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Hanazono: Sold! To the Chinese fellow at the back


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Whats interesting to me is the people in Niseko and Hakuba and the rapidly increasing rivalry there seems to be between those two.

 

I suppose when you're trying to sell something you want to get out on top, but negative campaigning is never pretty ... lets friend.

 

I'm going to Nozawa and Shiga Kogen.

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Mate you came after me in a thread that had nothing to do with anything to do with what you brought up. You tried to get me going and you did. I then proved how Flat the mountain is. Instead of trying prove it isnt you throw out little cheeky side comments. I have stayed out of this debate for quite sometime you brought it up.

 

Im not comparing Hakuba right now. I havent even brought that up man its all in your mind.

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I think the problem is that people go on and on and on about Niseko when, for the most part, they probably haven't been to many (if any) other ski jos in Japan and so don't realise that the Big N is not alone in having great snow or a good off-piste policy. Niseko is a good place but it has many very good competitors and its profile is mostly derived from massive marketing rather than any inherent characteristics of the place. My feeling is that anybody who knows a bit about snow sports in Japan quickly gets tired of hearing about Niseko because it's one place in a country with literally hundreds of other ski resorts, including many that are comparable if not actually better than Niseko in some regards.

 

That said, the westernisation of Niseko with the changes taking place at hirafu and higashiyama will be the next big selling point. Good facilities for families and kids and stuff and more off snow facilities is something generally lacking at most Japanese ski resorts. A lot of problems with snow and mountain will be forgiven if there is more to the off snow facilities than a cruddy room, dinner served at 5pm and a vending machine at the end of the hall.

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Good point Rag Doll.

 

We are looking at property at the moment, and we do not have the spare $$ to drop on the inflated yet Western friendly Niseko - so we have been looking at other area's. One of the real estate sites in Hakuba area was actually quite discouraging for Western investment...?..Go Figure. But prices were WAY less than is being asked in the big N.

 

I would love to get in on the ground floor with a nice little holiday shack in a JP ski jo that is about to boom with foreign visitors/investment. That kind of tourism, spends $$ in an area and helps the facilities and the economy..

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Niseko is flat. Every ski area is flat. There's not point in bagging Niseko for being flat when there's not a single marked piste in the whole country that will give a decent rider that 'damn-this-is-steep' rush. Japan is great because of the incredible snow, but if you want to ski 'steep', then hire a guide and be ready to hike. Or go to Jackson Hole or Whistler or pretty much any Western North American or European resort. Japan's good for the snow though. -really good.

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 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.
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That shot is definitely within 30 minutes of the top of King 4 and the start of the hike to the peak of Mt Annupuri. Well it is for me any way.

 

But I digress.

 

Posted on another thread, but don't know if people look at other threads so posting it again.

 

Monday 19 November 2007

 

25cm in the past 24hrs at village level (300m).

40cm in the past 24 hrs above the top of the Ace #2 Quad, Grand Hirafu (~900m)

 

Yeah I know that the resort is reporting 10cm in the village but that's how much has accumulated outside my front door!

 

Hiked Grand Hirafu this morning. Bootpacked to ~ 900m. Couldn't go higher because it was too deep.

 

Snow has consolidated since last Saturday. Didn't go to ground until the bottom of the hill (300-450m).

 

Minimum snow depth at 900m was 65cm and in places a LOT more.

 

Super light & dry powder.

 

Balls deep, face shots and over the shoulder trails.

 

Forecast to snow indefinitely.

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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.

 

fattwins_145.JPG

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A nice exchange for pre-season which I've not seen for a coupla weeks.

 

 Originally Posted By: ger
 Originally Posted By: Fattwins
No I just took about 10 post of punches which Im now punching back.

Don't worry about it. Go have a post on the elementary school thread. That's where the action is. lol.gif \:\)

 

yeah, Ger, good thread that... ZZZzzzzzz....

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 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 you are not going to stretch your assessment to now being able to tell people, who know the area well, that in fact they don't know where that slope is at all.
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the problem with posting pictures like that bellavista, IMO, is many people think it will be safe for them to hit the N. bowls and its not. I hope the "masses" dont think theyre going to be fine going down to Goshiki Onsen without avie gear/bc experience cuz the bowls slide. Great shot by the way cool.gif

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As others have pointed out the North bowl in that shot is no more than a 20 min hike from the top lift (have skied it many times). And you can ski out to the base of Hanazono with a little traversing. CB is right though that those bowls can and do slide. A guide would be useful if it's your first time up there as it is rarely as clear as in that photo. Still I've never had avie gear there as I've almost always skied it solo. I remember the first time I dropped down into that bowl, I could barely see 30 feet ahead and literally had no idea where I was going but it was a great adventure! It isn't very steep but is reasonably sustained for around 400m vert. If you ski down a bit further to left in that shot you can finish the with an onsen at Goshiki but you'd need someone to come pick you up.

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