panhead_pete 27 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Because that's where Black Mountain lives and he has scored so many good days Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 but he doesn't ride there Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 I am absolutely shattered right now... what a weekend! I'll try and do a proper report tomorrow when I have a little time because I couldn't possibly do it justice right now. Let's just say that if last week made it into the top 10 days then today probably made it into the top 5. I didn't take make camera up on the hill but my friend has his point and click along so once I've got his photos I'll add them here... It's time for a bath and then some kimchi nabe... oh, and the drive home was hilarious because of the mad amount of snow piled up on top of my car. Even now with it sitting in my driveway in Shizuoka there is about 30cms still on it Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 and yes, living here does seem to give me the option of the best of several worlds and there is definitely room for you here Pete! Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Well, it didn't take long to make it back up to the hills! The first week back at work flew by thanks to thoughts of snow covered mountains. We drove up on Friday (Jan. 14) night arriving at around 9pm after a rather uneventful drive. There was no snow in the air until we hit the valley but there were obvious signs that it had been snowing for quite some time in Hakuba. Anyway, we were staying in Goryu so popped over to Tracks for a few drinks to chill after being cooped up in the car for too long. When came out the snow was coming down a little heavier and I knew the next day would be a good one. Jan 15 Woke up in the morning with what looked to be about 25cms of snow on the car. Which wasn't bad considering it had only been there since about 10:00 the evening before. Our original plan to head over to Cortina was frustrated by what I can only assume was a car accident as traffic was stopped and most cars in front of me started pulling u-turns. The accident must have been somewhere along route 148 past Tsugaike Kogen because even though we doubled back to route 433 we were met with stopped traffic as well... oh well good thing we had gotten up extra early! We made it back to Hakuba 47 by 8:45ish and it was go time! It seemed that there was at least 40 cms of fresh snow to play around in and after getting in several super fun on piste freshies I popped into the trees for some untracked goodness. As luck would have it we were among the first group to be able to hit the Adventure course that links 47 to Iimori. When that run is unridden it is super fun and fast! Unfortunately, somewhere near the bottom my buddy lost one of his skis (for the second time) so I took off for a couple of solo runs. Forgive me but I'd already wasted 10 mins helping him search for it the first time!! Anyway, after a little lunch we made our way back over to the 47 side and I finished the day hitting run after run of untracked pow! It's not always easy to get fresh lines right until the end of the day but that is how things are going for me this season The conditions were super snowy and white all day. On piste there were quite a few people struggling because of the amount of snow. For me there can never be too much! By the time we made it back down to the parking lot there was probably another 10-15cms of accumulation on the car! Jan 16 This turned out to be one of those magical dream-like days where I spent hours and hours blasting through some of the deepest snow I've seen anywhere. Even though 47 was only reporting 50cms of snow over night it definitely seemed like there was a lot more than last week when we received +80cms. I'm sure that the several days of accumulation had something to do with that. When were buying our tickets the sales-woman was very surprised by how glad I appeared when she said that the lift connecting 47 and Goryu might not be opening that day! As it turned out, it finally did open around 11:30am. The gondola wasn't ready by opening time (too much snow!)so we hit up the chairlift to mid mountain for a few runs of light and fluffy. By about 9:15 we decided to stay around mid-mountain and play around on the green runs while they prepared the C lift to the top of the mountain. Timing is everything, isn't it?! We were the first up the C lift (which actually started before the gondola was running so to anyone who was waiting at the bottom of the hill to catch that!!) to the top of the mountain and for the first time in my entire snowboarding career I can say that it was me who broke trail on piste that morning. My Burton Fish served it's purpose well on the R2 course as I came screaming down the run in a cloud of snow! I'm getting high just thinking about it now!! Anyway, I was so charged up that I lost all my friends on the first run and didn't take a break until nearly 3pm! My mate who has skied for 20 years all over Europe is convinced that he has never seen snow like that in his life... He loudly proclaimed "BEST DAY EVER" at the end of the day. In my mind there are several best-days-ever for one reason or another so I'll say that I can comfortably place it in the top 5 for me I'll be getting his pictures later and will post them then... Now I'm on a two week snow break but I'm sure memories of this day will easily keep me going until then! Link to post Share on other sites
andylaurel 3 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 We're in Hakuba for 7 nights from the 25th of Jan! Reading this makes me so excited! I hope the snowy conditions continue on through till the 25th! Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Nice report BM. Wish I was there. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Sounds like a lorralorra fun. I had a whiteout time at Nozawa yesterday. Could not see a thing. Snow was sweet though. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Looking forward to them pics BM Must have been stoked to take your FISH out for a surf. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Saw a nice Jones Board that I'd love to try out in mega pow, just can't justify the cost for the amount of truly pow days I'm out Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Finally got the photos from my buddy. Enjoy! Clearing snow from the car in the morning. The road to 47. Thank goodness for snow tires! Playing around in deep snow Deep snow at the lift gates! First in line waiting for the lifts to open! Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Woah ! You wouldn´t have made it without a 4WD thru that! Man that looks great Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Nice BM. I like those conditions just after/before the skiing, not during. The madder the better. Link to post Share on other sites
best skier in hakuba 5 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Don't you just love conditions like that Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Well, I had another epic weekend in Hakuba. Two days of sweet riding at Cortina this time around. It was also my wife's first time up on the hill this year! It was nice to finally have her come along! Both days were fantastic. Sunday was outstanding. The resort was only reporting 30cms overnight but it seemed like significantly more... I think 40cms is a very modest estimate. I hadn't spent much time at Cortina in the past but spent loads of time searching for good lines this weekend. Definitely found some goodies! I took my new video camera up on the hill but didn't spend much time with it before actually using it so I wasn't too happy with the results. Yamabushi and Tex inspired me to try a first person angle... hopefully I can do it a bit better next time. Link to post Share on other sites
kkk 7 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 So how did you get that going BM? I'm digging these angles. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts