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There are plenty of people who spent more time on the mountain last season than I did but I certainly didn't notice it and I was very surprised to see huge mounds of snow being stockpiled last week

 

Is this the first year that snow making has occured in Niseko?

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WHERE IS MIKEPOW & GO NATIVE to confirm this wakaranai

 

Same never saw any Snow Making Machinery Anywhere. It would be a shame to think Niseko had to consider using snow making I think that is one of the appeals that you are going to get good natural snow. sadface

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Snowmaking started last winter before the lifts opened.

 

It was confined to the King area next to the base of the gondola to create a quick base to cover the major earthworks undertaken during the installation of the double chair.

 

This winter they have had snowmaking in the same area and just above the last pitch on the run back to the base of the Ace quad.

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Hey Thursday if it helps with early season base and gets you on the slopes faster in a late start season are you gonna complain? Dont think so.

 

One good dump from Mother Nature and it is covered and not to be seen again until April or May.

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They did it about 4 years ago..you couldnt ride down to hanazono as hardly any snow..We were having BBQ xmas eve sitting in the sun in T shirts..was real similar start to the season as this year..Didnt crack into gear until mid to late jan and we had dumps up to 1st/2nd week of april.

 

I dont know why there is always the hype here on this site on how much snow there is..Dec is always crap..Nov/Dec 2000/2001 was the last good early base I can remember. If your used to riding oz conditions I suppose you would think its great but until the sassa is completely buried then its not even close to being on.

 

niseko is just a big hill anyway..

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Mongoose 05/06 appears to have slipped your memory. We had near 2m on the ground by mid Dec and then over 3m by end Dec. There was epic powder throughout the month (Nov that year was great too). Also 02/03 had about as much snow on the ground as we have now by the end of Nov. Dec is not always crap, it's just like anywhere else in the world, variable. Even this season has had many great days already, just look back over some of Mikepow's photos if you've been missing all the fun yourself!

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2008 - 4 equals 2004...it was 2003/2004 season bloke after having a good think about it..02/03 was a good season but what about all the other dec..

 

Come on mate how many of the local crew are going hard in dec..how many peak runs can you do...how much backcountry can you access..I lived up there for number of years and moved away when the circus hit town..Still like to do the odd day there but the hoopla over niseko is so over rated..its a hill!! how much better terrain does hokkaido have..

 

I knew I'd cop flak from this but the place has gone to the dogs!!

As for pics..like I said ..still do the odd day back country up there plus since riding there since 99 reckon seen more fresh crowdless days than most!

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Yep it's only a hill with around 1000m of skiable vert. When you have snow to sea level it's not like you need saoring peaks to still have a good ski. Iwaonupuri has had some good lines on it already if you're after some backcountry. And I've skied better powder already this season than I ever got to in Aus (over 20 years skiing there), regardless of the lack of snow. Also the terrain here is plenty good enough for me. I've skied many resorts in Hokkaido including Asahidake and Kurodake but still think this area has some awesome, easily accessable terrain. And I don't mind the circus one bit, keeps me in a job (without having to teach english which I don't really enjoy) in a place I love. Plus there's a great expat community now living here year round which I also really like. Really don't think I could stand being the only gaijin in the village!

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Originally Posted By: Go Native
Yep it's only a hill with around 1000m of skiable vert. When you have snow to sea level it's not like you need saoring peaks to still have a good ski. Iwaonupuri has had some good lines on it already if you're after some backcountry. And I've skied better powder already this season than I ever got to in Aus (over 20 years skiing there), regardless of the lack of snow. Also the terrain here is plenty good enough for me. I've skied many resorts in Hokkaido including Asahidake and Kurodake but still think this area has some awesome, easily accessable terrain. And I don't mind the circus one bit, keeps me in a job (without having to teach english which I don't really enjoy) in a place I love. Plus there's a great expat community now living here year round which I also really like. Really don't think I could stand being the only gaijin in the village!


for me part of the living in small town/resort japan is the expat community. Topped off with skiing over 1000m of vertical, being it Niseko or Hakuba..is the reason we are here. And the reason foreign tourists are coming to Japan.
I remember skiing in the early nineties in Japan- it wasnt that good. (apart from the snow) wink

Mongoose - maybe you need to find the next "thing" before it becomes to big for you.

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I think you boys might have misread what appears in Mongooses post.

 

I do not think he has said GN is OTT offensive, I believe that SJ has edited Mongooses response to GN for being OTT offensive. Might be wrong but that is how I read it.

 

 

 

 

 

thumbsup I think you fella's are living the dream over there - the expat community sounds awesome for the most part, the snow and lifestyle sublime.

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I don't know how they make snow in N. But the places in Korea, do a huge spray into the air at night making a curtain of solidifying liquid droplets that scatters the flood lights into a million sparkling dots, falling as ICE.

 

Not my idea of snow.

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