foreversnow 5 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Mike for Kutchan Cho Minister of Tourism Simply breathtaking photo's Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thanks guys. DAY 29 : WEDNESDAY 25 JANUARY 2012 MEDIUM SIZED WEDNESDAY The day broke sunny and clear but the clouds and snow soon rolled in Mt Yotei from Higashiyama My front door in Higashiyama With 37cm overnight it was a big call to head over to Kiroro once again, but one that absolutely paid off. We warmed up in the Nagamine area Ian M waist deep behind the tuning fork, Kiroro and then it was 'mama dumpu' time. A 'mama dumpu' is the name the Japanese give to the red push shovels used to move large amounts of snow at one time. A tool that even an old 'mama' can use. The snow was so light and deep off the gondola that the go was to point and hold your breath. Ian M getting deep in Kiroro And there's more And more I even got in on the action Absolutely top day where the Gaijacounter for Kiroro was an all time 12! Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Great Mike thanks, always looking forward Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks muikabochi DAY 30 : THURSDAY 26 JANUARY 2012 1012 cm so far at village level in Hirafu, Niseko Resort Area (approx 300m asl) Kiroro with Ian M. Our 10th visit of the season so far and the season pass already paid for. Heavier than yesterday, but the sun did make a brief appearance. Ian M getting deep in Kiroro Ian MacKenzie skiing at Kiroro, Hokkaido http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkymBD1vonY&feature=plcp&context=C3f314c9UDOEgsToPDskJ6x_ElS4o-QW1qc7WaA0u2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
7-11 2 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 As always, snow looks great. Link to post Share on other sites
Chris_3211 0 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks for sharing, you have captured some amazing pictures.???? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Thanks 7-11 and Chris_3211 DAY 31 : FRIDAY 27 JANUARY 2012 After 10 days away from Grand Hirafu it was time for a return. And what a day to make our return. The gates had been closed the previous day, and once they opened the hordes headed up. We on the other hand stayed low playing in Miharashi and Waterfall. Deep, light, untracked all day. We'd borrowed a Go Pro on a stick from Ben Thorpe and proceeded to fill the card. Will post the edit once Ben gets through the mountain of footage. Ian M taking the stick for a ride in Miharashi Ian M in Waterfall Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 DAY 32 : SATURDAY 28 JANUARY 2012 With most of the 19cm of new snow falling after dark yesterday's tracks had been filled in when we - Tracy, Mark, Filip, John & I - hit Miharashi in the early morning sunshine. Magic day. John riding Miharashi Mark in Miharashi Filip in Miharashi Mark, Filip and Tracy out of the gates with Iwaonupuri in the background Tracy heading down to Jackson's Filip heading down to Jackson's Mark heading down to Jackson's Link to post Share on other sites
ILoveZao 8 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Snow looks really great, as always. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thanks. DAY 33 : SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2012 Greybird all day at Kiroro. Boot top on a solid base, quick and spongy. The Kiroro gondola line was off the hook Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 DAY 31 : FRIDAY 27 JANUARY 2012 UPDATE Ben Thorpe has edited the footage of Ian M and I in Miharashi, Grand Hirafu Hopefully it won't be the last time we get to play with the Go Pro stick this winter. Thanks Ben. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 DAY 34 : MONDAY 30 JANUARY 2012 Andy Laidlaw's first day on Hokkaido and what an exceptional day at Kiroro. Powder, sunshine, thin high clouds, a blue, blue sky and a clarity that's not often seen in these parts. So clear, that Otaru and the ocean were our backdrop for most of the day Andy Laidlaw finding and 'losing' his feet in the Nagamine area Ian M flying in the Nagamine area Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 DAY 34 : MONDAY 30 JANUARY 2012 Andy Laidlaw's first day on Hokkaido and what an exceptional day at Kiroro. Powder, sunshine, thin high clouds, a blue, blue sky and a clarity that's not often seen in these parts. So clear, that Otaru and the ocean were our backdrop for most of the day Andy Laidlaw finding and 'losing' his feet in the Kitanomine area Ian M flying in the Kitanomine area wow!! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 wow!! Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yes brill!! Link to post Share on other sites
