bellavista

Oh, I'd like to think I've contributed in some small way.

GN Not sorry to see Fatty's gone. It was amusing to see the trucks for the first time but after that...yobbo central.

Originally Posted By: Fattwins I love it even in a post when you try to give good advice you take a shot. Yeah, I love it too. Killing two birds with one stone is always satisfying.

Ipak I can only comment on the Niseko and Rusutsu. I'd love to compare them with Hakuba and all the other places I've never been but there's only one machine in the world that does that, and Fattwins owns the only one in existence. Anyway, I would be confident you would have a great time basing yourself in Niseko. Rusutsu is my all-time favourite place to ski.(and I've skied a fair few places). Rusutsu needs a dump to be worthwhile whereas some other places are still fun without deep snow. Objectively, Rusutsu shouldn't be that good but it has an amazing number of hidden, semi-hidden

Originally Posted By: Fattwins Dont worry some people cant handle the truth ... I thought you might be a bit more grandiose in your response to Sarge.. Maybe something like..."Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with skis. Whose gonna do it? You Sarge? You, bellavista? I have more responsibility here than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Niseko, and you curse Hakuba's terrain. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Niseko's success, while tragic, probably is undeserved. And that my existence, whil

Creek Boy and Go Native Totally agree with your comments about safety. Quite a few times I've passed on that run because of concerns about its slide risk. The other place I'm really cautious with is near the cornice over towards Hanazono above Jackson's. That actually released and carried a mate of mine last February - he was fine, not buried and it was a minor slide. I've heard of similar things happening there in the past.

Originally Posted By: Fattwins Mate that is not accessable by the masses in 30 minutes. That is one Backcountry run that is somewhat steep and has zero features. 95% of the people even thinking about that would need a guide. Easy to find anywhere though and out right boring features. ....sigh... that shot... as pointed out by people who have actually been there.... is very close to the top lift and can be accessed by virtually anyone. Your shots are very nice, but noone said Niseko was steeper than Hakuba. The point taken up was that there is no steep skiing in Niseko. Surely

Originally Posted By: Fattwins You are not even close to the lifts on that one mate. Lets try to stay with in say 30 minutes of the resort please. The Hanzono website shows where that is on their opening page. You see, Fattwins, that is the problem with commenting on a place to which you have never been....... That is the north face of Annupuri, straight off the peak, a short boot pack from the top lift. The backdrop is Iwaonupuri. Surprised you didn't instantly recognise them from your topo map.

NOT....FLAT.

Yeah, maybe that's the difference - I'm not actually selling anything. I just ski there. Haven't seen too much negativity towards Hakuba from anyone.

Anyone else think this guy's obssession with this is a bit odd?

[soothing voice] ....stop.....breeeeathe.....[/soothing voice]

Bless you Mike , you understated b**tard. You're exactly the type of skier I'm talking about in Niseko. You've been to a bunch of places and skied a whole lot of years - and can probably smoke almost anyone on any given day. Your politeness and reserve in this and other forums is admirable. But I suspect you're underselling yourself. Enjoy that new snow.

Originally Posted By: Fattwins Im not telling you to shut up but if you want to have go I can have a go. I bet i can find more people that refer to Niseko as flat than you can find them saying it isnt. Is the second sentence seriously your idea of fulfilling the ambition expressed in the first?

Niseko My friends tell me the beer in Hakuba is ....er...flat.

Agreed Bill. But at least the dog chasing it's tail isn't running off down the wrong road. I just got sick of seeing all this "Niseko is flat as..." stuff. It floored me to find out Fattwins hadn't actually been there. So if the onlookers see the "dog chasing its tail" and draw some conclusions based on the strange balance that provides ... I'd be OK with that.

Originally Posted By: Fattwins You can either stop or ... So I have to stop? Why don't you stop commenting on a place that you've never been to. Niseko is not flat. Good skiers like skiing Niseko. Good skiers keep returning to Niseko. Recommending Niseko to a good skier is one of the most reliable recommendations anyone could make.

A few points 1. We are not preaching to the converted, we're often preaching to the unconverted and often in a forum where they have asked for advice. 2. You seem to think we are saying Niseko is the "best". We're not - but we're not going to let someone say it is something it is not. As I said before - just because people say Niseko is good doesn't mean Hakuba isn't. 3. Judge by the photos people - if you think the photos in the TGR link look boring - don't go to Niseko. This is was it is like. 4. You have to have been somewhere to make the sort of critical commentary that

If you just base your assessment of a place on a topo map - you'll ski some pretty ordinary places. You see - it's about the skiing. It's the snow - the quality, the depth, the frequency. It's the spacing of the trees. It's the accessibility of the slackcountry. It's the accessibility of the backcountry. It's the proximity of other good places to ski. For some people it's the ability to ski an untracked tree run while their other half skis a groomer - and meet at the bottom and ride up together on the lift. It's not having a nazi ski patrol. There's plenty of challenging

I've been lurking on this site for quite a while - but I've been provoked into action by Fattwins post about never having been to Niseko. I'd presumed you'd at least been there. I'm sure you're a great skier and all, but I've read post after post both here and elsewhere, where you rail against Niseko and how flat it is - blah , blah , etc , etc. There are disparaging comparisons made, quotes like " you have no idea what you are talking about, mate" delivered to those who have good things to say about Niseko. Any thread about Niseko has an even chance of being polluted by this c