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I have just come back from 4 hours at Zao (Yamagata).

 

It rocked more than a big rock having a party in Rocksville.

 

A large part of the resort is already open and you can ski right from the very top down to the bottom. The snow was good and there's lots of it - hardly a bare patch in sight and up at the top it was nice and fluffy. Some of the monsters were even starting to appear.

 

I took loads of pics and so I'll upload them to SJ and link them in tomorrow.

 

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Q to Zaoman: I've read some complaints in review section, that Zao's not that challenging, with alot of flat areas and slow lifts. As you appear to be a local, are these complaints justified. Is Zao worth a diversion while travelling north? Cheers, glad to hear you got out so early in the season.

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Originally Posted By: torihada
Q to Zaoman: I've read some complaints in review section, that Zao's not that challenging, with alot of flat areas and slow lifts. As you appear to be a local, are these complaints justified. Is Zao worth a diversion while travelling north? Cheers, glad to hear you got out so early in the season.


There are a few "connecting runs" that connect different areas of the mountain (which by the way is owned by 9 different lift companies! A world record surely!)
They can be annoying, but as long as you know where you are going and don't get caught out, it can be minimised.

Zao has some steep slopes but I would say it is probably best suited to someone who might call themselves intermediate and below. There sure are a lot of trees and the area is huge so I'm sure naughty people can find illicit places to play.

But it is most definitely worth a visit. Great snow, great views, nice little onsen village. In quite a few ways it is similar to Nozawa Onsen and has the same kind of appeal.

It's about 30 minutes drive from where I live, so I'm not actually there all the time unfortunately!

smile
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Originally Posted By: Zaoman

There are a few "connecting runs" that connect different areas of the mountain (which by the way is owned by 9 different lift companies!
smile


I assume your lift ticket is for the whole mountain? (trying to imagine carrying books of lift tickets for 9 different companies, not even in Japan....... confused)
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