Nisoko 6 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Great work as always mike. Link to post Share on other sites
igloo 3 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Sugeeeeee! Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Thanks guys. DAY 35 : TUESDAY 31 JANUARY 2012 January 2012 was an excellent month in this part of Hokkaido. 431 cm of snowfall at village level in Hirafu, Niseko Resort Area (approx 300m asl), and snowfall recorded 29 of the 31 days. The biggest 24-hr dump was 37cm on the 26 January. There were far more sunny days than normal but the daytime and nighttime temperatures were considerably colder. Ian M and I had a morning at Kiroro before we headed north to spend the night in Asahikawa and 4 days touring in the Tokachi area. Ian M in the Nagamine area Ian M in the shadow of Yoichidake Ian M in the woods It was tough to walk away from such great snow but bigger lines awaited us up north. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 DAY 36 : WEDNESDAY 01 FEBRUARY 2012 PLAYGROUND OF THE DOGS In a former life Ian M used to manage the Hirafu Chalet and in the winter of 2005 hosted Porter Fox and Dave Reddick from Powder magazine who were over doing a feature on Niseko. Ian M and Porter kept in touch over the years and when it was time (long overdue) for Porter to return to Hokkaido there was only one call he was making. Having experienced and written about the deep powder skiing of the Niseko Resort Area, Porter was looking to show a different side to Hokkaido. Hence this ski touring trip to the Tokachi range and the hope of skiing and showcasing more technical, alpine terrain. Photographer Jordan Manley was in the Niseko Resort Area with skiers Chad Sayers, Forrest Coots and Andre skiing and filming for the forthcoming Japan: A Skier’s Journey Ep 1 [season 3] and Porter had asked them to head north the week before him to get the images to accompany his feature in next season's Powder. http://jordanmanley....1/#comment-1853 Ian M now running his own company Niseko WOW put everything together for Jordan's party and for Porter, and invited me along for the ride. Ian M and I left the Washington hotel in Asahikawa at 7am with the temperature guage reading -22 C and drove to Asahikawa airport to pick up Porter. With all his luggage safely arrived, we set off for Ryouunkaku Onsen hotel in the Tokachi range. The onsen at the end of the road. http://www.furano-ka...-Ryounkaku.html We made a stop en route to pick up some whisky to help Porter write! The choice, Nikka Whisky, distilled in Yoichi near Otaru here on Hokkaido. http://www.nikka.com/eng/ Ian M and Porter whisky shopping en route to Ryouunkaku Onsen, Tokachi An hour later the owner of Ryouunkaku Onsen, Aida san, and her two dogs Cinnamon and Milk greeted us with yelps and barks and growls. The dogs not Aida san. Our room wasn't ready on our arrival but a changing room had been set up for us to get ready to go skinning and skiing. Unlike nearby Asahidake and Kurodake, the area has neither lifts nor mechanised uplift (cat skiing). It was impressive to see Porter rally after an overnight flight from Kelowna, BC to Seattle, Washington to LA to Tokyo to Asahikawa and he perfectly embodied the Jaded Local's take on Ski Magazine Editors in the December 2011 issue of Powder Bar Tabs and Free Goggles A lot of people think that being a pro skier is the Ultimate Job in the industry. It's not. That's just being dumb enough to risk it all for an illusory Shot At The Big Time. Pros get the glamour, but in the end they're essentially just Trained Stunt Monkeys, and there's a huge lineup og younger up-and-coming primates willing to gamble a life of quadriplegia for a fist bump and middling travel budget. A ski magazine editor, on the other hand, gets to go to all the cool places the pros go, and unlike them, can call bullshit when he doesn't feel like tempting the Wheelchair Of Fate - and has corporate health insurance for when he does. If the snow is chundery, or when he's tired from making laps past the pros while they Wait For the Light, he can retire to the bar with the ol' company credit card. There he'll most likely wax poetically to the resort P.R. girl about skiing the midnight sun in Norway. Sure, there are standards and qualifications that go way beyond most editorial positions. You have to ski well enough to show up anywhere in the world and follow ripping locals and pros down unfamiliar terrain after a 12-hour flight and a hard night of drinking homemade 100-proof schnapps. And you have to understand the sport well enough to appreciate the goods when they're in front of you, analyze foreign snowpack, know the difference between "switch" and "fakie", be able to talk calmly to police officers in strange countries, and charm the pants off the people that run ski area marketing departments. You can't flinch at slough management on exposed terrain and you have to be comfortable with second-year Jackson locals vibing you on the Sublette Chair, aspiring Tahoe big-mountain specialists who still think it's 2002 and their soul patch is "edgy," Coloradoans who call a 70-inch base "stacked" and Vermonters who insist their secret stash is "the best shit East of the Mississippi." And most importantly, you have to drink. And not recreationally. If you meet one of them, it will probably go something like this: "Hey, how's it going? I'm from Powder magazine. Yeah, we're, um, doing a story on, ummmm, the scene here. So anyway, I was wondering if you could: a) "Mount and tune these new skis that the product manager gave me after I got him wasted at SIA?" or: "Show me where the best snow on the mountain is?" followed by: c) "Step aside so I can ski this fresh line now? You may get mentioned in the magazine. Here's some stickers." and later, at the bar d) "Tell me your girlfriend's name again?" The crucial point to remember when a ski magazine editor asks you one of these questions is: Bar Tab. They will have one, a formidable one, and you can be a part of it. Decline the stickers, request a pair of next year's goggles (editors throw them away after two to three uses), do not tell them your girlfriend's name,a nd demand to know where the Bar Tab will be. Not only will they appreciate your natural aptitude for The Industry and possibly offer you an internship, they will probably be glad to have s6meone to help them with their boozy Brand Management burden. The next day, as you proudly sport your new goggles and brutal hangover in the lift-line at Mount Bumf*ck and wonder why your girlfriend is so quiet, remember that Mr. Editor is now flying off to Italy or Japan, where he will have to sort out whether the local guy is saying "Go!" or "No!" as he blearily dodges slough, while making jump turns on poorly-tuned unfamiliar skis over what may be a massive dead-end cliff. If they survive that, they'll have to stay up all night dancing to crappy techno and reflexively hitting on anything that moves, while once again ceremonially sacrificing the expense account, several pairs of free goggles, and their battered livers...all for Ski Journalism. Rest assured, even while pro skiers sleep soundly in their beds dreaming of being pro snowboarders, somewhere a ski magazine editor is turning coroprate dollars into an Armageddon-style bar tab, so that all of us can partake in the Spirit of Skiing Jaded Local Powder magazine December 2011 Some but not all of the above came to pass, but Revelstoke didn't get off so lightly! Porter kindly and expertly cut and fit my new skins and before we knew it we were out the door and on the skin track to discover what this part of the Tokachi range was all about. Ryouunkaku Onsen and what the locals have named the TGR face The area immediately around and below the onsen is heavily treed with a combination of old growth pine and Dr Seuss birch. But very quickly you ascend above treeline to interconnected amphitheatres of steep faces scarred by volcanic activity. The rocks beneath your skis popping out on the windblown snowpack are yellow and sulphurous and leave streaks on your skins and your bases. Heading up to this Porter in the Tokachi range We made good time getting to our first drop in point. The snow was wind affected powder 10cm thick on a hard wind and sun crusted layer 40cm thick. Getting ready to drop in Porter dropped in first, followed by Ian M, and me playing tail gun charlie taking pics. Porter skiing in the Tokachi range Ian M skiing in the Tokachi range On the second pitch I set off first and immediately broke through both crusts and lost a ski. Thankfully the pitch wasn't too long as I watched my ski make better turns than I did. Porter and Ian M passed me and then I skied on one ski down the face to retrieve my ski. Ian M headed back to the hotel to meet up with Takahiro Nakanishi - our photographer and local knowledge guy for the coming days. Takahiro Nakanishi Photographer http://blog.takahiro...-furano-niseko/ http://blog.takahiro...2/02/07/luxury/ Porter & I headed back up but on a different aspect to find better snow. We did. Although the clouds had rolled in and the sking was interesting to say the least. We dropped into a nice gully that ran out to an area melted dry by the hot water and gasses continuously pumping out of the ground. Porter on our second line in the Tokachi range We skied back to the hotel to be met by Ian M and Taka bearing gifts of Sapporo classic. Then it was a quick change in our tatami room and down to the basement for a much anticipated indoor and outdoor onsen, the waters muddy and warm. Dinner at 6pm consisted of sashimi, nabe, rice, pickled vegetables, miso soup and beer. And lovely it was too. Suitably refreshed we retired some time later hoping for sunshine on our second day. