Mike Pow

Thanks seemore. It was. Went back up yesterday. Report to follow

DAY 123 : SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ It was raining when I woke, so I took the day off snow. The rain turned to very light snow in the afternoon. DAY 124 : MONDAY 31 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ March saw 151 cm (59") of snowfall at MQ, the 3rd lowest total in the eight winters I've been collecting data. The highest total was in March 2010 when 271 cm (107") fell. A skiff of new snow had settled at MQ overnight but I was on the road to Lake Shikotsu and a solo skin & ski of Mt Eniwa-dake. The route up (gre

Thanks. I use google maps and earth and the link at the top of this pic

Thanks fluff and seemore. Yeah forgotten how good & long the runs are off the peak.

Great terrain. Very lucky guy.

This coming weekend at Kiroro could be one for the ages. A well known snow forecasting site is calling for the freezing level to plummet back down to sea level, and for 11 cm on Friday 50 cm on Saturday

Ha ha It's not that bad

FYI Today's forecast called for rain up to 850m Rained earlier this morning, but been light snow since at my place (~ 300 m) Just starting to stick on the newly uncovered grass Calling for a freezing level above the top lifts in this area for Thursday and Friday. If they're right, then it's going to rain top to bottom. If they're wrong, then it's on like Donkey Kong

Spring on Hokkaido is definitely a suck it & see scenario

DAY 122 : SATURDAY 29 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ Once the early morning valley mist had burned off leaving blue skies and sunshine I started my day at Niseko Village taking the gondola and single chair to the top of the ski area and then traversing over to the King Lift #4 (pIzza box) at Grand Hirafu. At the top of the single chair it was skis off for the hike to 'The Peak' for the first time this winter. A short walk later I was atop Mt Niseko An'nupuri ('The Peak') at 1308 m, enjoying a 360 degree view of all this area has to offer. The summit marker and M

Yeah great to get out 'walking' in the mountains seemore.

Great list there DiGriz

It was TubbyBeaverinho and muikabochi. It was I was in no particular rush sapporo. If you took the more direct route I reckon you get to the top 2 - 2 1/2 hrs.

DAY 119 : WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ Each time I've driven the road that runs alongside Jyozankei Dam on the way to Sapporo Kokusai ski area I've looked up at the jagged summits of Tengudake and Tenguyama admiring the very different look from most of the peaks found in this part of Hokkaido. Picture taken on 24 February 2014 Tenguyama on the left, Tengudake on the right With the spring freeze thaw cycle underway I took a solo exploratory trip from the Jyozankei Lakeline road across Sapporo lake and up to Tengudake today. 4 hrs of ski

Welcome. Only skied on Hokkaido, so here goes. If you're prepared to skin / snowshoe / bootpack then there's an abundance of steep tree skiing on Hokkaido. For example, the Tokachidake area the peaks around Jyozankei Dam (pics and vid on my thread later) Lift accessed supplemented with skin / snowshoe / bootpack you have Kurodake the Kiroro backcountry Otaru Tenguyama Sapporo Kokusai Sapporo Teine

Today was day 90, of which 61 have been knee deep or deeper powder days Niseko United 28 Niseko Moiwa 10 Rusutsu 9 Hokkaido Backcountry Club Heliski 1 Kiroro 34 Asarigawa Onsen 2 Otaru Tenguyama 1 Sapporo Kokusai 3 Tengudake 1 Sapporo Teine 1 Bolded resorts / peaks are new ones for me.

The heli takes off from the Black Diamond office in Higashiyama seemore. It's an expensive day Tubbybeaverinho, but a very different experience from the BC (Canada) meadow skipping skiing I've done.

No outside basket this season. Will be having one next season. Secured inside the heli.

DAY 118 : TUESDAY 25 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ A grey day in the Niseko Resort Area with drizzle at village level for most of the afternoon. Today was definitely the right day to rest up. With the downtime I got the chance to edit the video I took back in mid-February on my day with the Hokkaido Backcountry Club heli-skiing Shiribetsu-dake. Come Fly With Me

Asahidake for the best chance of avoiding the rain and getting fresh snow. Tokachidake if you're into touring.

DAY 116 : SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2014 1 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ The morning started off windy and grey with light flurries so I took the day off snow. Around 11am the sun came out and great Spring powder turns were reported all across the region. DAY 117 : MONDAY 24 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ Ian and I enjoyed a beautiful Spring day at Sapporo Kokusai today. Fantastic groomed runs early on and then we took a walk above the gondola to the slackcountry skier's right of the gondola. The south facing slopes were sun baked with heavy spring powde

Thanks for reading and commenting cal. At 47 years young I have to pace myself. The quality of the snow helps a lot.

Yep. Took today off snow. It was pretty rubbish earlier, and then it went bluebird. Heard from Glen Claydon that it was bluebird powder at Kiroro today

DAY 115 : SATURDAY 22 MARCH 2014 1 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ With sunshine and high winds since my last visit to Kiroro Snow World on Wednesday, Ian and I weren't expecting much from today. Thankfully Kiroro continues to surprise and delight us. 10 cm of new snow on a light sun crust with 20 cm below that. And 10-15 cm fell during the time we were there. Managed to get one series of pics before the blizzard started. Ian in 'Hangman'

DAY 113 : THURSDAY 20 MARCH 2014 0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ A sunny day across the region with great groomed skiing on offer. The skies turned grey just before sundown, and the light snow was accompanied by high winds through the night. DAY 114 : FRIDAY 21 MARCH 2014 2 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ With little new snow in the Niseko Resort Area in the past 4 days and snow forecast for the Otaru area resorts, Damien and I headed to Asari Snow Resort to find some fresh turns. There was about 5-10 cm on the groomed runs at the start of the day and another 10