ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Yeh I like the Subaru I havent had one for a while since I prefer bigger 4WD like my Pajero but I have hired the Subaru a few times in recent years. Will try and get some maps here, i have some from Tourist Info at Australia Square but they are not that good. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 I had a GQ Patrol in Oz. I really liked that, much better than a Landcruiser imho. Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Talk to Clayton at the Black Diamond Lodge in Higashiyama as they do various tours. I helped them scope out some snowmobile BC tours last season. They also hire 4wd Delica vans, some with GPS systems. Clayton is a snow mad Canadian but has been living in Japan for yonks so can help you out with places to go in Hokkaido. God I sound like an ad. Must see about a bottle of whiskey... Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Originally Posted By: Journey Man Talk to Clayton at the Black Diamond Lodge in Higashiyama as they do various tours. I helped them scope out some snowmobile BC tours last season. They also hire 4wd Delica vans, some with GPS systems. Clayton is a snow mad Canadian but has been living in Japan for yonks so can help you out with places to go in Hokkaido. God I sound like an ad. Must see about a bottle of whiskey... Great advice, looked up the web site and have emailed re the vehicle rental, would be perfect for us. Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 I got Garmin-compatibe Japan maps for Mapsource on my PC. Used those in conjunction with the in-car GPS, and we managed to get where we wanted, most of the time... Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Well back to the Oz Season, I was in Falls Creek over the weekend, Thursday and Friday had seen the entire mountain on wind hold and Saturday was also bad, we had white out with rain and moderate winds. I chose to stay indoors. Sunday (today) was much better, I went out for the morning and expected the cover to be very soft following the rain however overnight it had frozen to a very solid icy cover. I made the mistake of taking my Fischer AMC 76 ski's out expecting the cover to be soft, I should have stuck with my Fischer RC4 ski's today. Anyway it was a fun morning before I had to head back for lunch and then head home. Its started snowing tonight so lets hope some of the rain damage is fixed up again. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Originally Posted By: Journey Man Talk to Clayton at the Black Diamond Lodge in Higashiyama as they do various tours. I helped them scope out some snowmobile BC tours last season. They also hire 4wd Delica vans, some with GPS systems. Clayton is a snow mad Canadian but has been living in Japan for yonks so can help you out with places to go in Hokkaido. God I sound like an ad. Must see about a bottle of whiskey... I have booked one of these Delica for my trip, really good price and I am really please your advice helped us, I have saved about 140,000 yen and got a bigger vehicle. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
TJ OZ 0 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 The delica is a great snowmobile. We have two. Heaps of room and easy driving. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Rain damage. Bad news. I remember thinking and hoping the same a few times earlier this year. I hope it gets good for you. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 Pretty typical of down here, we usually get some rain throughout the season somewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 When I arrived in Niseko in January this year it was raining, its a winter sport, sometimes it rains in winter. I always tell people to book 7 days if they can, that way they will most likely get four good days at least. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 We had two typhoons early last winter. Tropical storms from the Pacific are not common in late December and early January. I doubt we'll see them this season. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yes one was the day after we arrived, it was awsome seeing snow blowing past horizontally. We were lucky getting in when we did the airports closed the next day for 24 hours. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yes 7 days is definitely good to book, unfortunately not everyone can do that. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 The Oz season is ticking along with dribs and drabs of snow coming in. Not too much to rave about though. I wont be rushing back. This is my mate Scotty getting high in the Aussie high country. Fresh from heli skiing in NZ a few days before I took this shot. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Dribs and drabs does not sound that encouragine. Is it the peak of the season now or is the peak already gone? Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share Posted August 20, 2007 It looks like the peak has gone. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Sweet pick mantas. Did you have a worst than average / average / better than average season up to now? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I think you can't compare the Aus season to somewhere like Japan, so altho the snow probably isn't anywhere near the standard of Japan it could still be fine for a good days boarding. Like I7ve said before, I learned to board in Scotland and once you can do it there you can do it anywhere!! Also you then think that EVERY place you go boarding is awesome, just because its miles better than what I'm used to Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Oz and Scotland are both desperate. There is no comparison with the snow between here and those places. Last season was a shocker. We had a mere six metres of snow. How would that go in Scotland or Oz? Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I would call this season average at best but good enough to be very satisfied so far, I had a fantastic weekend skiing this weekend, sunny days and good cover but signs that we may have past the peak are very evident. We are however in the worst drought in 100 years so this was a good outcome, the farming area I live in has turned very green but the growth is minimal and there has been little rain for the past month. What started as encouraging rain and snow in July has seemed to dry up over the past three to four weeks with little sign of change. We will most likely see skiing through to the end of September as we still have a 90cm base as long as it does not get to warm to quickly. Link to post Share on other sites
yoroshiku onegai shimasu 2 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Good point soubriquet. If you got 6 last season, how many in a 'normal' year? Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Average here is 12 metres, measured as fresh daily accumulation. That equates to about 2 metres of compacted corn snow. It also means a fark of a lot of work clearing the carpark, and factory roof. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Yeah Soubs, if 6 metres fell in Scotland I think we'd all have our Kilts in a twist!! We get nothing like that, probably even less than what Oz gets. It makes you really appreciate the good stuff when you get a chance to board it Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Comparing Oz to Japan (or anywhere else for that matter) is not worth the thought. The thing that gets me is how much they talk it up. I'd say the majority of Aussie boarders and skiers have been skiing overseas at some point, so they know what good snow is, yet they talk it up anyway. On the way home I heard one reporter say, "We've had an awesome 6 cm over night". It was 6 cm of the heaviest wettest snow I've ever seen. You take it for what it is. A beautiful place to have some fun. And the best bit is you can drive there from your house. If you are into parks them you'll have a blast too. Link to post Share on other sites
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