Mike Pow

Which one? Telluride or Higashiyama?

Sorry to get your hopes up, nothing official to my knowledge. But if this guy was CEO then chances are Niseko would become less flat pretty quickly. http://blog.tellurideskiresort.com/blogs...n.aspx#comments If Telluride can, why oh why can't the Niseko area? Answers on a postcard please to tiltniseko.com

Originally Posted By: Creek Boy We havent had anything to laugh bout on the boards in quite some time. Maybe the really embarrassing stuff is being censored by gonative and mikepow? I'm an information giver not taker

I would go the other way. 343 back towards Kutchan. Over the bridge to the T-junction and the lights. Take a right on to Rt 5. Follow that until you get to the 4-way intersection and lights with Hakkodate straight on, Niseko right and Makkari left. Take the left turn to Makkari. When you get to Makkari take the right turn into the town. After about a km it's a left and then it's signed for Rusutsu. You'll be coming in from the side that takes you to the right turn to East Mt first this way. Give yourself 60-75 mins. Then if it's faster it's a bonus.

Congratulations. Thanks for this. Looks very reminiscent of the slog up Mt Saint Helens in Washington State, USA.

Originally Posted By: Fattwins BS plain and simple! when you set people up for an experience, that doesnt live up to the hype, they are disappointed. That does not make them a control freak. True. And for the majority of the time when the majority of the people that come to the Niseko area during the winter, Niseko DOES deliver and live up to the hype. "Good mountain, great snow" Unfortunately sometimes Mother Nature doesn't cooperate. Namely loads of snow PLUS loads of wind at the end of February. Only 32cm of snow in March, April & May And this is where most peo

This year I think it was closed from 05 January through to 29 February. And I think it's due to: Maintenance Lack of people Too much snow Avalanche risk

No. Skied there, but stayed at Asahidake. Thinking of going up tomorrow or Sunday. Plenty of places to stay. http://www.sounkyo.net/english/index.html Don't know if they'll be full this weekend though.

Not much to do at Annupuri, especially for kids. Few restaurants. You would need wheels to see anything beyond the slopes. Or be beholden to the bus.

May 6th

25C tops. and dry.

Will definitely be here for my 2nd summer and planning to be here for my 3rd winter. Never done more than 2 winters at any resort, so to be here for number 3 is testament to my 'love' of this area. Took pics. Will post later.

Had a fabulous powder hour this morning. Two laps up the peak dropping the main gully. Sunshine, 10cm of spongy pow, untracked.

Nagano?

If all the lifts are running then no queues beyond first lift. If the top lifts are shut for wind then people concentrated into smaller area. Then maybe 5-10 mins. Had one bad day this winter when only the quad was open. Then it was 20-25 mins wait.

Lots of impressive pics in this thread from another forum based in the UK. Certainly not as much snow as Japan, but a bit better than 'pretty decent' http://www.adrenalintrip.net/nevis-range...766?siteid=1&31

Yep. A fantastic season. A number of the ski areas will be open until mid-May.

NZ will pray it has a 'Scottish' season this year.

Yes, yes, and thrice yes

Government, and home owners through annual taxes. Same as most places in the world.

The lift ticket prices are practically the same. Accommodation is more but not by much and there is lots of expensive accommodation and housing at Park City and The Canyons. Costs on the hill - food & beverage - are practically the same too. Re: Niseko area There is accommodation owned by the resort. This appeals more to the domestic market. And the resort owners have not participated in the building boom to their loss. I know they've been burned before and they've still missed the boat. Taking my profession as an example there are no restrictions to people instruc

But Deer Valley is priced comparably to the other resorts in the valley - Park City and The Canyons - but offers far more IMHO. And the Niseko area could do a lot worse than copy the Deer Valley model - great terrain, great snow, great grooming, excellent service. Let the masses go to the bigger areas on Honshu.

Less than the AUS resorts if the link I posted is accurate.

In some respects, Hirafu doesn't need growth (read volume). Well not until the mountain gets its act together. Lower prices = more people visiting = more people on the slopes = more queues + less fresh tracks Which in time will send people away from this area because the things they come for they can't get. Taking a leaf out of Deer Valley's (Utah, USA) book would be a wise move IMHO. They limit the number of day tickets sold each day to manage the skier to terrain ratio.

This just in. Kind of explains why so many Australians vaction here and have bought second homes here: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23559889-1702,00.html