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Long time in one place, or short blasts of more places?


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Hi wave

Lurking for a while, taken the step to join in.

 

Was looking at spooks post about being in Myoko for a month and his sweet photos and made a comment but thought it would make a decent topic, sorry if this has been covered before.

 

I like trying out lots of different places and maybe spending a day or up to a few in each - then moving on to the next. I can see the appeal of really getting to know one particular place but would rather get lots of changes in scnery and check out lots of different places. I suppose that might change once I know many places.

 

What you like?

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if i dont know the place that well id rather just stay there a few days and move on. Nagano is pretty cool for that if you have a car. Get bored of myoko (well, its virtually nagano), pop to nozawa, then hit up shiga, or just nip over to hakuba. You could base yourself in nagano city and not be bored for a hell of a long time.

But truth be told, i did all that this year, im really stoked i finally got to hit nozawa this time, but the pull of niseko and its surroundings is way too strong. I spent 4 days there and that was nowhere near enough time. I knew pretty much i made a misstake dotting around. Next year will be all about hokkaido.

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For me it really depends on how much information I know about a place beforehand. If I know almost nothing about it (but have heard it's good) then I'll usually spend a little more time there so I can find good areas. If I've heard tons about it and can head straight to the goods then I'll probably spend a little less time.

 

A place like Myoko is easy to base yourself out of because there are quite a few resorts clumped together... and if you have wheels there are loads of places in the neighbourhood. For me, that makes a big difference too.

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I have been checking out new places for the last 3 season. I like the sense of adventure, going to a new place, etc.

I was going to do that this year, but ended up going to this one place three times 5 days each. OK, it's not like the whole season, but it's the glaciers and I wanted to get to know the mountain. There are crevices, rocks hiding just under the fresh snow and not much is marked for warning. It was great to see the place from first snow, how it changes after a few weeks later with more snow, and expanding my riding terrain. I was beginning to SEE a little better, and now I feel the merit for spending time at one place.

I haven't even tried BC here in the Alps yet. I think a lifetime is not enough to check this place out, and oh boy, the world is a big place...

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I like mixing it up but I also like getting to know a good area. For me, I really really like riding trees and powder. So spending a bit of time in the one spot means you get to poke around properly, find the good hidden stuff and work out how to link it all together.

Some people like cruising on groomed trails or hitting parks, or doing other stuff on the slopes. Each to their own, but for me, getting to know a good resort/mountain reaps rewards.

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I'm all about spending lots of time in one place. One of the reasons is price, you can suss out the deals on accomidation or shift there. A season pass usually makes for pretty cheap skiing if you do enough days. Also it takes time to sort out where everything is and what lifts get you there, when it is likely to be good, what order the lifts open and what order stuff gets tracked out, what weather makes somewhere better or worse than another, what lifts are likely to have huge lines / be wind affected / break down / stay open late or close early.

All that helps you get first tracks down the best places for as long as possible or knowing that it will all be crap and going to the park or onsen instead.

cant beat knowing a place inside out that only comes with a few seasons going to the same place/area.

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While I think both options are good, I personally would prefer to stay in one place. If you make friends with the locals, you end up finding out more about the resort/village and all the small things that only the locals know. I think it's good to have a base somewhere and go on excursions from there every now and then. I've found that there's heaps of good information that you can get from the people around:

 

-Locals know the pistes, side countries and back countries

Natural half-pipes; best bowls and powder...

-Instructors tend to know which ski resort is good at different times

If you go to the smaller ski resorts, you can get the weekday season passes for, like, JPY 10,000~20,000 *and* there's no one ever there. It's a blast to have a course all to yourself.

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Originally Posted By: Jynxx
Where's that, muikabochi?

Do you guys ever get "Oh, I didn't see that one... how did I miss it?"


What I menat was - I know all the places near where I live really well have been to them many times. So I like to go further to find new places rather than keep going back.
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I enjoyed a week in the Yuzawa area and really enjoyed it. Having said that, we went to a different resort hill each day so it was a bit different from sticking to one place even though we were staying in the same place. Not sure Id want to spend more than a few days at places there not big enough.

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For me, I tend to spend longer in one place and by doing so you have some hope of understanding the local culture/people and you also dont lose travel days. This is especially true if I've been working hard before leaving. This year it was TJ's place that became my second home and I plan to do the same again this year. Sometimes getting to know a lot about one place is better then some abouit many but having said that I sure hope I am on break when THE TOUR is on next year smile

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This is one thing I am thinking about now.

 

Though it looks like a fair few places in Japan has a number of resorts close to each other (Niseko / Hakuba / Yuzawa?)

 

Planning is fun, but it will be more fun to actually get there!

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