SnowJapan.Com#3 0 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 A new Backcountry Boardroom feature, "The Season So Far", has been put online. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/features/boardroom-6.html Well it’s just over half way through the season and a very eventful and sobering season it has been. It started off with an early dump and great New Years skiing and has turned into the light snow season that was forecasted by the local Oji-san. I didn’t want to believe it but I guessed it to be true. On the bright side of the picture, although we have had a slightly lower than average snowfall with cold weather through January and warming in February, we have still received more than the North American ski resorts. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/features/boardroom-6.html Please note that the views expressed in any Features on Snow Japan are not necessarily those of Snow Japan. Discuss it here.... Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Good to hear from you again, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites
base40 0 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 A real shame about the 2 bits of bad news. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I have a few questions and comments about this. - Has there really been 'a lot of friction' about people going off piste? I haven't experienced very much myself, so I wonder. - What form has friction taken? - Do you have any suggestions as to how to get resorts to open up more terrain? Is there anything that generally unconnected people can do? - Do you have anything to say to people who believe that it is precisely the current policies that make Japan such a powder heaven? - Isn't there a contradiction in saying "Am I riding a high visibility area? ie. Under the lift (patrol hate this), dropping in where everyone is watching or a very visible slope seen from the runs." and also hoping that people will be able to ride more safely and enjoyably inbounds? Hiding to ride powder just means that if you get in trouble, help will be that much longer in coming. Now some comments. - I'm not a guest in Japan. I pay residency taxes, rent and other taxes which is not something usually required of guests. When folks come to my house as guests, I don't usually fingerprint them either. So I don't go anywhere in Japan with a guest mentality. - Last weekend at Nozawa, I was riding under the lifts for run after run, dropping in right in front of the top lift, as were many others. After about my sixth run, some snowboarder apparently hit his head on a tree and was brought down in a pooper scooper by the patrol. As the guy then got up and sat grinning on a snowbike, he couldn't have hit his head that hard. A grinning patroller looked over at us as we waited in the lift line pointing up under the lift and making the 'batsu' sign. There was no hassle, and he was making no effort to stop the other people still coming down there. The point of this tale is that many places are effectively open already, rescue is not difficult, and all that's required is to acknowledge that fact and stop the silly pretence. - Thanks for the article. It's a good read. I'd be grateful for any follow-up comments you may have. Link to post Share on other sites
nagpants 1 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I pay taxes, etc, also but I do feel that I am to some extent a guest in this country - and always will do. Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Me too definitely... Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Yeah OK, fair enough, small point. I don't think Dave was making a big deal of it either... Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Nice article. Perhaps in future you could cover some tips for cheesefans - ie the best snacks to take out there, etc. Link to post Share on other sites
feblove 0 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I want to improve. Sooo much. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Good article dave. I have been lucky this year most days I go I get powder. How to get the resorts to open more terrain, good question they also want to save face and not admit that they were wrong all along. If dave reads this met Nick a few times around the hakuba area, good crew you got there. If you can, can you post early when next years avie clinics will be. I always find out way too late to be able to attend. I need a good month to get the days off. Peace keep em coming Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Good article. And good questions Ocean11. Dave?!! Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 You can always trust Ocey-babes with his questions Link to post Share on other sites
dancing_barefoot 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 I like it. I also most definitely will be a guest in Japan, however long I live here. Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Funny how those oji-san seem to get things like this right so often. Luck? Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 They've got 100 years experience behind them Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Good article Dave and good on you for keeping up the effort to get some positive changes made. Ocean I think that this year,particularly at one resort in Hakuba, there has been a considerable amount of friction. I know a lot of people who have had big run-ins with the patrol/resort management over the issue of riding off-piste. I think Dave's point about not riding in obvious visible off piste areas such as under lifts is a good recommendation (the case may be different at different resorts obviously). There are 2 reasons for this-first it annoys the patrol and second it may not be correct to assume that the area under the lift is safe to ride in the first place. Being seen doesn't necessarily mean you're riding more safely than you would be on a more concealed route. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Davo, since you take issue with this, let me give you my reasoning. As for irritating the patrol, my position has always been "Who cares?" As the representatives of the management on the ground, I'm happy that they can see that I want to ride somewhere within the resort where there's good snow. I don't feel there's anything wrong with them knowing that, hence I won't hide. If it raises a problem, I'll deal with it; if it doesn't, so much the better. Agreed about the potential dangers of riding under the lift, but for the most part, I try to avoid the dangerous places. But if it does happen to be dangerous and you get in trouble, then under a lift or gondola is surely better than down some invisible gulch (of which I know a few). At this Hakuba resort you mention, do you know of any cases where the issue has really gone beyond the patrol to the management? I'd be interested in hearing how that went... Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Each to their own approach but I don't think aggrivating the patrol will improve the situation-they have their rules to enforce and in my experience those rules are not open to debate. Yes it has gone to management level and people have been threatened with the loss of their season passes. Perhaps you're right that being visible and getting into trouble increases the chance of someone from the resort helping you (if they aren't yelling at or chasing you for being there in the first place), however I think the point is to not get into such difficulties to begin with and secondly to be riding with people who are able to help you. Essentially Ocean if you ride out of bounds you can't rely on the resort to save you or help you. This might not be an ideal situation but it's simply the reality and resorts such as Happone make a big point of telling you their responsibility ends when you leave the official resort areas. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 If nobody gets aggravated, things will never improve. It's fair enough that Happo posts what is after all only common sense, but they are also opening more inbounds terrain apparently. > Yes it has gone to management level and people have been threatened with the loss of their season passes. I don't know how anybody can say that without feeling like some 4th grader at school. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Just telling you what happened. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Yeah but you hear it all the time like that, so you might end up thinking that it's a reasonable thing to do. Just like you might end up thinking that ski patrol were some sort of sensitive, trigger happy police that you have to bow and scrape in front of. If that's the way you let it be, that's the way it will stay... Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Hey it looks like you have got some March snow going on over there! Cool. Link to post Share on other sites
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