Let's remember to stay safe this season...

[thursday 1]

or as often as they can steal it

[thursday 1]

shit. This avie thing has got me thinking. I might need to take an avie course, and a first aid course, and a mountain rescue course, just in case.

[Queen Cosmo 0]

Greetings folks, this is my first post on SJ, nice to digitally meet you all!

 

My S.O. and I are counting our blessings. We were actually considering going to Tateyama and riding the gondy up before it closed to get in some early-season bc turns. We ended up staying close to home and hiking Akagi, only to return to this sad news. Very tragic indeed.

 

I am AIARE level 2 trained, and have been skiing since I began to walk. However -new to the area- I must admit that am terrified to bc ski in Japan. Partly because I'm not as familiar with the terrain and weather patterns as I am with the areas at home, and partly because there seems to be little or no formal avalanche danger reporting. While I understand (and agree) that the actual assessments and decision of whether or not to go are ultimately the responsibility of the user, it is helpful to have a point of reference informing what aspects in which areas have tendencies toward instability at what times, etc. I am extremely grateful for the avalanche safety reporting centers at home for being a source of this valuable information.

 

There is also that apparent risk that another party traveling in a given area could be making less conservative decisions than you, and by doing so, they could be, in a way, making decisions FOR you. These human factors have to be part of our assesments, just as much as analyzing the weather patterns and snow layers. As most of you know (and this goes without saying), just because it's a nice, sunny day, and there are tracks on the run or even other people skiing it, it doesn't necessarily mean it's safe.

 

We intend to be here at least for the ski season, and I hope we can meet some folks that have experience bc skiing in the Alps and Hokkaido to team up with us so that the act of getting to know certain areas and making safety assessments may become a bit less daunting. Currently, even with my experience, I'm afraid to ski anywhere outside of a resort here, and even then, we plan to carry the necessary gear. We are itching to get out there and make some turns, but the resorts aren't open yet and I'd really prefer to ski some higher-angle extremes, if they exist.

 

Sorry to be long-winded; thanks for reading my post, and I hope to see some of you out there gettin' after it this winter!

-Cheers-

[muikabochi 208]

Where abouts in Gunma is Kiryu, Queen Cosmo

 

[Queen Cosmo 0]

At the base of Akagi, a bit east of Maebashi.

This area is historically famous for silk weaving and textile manufacuring.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Originally Posted By: gnarly-dude

You're just nowhere near gnarly enough, Mamabear.

Oh darn!
I am sure you are gnarly enough though, huh gnarly-dude.

[muikabochi 208]

Nice, I like Akagi area, very pretty.

 

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/insider/photo_section.php?userGallery=262&userid=muikabochi

 

Sorry off topic.

 

[Queen Cosmo 0]

GORGEOUS photos, Muikabochi! We've been doing a lot of hiking around here, including Kurobe and many of the other peaks that surround the location of your photo with the red bridge. Training for... you guessed it!

 

Further off the topic, but two weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to get out to Yatsugatake for an overnight backpacking trip. There was quite a bit of snow, but not enough yet to make us wish we had brought our skis. They were building ice walls at two of the lower shelters- getting ready for an ice climbing festival, which will be worth checking out.

I would post a photo or two, is there a way to browse my drive or do I have to upload?

 

Anyhoo, I should probably move this subject to another thread.

I hate to detract from the Tateyama avalanche subject. What a tradgedy.

Once I figure out my way around this forum, I'll put up a post about some of our Akagi and Yatsugatake adventures.

Thanks for sharing yours, Muikabochi! You capture the spirit of Akagi so well.

Cheers

[SnowJapan 178]

Just made a guide to uploading photos Queen Cosmos

 

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/389415/GUIDE_Uploading_photos_to_Snow.html

 

It might seem long but it is actually quite simple, honest.

[Queen Cosmo 0]

Thanks David

Reading it now...

[thursday 1]

"My S.O. and I are counting our blessings."

 

What is S.O?

[ippy 66]

significant other. either that or ski organiser, or snow officiator, or sudden oenomania.

 

Probably significant other though.

[Thundercat 60]

Senior Officer!

[thursday 1]

Sadistic Overtures

[Queen Cosmo 0]

Significant Other: Safety Officer, Special Operations

[Tubby Beaver 209]

how come you landed in Gunma then Queenie?

[thursday 1]

I know from TB, a cross dresser, that Queens do not like to be called Queenies

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Originally Posted By: thursday

I'm a cross dresser and I know that Queens do not like to be called Queenies

finally out the clauset

[rider69 18]

This slide was a classic mistake.

All members were exposed.

Hiking above a convex roll.

Rising temps after another big storm.

I hope the guy in the hospital pulls through.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Originally Posted By: Go Native

[ Thanks for pointing it out, I never realised skiing could be dangerous!

You must obviously not ski

[Queen Cosmo 0]

Cross-dressers or not, we all kind of look like overdressed marshmallows on the slopes, ne?

 

Came to Gunma to tend to some of S.O.'s family responsibilities, which have recently wrapped up and now it's time to explore and play!

[Thundercat 60]

Quote:

An avalanche has buried four ski patrol officers in western Japan, as the country's weather agency warns of blizzards and snow storms in the area.

The four men are patrol staff at a ski resort and were checking a slope after reports of a snow slide.

A government official says they were swept away and buried by an avalanche while on Mount Daisen in the western Japanese prefecture of Tottori.

Rescuers dug the four out but all of them were in a state of cardiac arrest and are now in a coma.

About 60 centimetres of snow had fallen in the area in just a few hours and the Japanese meteorological agency had warned of blizzards and violent winds.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

I put that in the avalanche section.

Very sad news indeed.

[foreversnow 5]

So so sad - Let's all say a pray for them and hope that they come out of the coma.

[Thundercat 60]

Coma in Japan almost always means brain dead/ vegetative state. I think the sad ending is inevitable. The storms have been raging in that region so not entirely surprised that this happened.