp in the higher end models.
- You can't put them on sitting down. This is mostly not a problem.
- You can put them on while moving.
- They don't fold up so well, so sometimes you find issues with roofracks, boardbags and other places where boards might try to fit.(you can remove the "strap" though to get them smaller, but that can be painful if you haven't done the marker trick)
- There is a fifth screw to deal with if you want to remove the binding or even tighten the others. Its also smaller than usual size which means that the available dull and semi-stripped screwdriver might not be much use, and is another thing to lose when you try to move your binding back on the lift. They would probably be fine without the screw-cover that it holds on, but haven't tried that yet.
- In general they are very comfy, but they introduce a few new options for being uncomfy.
- Related to comfiness, they take a bit of adjusting, or in most cases, just being confident in loosening them up. You really need to mark the strap length!
- They are beautiful things when you are session a smaller kicker or rail and want to strap in every two or three minutes. But thats not to say they are the best for hitting kickers and rails at all..
- The high back hangs of the edge when you are skating so you will have at least one fun moment of falling forward suddenly as you hook it on the the ticket gate/fencepost/crowd while scooting though.
- I was in the habit of carrying my board by the "hoop" around the ankle before...
I have quite a few first-track memories from last season that are entirely attributable to to quick strap-ins. In 6 seasons of riding I don't think I ever once had moments to think that my bindings rocked, but in the seventh I had many. The next set of bindings I buy will be regular ones to have around for the odd occasion the Flows aren't convenient but will be buying more Flows after that for sure.
Prices and the Strong Yen
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Cash Cash Cash
No one will refuse cash, but most places don't have card facilities.
Depending on your card, you may also be able to get cash out at the 7-11, which seems to be becoming the more popular option. The Post Office has rather limited hours too, and as far as I know its only the one next to the station that has an "international" machine, so it may become a hassle to get there if you are staying in Goryu or something.
Carrying lots of cash is ok - you are not going to get mugged here, but would be cautious of fellow travellers, so rather keep it with you than stash it in your bag or something. I have had more things stolen in the last six weeks, than in my last 7 seasons here... actually this is the first year I've had theft issues at all, and I've had a bunch of stuff going walkies this year :-(