Heading to Grandeco Resort at Mt. Bandai Tomorrow

[SamuiKitsune 0]

Looks like we will be getting some fresh snow in a few hours. It is starting to get chilly here near Niigata. I suspect it is already snowing on Mt. Bandai.

 

First trip to Grandeco. Sounds like a bunch of long, relatively flat runs. I guess it will be time to start learning to butter. =)

[boardbaka 3]

grand deco is a good resort - you should have a good time there are lots of good tree and lift line runs there -jealous =have a great day

!

[Roger's head 0]

Let us know how it was if you can.

 

I will be in that area in February visiting some friends.

 

Thanks!

[SamuiKitsune 0]

I would avoid Grandeco Resort on a Sunday. Based on my limited experiences, it seems every Sunday is the busiest day at a snow resort in Japan. I have yet to experience a Saturday that was busier than a Sunday in Japan.

 

Drove to Grandeco Resort from Murakami (it is near Niigata City). The drive was very diffucult because of a combination of rain/snow and freezing conditions. We arrived at Grandeco around 930am. It seems like the rest of the Japanese population had arrived shortly before us and continued to arrive for the next 45 minutes.

 

Grandeco is too busy on Sunday, especially if you happen to arrive much later than first opening.

 

We waited 45 minutes to purchase our day passes. Then we waited 35 minutes to take the Gondola up. Fortunately, we only had to wait 35 minutes, because while we were in line they announced that the Gondola wait was 50 minutes.

 

The mountain is packed full of beginners. Even at the very top. I think there were only 2 lifts above the Gondola and it seemed every beginner was jumping from the initial Gondola ride to the lifts above. The courses at the top of the mountain were groomed to the ice. It made for difficult turns and hard falls if you lost your edge.

 

On the positive, if you are a beginner, there is no course too challenging. You can go on all the runs. The courses are wide open. There are trees dotted throughout a couple of courses, but there is plenty of room to prepare for a turn and alternative routes to take should you be unable to turn.

 

There is no night riding.

 

Bottom line, if you want to do Bandai, avoid Sundays and get in line prior to lift operation. You will have a good time for a few hours. Break early for lunch and then continue on the slopes while all the late arrives are having lunch from　130pm to 3pm.

[ProbablyaCrazyPerson 2]

I often found Saturdays to be busier than Sundays - and Sunday afternoon you often get a lot of people "going home".

[rach 1]

 Quote:

and Sunday afternoon you often get a lot of people "going home".

And I'm usually one of them!

[boardbaka 3]

ok sorry if I got your hopes up - It was nothing like that the day I was there- sounds like kook central - thanks for the write up anyway-

[SamuiKitsune 0]

I agree that it is a good resort, but it has a couple of big misses for me. 1) The top of the mountain is much too easy to access for the really, poor beginner level boarders/skiers; 2) The resort closes early, there is no night skiing.

 

I think for a family it is an excellent resort and much better than Naeba for a family. As a family, you can enjoy the whole mountain and not worry about whether your kids or loved one can get through a tough patch of the slope (because the tough spots are short lived).