Mike Pow

Not I said the fly, in the photo above. Me in the goods.

I instruct for the first company from the first link above. Happy to show you the goods. Give them a call / email them and ask for Mike or Welshy.

yes. fingers crossed

Originally Posted By: oblivion Sounds very dramatic. Looks like a wild weekend everywhere. Maybe, maybe not. This was the avalanche report from yesterday (24th): "Extreme avalanche hazard in all area today. The northerly wind that picked up yesterday morning has kept blowing overnight at 20+m/s with a lot snow fall. The slopes were already very unstable yesterday afternoon and are even worse today as a heavy wind-blown snowdrift has kept developing on top of already unstable layer." As a very conservative estimate I'd say we've had 30 cm of snow in the past 48hrs. The

Just got in off the hill - Grand Hirafu side. Continuous snowfall throughout the day combined with a very strong wind event = inbounds slab avalanches occurring on steeper slopes and convex rollovers. Skier-triggered and natural releases. Saw the face under the Ace #2 Quad Lift between towers 15 and 18 release naturally to a crown depth of approx 35cm and a width of approx 50m that ran for approx 300m. These are all guestimates from the chair. Also experienced slab releases of approx 30-50cm in depth on Super Ridge as I was ski cutting the steeper faces. Didn't travel a gre

12cm this morning. More on the way.

Thanks. Looks great.

Is the terrain in the second pic accessible?

Supposed to be snow on Wednesday and Friday through Sunday. So nothing to worry about.

Saturday was the deepest & lightest snow I have ever skied. Today wasn't bad either, even with the upper lifts closed all day. Mel in Miharashi at 3pm Mel on Super Ridge at 3:30pm Yours truly on Super Ridge in the am Yours truly a little deeper on Super Ridge in the am

A cautionary word. Employing ski/snowboard instructors that are not employed by the mountain or the independent schools that are members of the Niseko Promotion Board is not advisable. Most don't have a clue and some are downright dangerous.

Week days = more non-Japanese Saturday = roughly 50 / 50 Sunday = more Japanese

Originally Posted By: ShayDn Dang, you had time to take photos today? My camera was in my bag the whole day - too busy chasing freshies =D Worth one minute of my time for when oldtimer's kicks in Another 14cm in the past 24 hrs at HQ. And it's snowing pretty well at the moment.

It was as good as expected today. Snowed most of the day off and on. Coming down a treat at the moment. Tomorrow will be better than today. This one's of Sean at around 2:30pm. Untracked.

Unless the Sapporo resorts have been getting it, get your arse to Niseko.

It's calm in the village with Christmas movie snow falling. Getting lighter, may even go bluebird in the next hour or so. 26cm in the past 24 hr at HQ; 55cm since the top lifts stopped running. Anyone's guess how much has fallen and how much has been transported up top. If they can get the wheels turning this morning, this day will be talked about for a very long time.

Tomorrow will be EPIC. As you were.

Measurements outside my house at ~300m. 15 Nov 07 - 21 Nov 07 : 105cm 22 Nov 07 - 28 Nov 07 : 52cm 29 Nov 07 - 05 Dec 07 : 108cm 06 Dec 07 - 12 Dec 07 : 54cm 13 Dec 07 - 19 Dec 07 : 89cm 20 Dec 07 - 26 Dec 07 : 72cm 27 Dec 07 - 02 Jan 08 : 83cm 03 Jan 08 - 09 Jan 08 : 130cm 10 Jan 08 - 16 Jan 08 : 162cm 17 Jan 08 - 23 Jan 08 : 138cm 24 Jan 08 - 31 Jan 08 : 71cm November 2007 : 177cm December 2007 : 318cm January 2008 : 569cm

How much have they had?

63 (57 at Niseko United and 6 at Rusutsu)

Originally Posted By: neversummer I think after the last 2 days, that 380cm average for the month is well and truely achieved. Up to 416cm already for January (the MikePow measure)

And getting sweeter. Snow keeps on falling

From a professional perspective, not filling the chairs/gondola to their uphill capacity when there is a significant queue during the busier periods of the season means that skiers/riders in a snowsports school lesson have less time going downhill. That frustrates me as the educator. Lord knows it must frustrate the student.

Measurements outside my house at ~300m. 15 Nov 07 - 21 Nov 07 : 105cm 22 Nov 07 - 28 Nov 07 : 52cm 29 Nov 07 - 05 Dec 07 : 108cm 06 Dec 07 - 12 Dec 07 : 54cm 13 Dec 07 - 19 Dec 07 : 89cm 20 Dec 07 - 26 Dec 07 : 72cm 27 Dec 07 - 02 Jan 08 : 83cm 03 Jan 08 - 09 Jan 08 : 130cm 10 Jan 08 - 16 Jan 08 : 162cm November 2007 : 177cm December 2007 : 318cm January 2008 : 360cm so far!!!! Mel in Miharashi this morning Once was not enough Kirstina in Miharashi Let's play 'Where's Kirstina'?

Grand Hirafu was busy (5 to 10 minute queues) on Sunday and Monday. Two factors. 1. International skiers/riders on vacation plus Japanese skiers/riders making the most of the holiday weekend. 2. More significantly, the lift operators having no clue how to load the maximum number of people on each chair/gondola. Couldn't run a bath.