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Here is a batch of shots of today's entrances into some stashes that are finally doable.

 

Firstly, two shots of new terrain. wakaranai.gif I thought I knew this place. I'm calling it Gateway to Paradise.

 

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Katsu Curry. (you can actually smell it as you traverse your way into here.)

 

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 Originally Posted By: daver
Gateway to Paradise? am i to assume it is near the paradise area? how did we miss that?
did you get a camera recently?

soft landings, katsu kicks ass.


There's actually terrain below paradise. I lapped it 4 times today. I have absolutely no idea how it disappeared into the abyss and never got skied.

It involves a long stint past paradise trees landing at that transfer chair from utopia on the way to paradise from kurohime. It's like 6-700 vert of wallness that you gaze up at coming from utopia. You've seen it dozens of times, but we never detailed out that in-traverse... which takes like 15 or so minutes to get into. Katsu's got competition now. This place is nuts. I can't believe I didn't bring my camera today. Sick gullies and steep ridges with moving snow. Nothing like other patches... which are also going off, btw.

God Bless February!!
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did we try getting into that area years ago with zero success and spent a good hour walking through a field?

are you telling me i'm going to have to make a summer ski trip up to zao next february?

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Before last weekend, I had never been in this area. I don't think you have either, daver. But I do remember you pointing your pole up at it wondering how we get into it. Remember that cement drainage wall? The thing is, you can't see that terrain from anywhere except that transfer groomer from Utopia to Paradise. It's such a long and flat in-traverse from above, I think we just shrugged it off and assumed it was all flat.

 

As for your summer trip next February, we may be here. If I can get my world together, we may be living at Zao next winter with summers free and autumns in Minnesota for deer season.

 

Soubs- there is no snow in Yamagata. It's dusted a bit this week, but I always forget about the magic of Zao. A fricking meter fell up there over the last week with maybe a centemeter in town. It's like it's own world up there.

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 Originally Posted By: SerreChe
I like the animal tracks.
Hard to get a shot w/o some of these.


It's funny you should mention that. I don't know if it was during that particular shot, but in Katsu that day I scared up a hare. I then chased it with my camera hoping for a shot. No go.

I like skiing with hares.
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ahah, trying to take pics of a white hare on snow is nearly impossible. I have tried many times as well. By the time you get the camera out, the little devil has already hopped away. If by luck you get a snapshot of it, it wil be white on white and won't be able to see a thing. I guess it is like trying to take a picture of lightning ! You probably need to be camouflaged for hours with camera at the ready. Kamoshikas are a lot easier!

 

Anybody on SJ with a good hare picture in winter?

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Is that at Zao onsen? I was just reading some reviews of that place. ...By a guy named Dave (Daver?):

 

>If you are good and thinking of coming here exclusively for the mountain, don't! It has possibly the worst layout I have ever seen. the runs are very short and very flat even though it is a huge mountain. There is nothing remotely challenging on the mountain and the only options for interesting skiing is off the side when you exit the top gondola. But you have to know what you are doing in there as it is not patrolled and there are many bushes that can grab you by surprise. It is billy goating at best - be careful.

 

I guess you have to know where to go.

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 Originally Posted By: Kingofmyrrh
Looks like a perfect winter wonderland. Zao was one of the places I was meant to visit this season but haven't really done a very good job pulling it together. So many places, so little time...


Winter Wonderland is one of my nicknames for it. It's quite the contrast from Yamagata proper. I'm always shocked at how much snow they have... being as I live 20 minutes from the place and don't see a fraction of the amount of snow they receive.

One of the reasons it gets so deep so fast is the freezing fog. Even if it's not snowing, frost is growing on the snow and just solidifying in the air. It has got to be the most humid (if that makes sense) resort I have ever skied. Surface Hoar is different, results from clear skies and high atmospheric pressure, pulling moisture from the snow-pack to the surface. This is different. It is like the crystals fall, then just suck up the fog.

Saturday was supposed to be clear of weather. Yet, it snowed all afternoon and snow-forecast.com had no reports of a system in the area. Yamagata city was dry. snow forecasts can often be wrong, but it's still surprising when the prediction is clear skies and you just spent that last 4 hours in a room of white falling at 1-2cm/hr.

Then again, let's count our blessings. One day of rain and it's over. I remember standing on the peak, in pooring rain, in January, asking daver what the hell we were thinking.
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