grantj71

Anyone who starts adding up the costs of winter sports, shouldn't be doing winter sports.... Imagine on a 'No friends powder day' trying to decide if you should buy that extra lift ticket even though you MIGHT exceed your budget!!! When it snows, you just GO!

Tripler... You and SantaCruz are taller, but I am a BIG bloke... You are at least 25kg lighter than me (if you get back to 95kg) and Santa Cruz is 99kg... to my 120-125kg... I can ride my board fine thru the trees as well, but as SantaCruz says it's all about feeling stable and doing what you want to do with it.. I am happy to go into the park, but being close to 40 years old, I just want to jump and land without being tricky... Whereas, some people want to spin and flick etc.. I am sure if I wasn't such a big fella, I probably wouldn't need to worry about having such big bo

I am 192cm tall and weigh between 120 and 125kg... I have 3 boards that I use regularly 1. Burton Baron ES - 168 cm. I use that mainly in Oz on the hard packed snow/groomers. Also used it in Hakuba last year as limited new snow. 2. Burton Super model - 172cm. Good mix of a board to use on groomers but also good if we get a dump of snow as gives me the opportunity to get it on TOP of the snow and not under it! 4. Nitro Sabre Swallow tail - 181cm. This is AWESOME for the BIG dumps of snow in places like Niseko, and also for Heliboarding... Being the size and weight that I am, I f

Well, I am glad that on the whole most people have taken my review as what is what meant to be.... Just a neutral informative view of things. I have no vested interest in either location.. The hope is that certain people that live and work in each location can discuss in a neutral way the positives and negatives to management and we can see an improvement. I am sure also that many Aussies would love it if Qantas, Jetstar, JAL or similar put some direct Australia to Sapporo flights back on!!! Someone in an earlier post mentioned about people doing their research before they get

Hey Can anyone tell me if there is suitable storage at Tokyo station? Travelling back to Narita tomorrow from Hakuba, and want to stop for 3-4 hours to look around but don't feel like dragging bags and board bag around. The board bag is massive as it holds a total of four boards for wife and me (including 182 swallow tail, unused on this trip!!!) Catch the shinkansen in the morning but if no acccommodation confirmed for bags, then might leave it till lunch time to leave...

Well, I wasn't trying to create any fisticuffs but more just getting out my views on the differences.. Too often, we get 'one is better than the other' but no real reason why... Hakuba could be the BEST resort, but unfortunately at this time of year, the snow is not the best so hard to get a good judgement from that point of view.. The restaurants, onsens, off piste 'tree's' and all that could also be very good, but with little information in English to point you in the right direction, it is again hard to make the best decision... The biggest thing that I could see that was ju

OK... So we have read this type of thing 1000 times, but I am putting this review up based on my opinions. I have been to Japan for the last 4 seasons straight (currently in the hotel in Hakuba)... Mar 2006 in Niseko, Feb 2007 in Niseko, Dec 2007/Jan 2008 in Niseko, and Feb/Mar 2009 in Hakuba. I have come here to Hakuba with my wife, and she came last year to Niseko as a virtual beginner.. So... Here is some comparisons. Getting to resorts from Australia - The winner - Hakuba... Plane landed at 6am and in Hotel room by lunch time after taking train, then bullet train th

Hi guys Hoping you can help me. My wife and I will be hitting Japan possibly at the end of Feb 27. Can't get there any earlier due to work commitments. Have been to Niseko 3 times since 2006, early March in 2006, Feb 2007 and Christmas 2007/New Years 2008. We probably need a change, but want to go somewhere that is still likely to have a good cover and MAYBE if we are lucky receive some extra snow. Don't want to slum it, but don't need 5 star luxury, but only can speak about 3 words of Japanese... What's the best options? We are not crazy people who need it stee

If he had a single board and the bindings were set not dissimilar to a skiier then it is mono-skiing... If he is a on a single board and his bindings are set just like a snowboarder he is one crazy dude!!! Poles would be awesome when you are on one of those bloody cat tracks that are almost dead flat.... There are mono-ski boards specifically for mono skiing.... Not having done it, but I reckon that they would be heaps easier to ski in powder over proper ski's... I mean I am a snowboarder and can't control two things at once, that's why I snowboard!!!

Well, I just got back from Niseko, after my third trip over the last three seasons.. First trip - early March 06, Second trip - mid Feb 07, this trip - Christmas eve 07 to Jan 4 08... Yep, it wasn't as good as it was the previous two visits BUT.... Still found deep snow, that didn't have a crunchy base (the last two days)... and yep, the rain was a downer, but Mongoose, MikePOW, Go Native and others..... you all sound like the little fat kid at Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory ('I don't know if this chocolate is good enough for me').... You are so lucky to be in such a beautiful place an

Does anyone know if the Annupuri bowl area is open yet? Has been a favourite of mine but I am getting the feeling they haven't opened it up yet? I arrive on Monday and really pysched about the whole thing... What appears to be the pick of the crop at this moment in time?

Hang on... Wasn't there an extra 45cms over the weekend? I note the depth is now around 1.45metres in Niseko and was about 1m on Friday...

My two cents worth.... If you are like myself coming from Australia, then the gear that you would normally use in Oz, while usable, isn't ideal for the amount of powder that you get in Japan... As such, while you can get around the place, it is hard work.... As someone else has already said, you will probably find that using a FAT pair of ski's makes life a lot easier... The problem you then have, is that on your return to Australia (if you are coming back to Oz), you will then find that the 3cm of powder we get here in a 'HUGE' dump is not really applicable for your big fat powder ski's

If you are going to go to Niseko... Just get the All Mountain pass.. We all know that you can get bad weather on the mountain but it is not so bad 500 metres around on the next mountain (say it is windy, or overcast)... If that was the case and you had an all mountain pass, you simply either bus it or go to the better areas... The other thing is, I have been there twice now and spent probably 20 days there but could accidently follow a run to the bottom of the hill and realise that I am at the lift of another resort... That would be a bummer and hard to explain to the Japanese to get bac