tripitaka

Originally Posted By: rider69 Try ducking a rope in Colorado and see what happens. Try ducking a rope at Fernie or Whistler and see you in Jail. We all know many of the spots the resorts have roped off could be opened. It isn't our house and if we break the rules we know the risks. A resort has every right to enforce their rules whatever they are. I have a buddy who has been on ski patrol in Japan for almost 20 years and he's pulled passes if necessary, including a 6-foot+, aggro Aussie. Ski patrol are as hardcore about snow sports as anyone. They're definitely not doing it for money or

Originally Posted By: tripler Originally Posted By: iiyamadude Whats this 'I'm invincible, I can do what I want, the rules don't apply to me' that some people have going on? But it's only in Japan that you're not allowed to ski off piste. Anywhere else in the world a rope just means beyond this point you ski at your own risk. Is that true? Do foreign resorts only consider your "own risk"?

Originally Posted By: tripler Originally Posted By: Creek Boy All season pass holders should buy a points pass to give when you get caught!!! Someone suggested this in Hakuba last year. But are you sure they don't have a way of checking "on the spot" which was the last lift debited against it? How about refusing to give up your ticket until they give you cash for all the unused days? Ski Patrol are like TV Licence enforcers in the UK, they've got no right to do anything unless you let them. Shrug your shoulder and speed off. I'm not sure you're correct in saying that ski patrol ha

Well I guess it's better to lose your pass than find yourself dying in a hole or buried in total darkness.

I can't see this happening in Japan but it might go some way to chilling out the yobbish element of some of the tourists! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6917670/Colorado-ski-town-allows-marijuana.html

Originally Posted By: thursday dunno. I saw steeper outside my hotel room in Tomamu. I don't know the angle. I was in a tower block and I had to look up. I was surprised that it is the steepest resort run in Japan (if there's any truth in it), but I do know that it has some gnarly moguls and it is a convenient way of dodging crowds on the resort's most crowded slope.

Originally Posted By: thursday erm???? Goryu not flat there? In the last photo you can see a run on the left which the book Ski Japan names as the steepest on-piste run in Japan.

Originally Posted By: muikabochi Any pics for us tripitaka? No pictures sorry. I have a habit of breaking cameras when I take them on the mountain.

I was in Hakuba over New Year and it didn't seem to be too hard to avoid the crowds if you keep away from the main runs. Also, I found that the heavier weather scares off many people, so it could be the best time to be up there!

Originally Posted By: KRUSTY Surfinsmiley, give New Plymouth a try and see what you think. Waves are sick. Definitely got that kind of life style of surf/snow that sounds like youre after. I was born and grew up there surfing as much as I could and then spent 6 winters working on Mt Ruapehu. The weather can be crap, the mountain can erupt(which it did when I was there....twice) but it can also have great snow, season passes are cheap and terrain which is far better than any resort in Japan. Heres a link which kind of gives you an idea of Ruapehu and snow/terrain... Best of luck...

I've also done Turoa and Whakapapa, and the terrain is fun but I don't know if I would say it's any better than the heavy hitters in Japan. The majority of Japanese are not that great in terms of steepness. I doubt that the steepness of Craigieburn would be challenged by any resort in Japan.

Thanks for all the tips. Just one thing though, my buddy's traveling solo and most places don't seem to cater to them.

Originally Posted By: best skier in hakuba What is cheap? Under 6000 yen.

Can anyone make any recommendations??

Originally Posted By: Chriselle I just put on a new set of snowies on my LandCruiser.. 265/70R/14's. I had Blizzaks on it before but really these days all the tires are pretty much the same...not like they were a decade ago. I went with Toyo this time and they are a great tire and came out to 84,000 yen. The biggest problem with snow tires being used over several seasons is not the tread wearing down (although a concern)but the rubber getting hard. Keep your snow tires in proper storage during the off season. My feelings on this are...Don't f#$k around! INVEST in them. It's not yo

Originally Posted By: Black Mountain Well, rules is rules, right? Drove to Nagano and Niigata at least 10 times last year on regular tires (not even all-seasons). No chains, no nothing! Now, my car is a 4WD, so that helps a little. You seriously don't need them if you know what you are doing. I hate the notion that people have that using snow tires or chains are a substitution for common sense. Boneheads will end up in the ditch regardless of the safety equipment they use. It also seems that most people don't realize that once the chains go on the max speed you can drive is 50km/h. S

5 cm of snow on Koya-san in Wakayama Prefecture (for those outside Japan, Wakayama is more famous for surfing and fishing than winter sports).

Originally Posted By: Mamabear Are you really asking if it is politically correct or environmentally responsible? The two are different, but go hand-in-hand in my view. I'm not really anti-snowmaking and it might actually have some positive ecological benefits.

Originally Posted By: Ryoma It would also use more energy to cool down an indoor snow park (and make the snow) in a place like Dubai. I'd say energy use would be a bigger issue than the water? I have no real knowledge so I'm merely speculating. It'd probably be an environmental issue rather than a political issue but meh that's besides the point. I think the politics comes in when you're diverting to more productive uses, such as farming.

I was just looking at how snowmaking works and I guess it must use quite a lot of water. In the case of Japan, I guess water is not in short supply because of the climate and geography, but it does seem somewhat wasteful. I guess Dubai would have to be the most extreme case of wastefulness (and is probably cost-effective because of the slave labor used to build the facilities, etc.)

NZ heli-skiing is probably better than Japan in terms of development. Craigieburn's terrain is as good as it gets anywhere. However, for general piste skiing, I don't think NZ is in the same league as Japan.

Originally Posted By: rider69 All the forecasts are pointing to a massive storm about to come in. The Matsumoto mad rush to change tires is in full effect. Might we be seeing a 2005 type of December ending for snow? Actually, I think the weather charts are promising but it is really quite warm and it feels like autumn has only been with us for a 3 weeks.

Originally Posted By: Creek Boy Originally Posted By: tripitaka Well it's cold down in Kansai and there's plenty of precipitation so chances are that it's snowing somewhere. cold? it feels like 14 or 15 degrees outside. It sure is windy though! I thought my house was going to blow away there for a bit. Well I'm a bit of a pussy so it feels cold to me!

Well it's cold down in Kansai and there's plenty of precipitation so chances are that it's snowing somewhere.

Even after the dumps over Xmas/New Year, I still find that the big Hakuba resorts can be treacherous (ice) later in the day. 47 can be particularly gnarly with the sheer number of punters.