Mike Pow 52 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Lift accessed (cable car and double chair) is approx 1,500m down to 670m. So 830m of vert. Then there's an approx. 484m of vert above the double chair available through hiking. An easy hike by the looks of things too. An obvious ridge line that takes you to Kurodake peak at 1,984m Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Quattro, I have never been to Niseko, I actually mostly tour in Niigata. I love Hakuba's terrain but it is a bit far for me and do not go there often. Niseko looks like an awsome place snow-wise but I have some reservations about the terrain and certain types of people (minority) who ride there. I have been putting my sights on the Asahidake area for a while, so Kurodake sounds very interesting. I used to ride La Grave as a kid as it was very close to my hometown, so I would love to find something similar in Japan. Where have you been skiing/riding this season Quattro? Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 look forward to some pics Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Oh IC, thanks for the info Mike. La Grave has 2150m of lift served vert. The BC routes w/ the most vert have around 2600m there. So not quite the same , but still, the entire asahidake area sounds very very interesting. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 This place has always peaked my interest along with Asahidake. My firend that has done many tours there says that it isnt that steep. If you look at the picture it sure looks steep. Journeyman spends a lot of time there he should put up some pics and some beta! Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 That's why I wrote this SerreChe: "I've skied La Grave in France and the terrain at Kurodake is very reminiscent of that area. But on a smaller scale. Approx 1,300m vert instead of 2,000m+ at La Grave. The implications are the same though." Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Still if you are interested in terrain in spring get of the north island and play in the alps! Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Understood Mike. From FT's pic looks like mostly tree skiing. Link to post Share on other sites
Critta 0 Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 Mike, It's hard to make out from the resolution on the trail map (photo), but is it possible to ski down the shaded side of the ridge (to the right of the lifts on the way up) into the gully that funnels out to the town? It looks like plenty of steep fall-line terrain along that way. That or cliffs and death. Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Originally Posted By: Critta Thanks again. I'll have to check out the scheduled closure dates for the end of year before venturing up. Do you guys hit it in December? If so, how is it? I haven't skied Kuro in December, but I asked around and I'm told it was excellent. I was also told to check the shutdown dates as they vary each year! Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Ok, here are some pics from last year. I stuffed my ankle recently so I have only been up to Kuro once and it was very low vis, so no piccies from this year. The hike from the top chair is steepish in places but is otherwise straight forward. In these pictures most of us were boot packing and the skiers and boarders took it in turns to find it difficult. In the lower parts the ski boots often cut through the steps in the snow dropping you waist deep in pow which made for a very slow climb. Later on there were some icy sections which were great for ski boots but damn scary for board boots. Next time I'm skinning for sure. It took us just under 2 hours. Two of the party started the climb after us on skins and snow shoes and they didn't take much more than an hour. They were also damn fit. Before anyone says it I'll get in first. We didn't have a lot of BC gear with us. However we were with a couple of very experienced guys (one is a guide) who were happy enough with the conditions for us to go with the equipment we had. However in hindsight (after doing a RAC) we *should* have had the right gear. I loved the ride down, drop in from the top on to a wide bowl, ride that for a ways, then cut back to the ridge for the ride back to the top chair through the sparse trees in the best snow ever. Then back past the top of the Cableway and down through the trees, cut right to the track through the cliffs then down through the final valley. Peak to the bottom of the Cableway is a looong run. This is looking up the Cableway at the first part of the ascent. It is this first part that has all the cliffs. Looking back down the cable way about half way up the first ascent. Again about half way up the first ascent and looking to lookers right of the Cableway. Critta this is the bottom of the shaded section you were talking about. I've looked over into that valley before and wondered what the run out would be like - the top looks great! The view back down the lift line from the top of the double chair. This chair is flat! The valley to the right is a little steeper but you have a short walk out to get back to the chair. You don't ride this chair for the steeps! The pow under this chair rocks! Critta, to skiers left is the shaded valley you were talking about. Looks great from here! About half way up to the peak from the top chair. The top chair is visible in the background. Check out the "skis"... Getting near the top. The hike is quite steep in places but isn't technical. Views from the Peak Bottom of the ski out under the Cableway Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Great pics. It's good to have some info about that neck of the woods as it is rather sparse. Looks like there are some interesting steepish sections. JourneyMan, did you do your RAC in Hokkaido? Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 There are some really interesting looking lines, unfortunately I've never been there with anyone who is interested in checking them out. Everyone is really scared of all the cliffs! Probably a good thing. However I think with care and some good topo maps, there should be some good stuff to ride. I did my RAC here in Asahikawa on the backside of Kamui and on Furanodake with Hokkaido Powder Guides. I really enjoyed it, apart from now knowing how little I know. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Too bad I am not in the same area as you. I love exploring new areas as well, carefully looking at topos and all available info. With the proper equipment and planning there should not be any problems even though we should always expect the unexpected. Must be nice to have done your RAC there. Knowing how little we know is the first step towards wisdom. ;-) Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Originally Posted By: Journey Man Looking back down the cable way about half way up the first ascent. Again about half way up the first ascent and looking to lookers right of the Cableway. Critta this is the bottom of the shaded section you were talking about. I've looked over into that valley before and wondered what the run out would be like - the top looks great! The terrain in both pics (the shaded area to the right of the cable car as you look up the hill on the 'trail map') is skiable. There's one cliff section just below Tower 2 that has to be negotiated. Other than that it's steep, tight trees to the river. There's a snow covered road beside the river that you can ski back to the cable car on. It passes the dam. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Nice pics - Thanks, Jounrey Man! Link to post Share on other sites
nikei 0 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Hi, So the closed dated in Late December and January, are they random or are there set dates? Drove up last year but were dissapointed. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Surely it would depend on how the snow is? Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I don't have any hard dates about the closures, except that it happens every winter around the same time. Kuro is a summer destination that also opens in the Winter. Unfortunately this is also when they do their maintenance. For the last two winters they have closed both lifts in January. This year the cableway was closed for about a month and the upper lift for about two. I can't quite remember about last year, but I think the lifts reopened earlier. I see SJ now have a Kuro page (yay yay) so I'd look here and call ahead of time to check on opening times and conditions. Link to post Share on other sites
charlotte 0 Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 Are you still up there Journey Man? I bet it was cold Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 Normal day time temp during the winter was -13. A couple of nights got down to -26 and froze our pipes. We had heaters in all sorts of odd places. But no, now that Asahikawa is warm I'm back in sunny, warm and dry England. Actually this week that isn't sarcasm, today the sun is out and it is 24 already! Wohoo! Long may it last. Link to post Share on other sites
charlotte 0 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Now that sounds very cold! I would actually like to experience it. Did you get used to it? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 I experienced -26C in Kent many years ago. Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Kent, England?!? Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Originally Posted By: charlotte Now that sounds very cold! I would actually like to experience it. Did you get used to it? Sure did! Actually I've felt colder in places that sit around zero. I think with it being so cold there is very little moisture in the air and that makes a big difference. You do have to rug up when you go out though! Link to post Share on other sites
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