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 DAY 37 : THURSDAY 02 FEBRUARY 2012 The day broke cold and blue and we quickly slipped into our morning routine of onsen, breakfast, checking the weather forecast, and deciding on the route(s) for the day. Our tatami room was spacious and warm, so there was no problem drying out the kit overnight. Pre-dawn at Ryouunkaku Onsen hotel Porter starting on the feature The genkan at Ryouunkaku Onsen hotel The onsen inside and out Taka and Ian M checking out the weather forecast and organising the day Porter checking out the line he wanted to ski in 'TGR' face The fox checking out the Fox Ian M and Taka discussing the line and the snow conditions Yesterday's playground And so it was decided, 'TGR' face was a go and this was the chute we were hoping to ski Ian M graciously took one for the team and ferried us to and from the starting point of the tour way down the access road. Porter crossing the stream that leads to the start of the skin track through the trees and then up to the top of 'TGR' face. The skin track and route to the top were both obvious and straightforward and it took us around 2 hrs. This was the first longish tour I'd done in almost 5 years and I was very grateful to be on my current set up of Movement Jam skis, Dynafit FT bindings and Dynafit TLT5 Performance boots. It was a breeze. The view down to Ryouunkaku Onsen hotel and across to Tokachidake once we got above treeline Porter skinning Taka skinning As we got into the alpine the wind picked up and the temperature plummeted to -20 C. Taka expertly negotiated the moonscape on the summit plateau to drop us into the start of the chute. It was a tad windy and cold at the top of the chute But very quickly we hit paydirt. Porter skiing the chute on 'TGR' face The snow was a little windblown up high, but once we dropped into the chute and the shadows it was knee deep dust. Taka skiing the lower section of the chute just above the frozen waterfall Porter on the sidewall of the chute waiting for Taka to drop below the ice Porter dropping in to the last of the chute Once out of the chute it was an easy traverse through the trees beside the river to get back to our starting point. Ian M was waiting for us at the trailhead and in 10 mins we were back at the hotel ordering a late lunch. After lunch we made two laps of the terrain right in front of the hotel this time with Ian M, and then retired to the onsen, Sapporo Classic in hand, for a soak and a soothe. The vista from the hotel Dinner was superb with a variety of tastes, textures and temperatures Link to post Share on other sites
ILoveZao 8 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Fabulous Mike. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 oh yes very nice views. next year, definitely maybe next year. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks guys DAY 38 : FRIDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2012 A dusting of snow overnight at the hotel combined with fog and low visibility, so we decided the morning's entertainment was to be the trees either side of yesterday's skin track up to 'TGR' face. Knee to mid thigh deep turns in light pow through widely spaced old growth conifer had me thinking back to my winters in Montana and BC. Once again Ian M was the ferryman for Porter, Taka and I and after lunch back at the hotel Porter and Taka toured over to Hakuginso Onsen hotel where Ian M and I met them for a post-ski soak. This hotel was newer and a lot fancier than ours, but was too stuffy for my liking. While we were waiting to go in for dinner the owner joined us for a chat and through the expert translation from Ian M we found out about the history of the onsen and his family, and how he used to have to ski in to town and tour back with all the provisions before they laid and plowed the road right to the front door. A round trip of 12 miles. He proudly showed us photographs of himself and his wife hosting the Emperor's cousin at the hotel in their younger days. And the touring gear he used up until 3 years ago - Karhu skis with Fritschi bindings and Salomon rear entry boots - when he was on ski patrol in the area. At 77 years of age. His wife hurrumphed in the background calling him an old fool. Once again dinner was superb. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 It's great to get oral history like that, isn't it? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Magic. Very lucky that Ian M could act as the middle man for it all. Link to post Share on other sites
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