Mike Pow 52 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 DAY 90 : MONDAY 26 MARCH 2012 12 cm in the past five days at village level, but at this time of the year village level measurements don't tell the whole story of conditions up on the mountain. And snowfall in the Niseko Resort Area can be markedly different from other resorts in the area. It was dry and clear when Ian M & I left Hirafu and snowing heavily as we pulled into the Kiroro car park. We warmed up on the Yoichi # 1-A Course and then on to the Nagamine area for powder on and off the groomed runs. After we'd found our feet we headed to 'Hangman'. Five days since we were last here and all the tracks from our previous visit had filled in. And the sun came out as we dropped in. Ian MacKenzie skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro Managed to get this clip of Ian M and then my Olympus XZ-1 went kaput. Fortunately I had my DSLR with me. After our first lap in 'Hangman' we bumped into Hiroki from Otaru and the three of us lapped 'Hangman' in the sunshine all day. Ian M skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro Hiroko skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro Ian M taking flight in 'Hangman' at Kiroro Hiroko taking flight in 'Hangman' at Kiroro Ian M skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro Hiroko skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro Ian M and Hiroki on fire. Untracked lines all day. Deep, dry powder. Sunshine. March. Happy days. As we were leaving the skies darkened and the heavens opened. Tomorrow could be even better. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Cheers r45 DAY 91 : TUESDAY 27 MARCH 2012 1502 cm (591") so far at village level in Hirafu, Niseko Resort Area (approx 300m asl) Yes that's right, over 15 m, or 49 feet in old money of snowfall at village level so far this season. Although there was a good fall of dry, light Hokkaido snow at village level in Hirafu this morning and the skiing in the Niseko Resort Area would be good, Ian M & I headed back over to Kiroro to continue from where we left off yesterday. Glorious sunshine and a deep blue sky lightly scattered with clouds greeted us on our arrival, and as we rode the gondola to the top of the resort we could see that yesterday's tracks had been filled in from the overnight snow. The place was deserted and we did lap after lap in 'Hangman' skiing powder and taking photos. Ian M skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro On the drive back to Hirafu the road crew was still hard at work clearing the avalanche barriers on Rt 393 This was one of the best days of the season, and I've got a feeling we can eke out a little more powder tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 DAY 92 : WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2012 The third bluebird day in a row at Kiroro this week. With no new snow overnight and warm sunshine hitting the snow pack from dawn the snow was heavier than yesterday. BUt once you hit the north and west facing aspects it was like skiing icing sugar. Ian M skiing 'Bell Tower' at Kiroro Ian M skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro As we boarded our first gondola to the top of Kiroro, Japanese freeskiing legend Takeshi Kodama was in the gondola behind us with his touring partner. http://yaplog.jp/takeshi-kodama/ When we got to the top station Ian M & I headed down whilst Kodama and his partner headed up, touring to the summit of Yoichidake. Yoichidake at 1,488m and 300m higher than the top of the gondola station is the highest of the peaks surrounding the resort. Around mid-day we stopped to admire Kodama's tracks on the N face of Yoichidake and watch other skiers ski his line. But definitely not his turn shape. Tracks in the N Face of Yoichidake Ian M admiring Takeshi Kodama's line on the N Face of Yoichidake Takeshi Kodama's line on the N Face of Yoichidake Unknown skier making 5 turns to every one of Takeshi Kodama's on the N Face of Yoichidake Ian M skiing 'Hangman' at Kiroro The snow was good for any month, doubly so for the end of March. DAY 93 : THURSDAY 29 MARCH 2012 The fourth sunny day in a row with the freezing level rising up the mountain. But no skiing today as I had to go to Otaru to renew my visa and Ian M had to go to Sapporo on business. DAY 94 : FRIDAY 30 MARCH 2012 The day started off somewhat bright and warm, but it's become progressively windier, greyer and more miserable as the day has gone on. Not my cup of tea thanks although there were plenty of people skiing Grand Hirafu as I drove into the village for lunch. There's a storm rolling in, we just don't know if the precipitation is going to be clear or white. But next week is looking good with below freezing temperatures and 38 cm of snow forecast. Watch this space. Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Looking good Mike. One thing I really like about this thread is your "this is what I skied", posts rather than a, "this is what you are missing" kind of thing. Keep the stoke going! It's nice motivation for me (and I'm sure for lots of other readers)! Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Looking good Mike. One thing I really like about this thread is your "this is what I skied", posts rather than a, "this is what you are missing" kind of thing. Keep the stoke going! It's nice motivation for me (and I'm sure for lots of other readers)! Thanks for reading Black Mountain and thanks for your comments. That's always been my motivation for doing this. I've spent a lot of time researching and visiting snow areas around the world and for me Hokkaido is my Shangri-La. I'm very lucky to have been able to come here initially and even luckier to continue to play and work here. And hopefully through my words, pictures and video someone may be encouraged to experience what I experience. Read an article online this morning, and this quote sums it up nicely I think We all have the power through technology to communicate the things that are important to us Adrian Grenier Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Love those last few in particular. Clear blue sky days are so wonderful aren't they. What camera are you using these days Mike? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Love those last few in particular. Clear blue sky days are so wonderful aren't they. What camera are you using these days Mike? Thanks muikabochi. It certainly makes it easier to take pictures that's for sure. Using a Canon 7D with a 28-135mm kit lens and a B&W circular polariser. My go to setting for movement shots when the sun is out is : Manual mode 1/2000 sec @ f/ 6.3, iso 400 Fire off a few test shots to see how it looks and if I need to adjust then normally it's just the iso that needs tweaking. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Excellent pics as usual Mike. That Ian M is certainly photogenic. In fact he would have to be the most photographed person in Japan. keep em coming Link to post Share on other sites
surfarthur 22 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I'm very lucky to have been able to come here initially and even luckier to continue to play and work here. And hopefully through my words, pictures and video someone may be encouraged to experience what I experience. Very lucky indeed! Your photos and reports are fantastic, certainly make me want to come back to Hokkaido. Makes me think for a longer trip, hiring a car is an essential, makes life so much easer to get to other resorts, particularly if where you have based yourself from has poor snow conditions. One question I have is how do you decide which resort to go to each morning? Do you wait for the reports to come in for each resort, make an educated guess on the best conditions based on weather forecasts, or is it just "I feel like going to Rusutsu/Niseko/Kiroro today? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Excellent pics as usual Mike. That Ian M is certainly photogenic. In fact he would have to be the most photographed person in Japan. keep em coming Thanks snowjunky and I'll pass on your thoughts to Ian M. He'll be well happy. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 I'm very lucky to have been able to come here initially and even luckier to continue to play and work here. And hopefully through my words, pictures and video someone may be encouraged to experience what I experience. Very lucky indeed! Your photos and reports are fantastic, certainly make me want to come back to Hokkaido. Makes me think for a longer trip, hiring a car is an essential, makes life so much easer to get to other resorts, particularly if where you have based yourself from has poor snow conditions. One question I have is how do you decide which resort to go to each morning? Do you wait for the reports to come in for each resort, make an educated guess on the best conditions based on weather forecasts, or is it just "I feel like going to Rusutsu/Niseko/Kiroro today? Thanks surfarthur. Having your own transportation is a definite plus. There are so many great resorts and ski areas nearby. Big and small. And all a great day out. Plus shopping and going to restaurants becomes so much easier. As to choosing where to go, all of the above plus three more : Looking out the window and clearing my deck of snow Checking weather forecasts Checking weather reports Returning to a resort that was good the previous day Gut instinct on which resort will be good And if I'm teaching that day then the biggest consideration is which is the best resort terrain and snow wise for my student(s). Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 DAY 95 : SATURDAY 31 MARCH 2012 Just 80 cm (31") total for the month but raw stats don't always give the full picture of what's under your skis or board. Although there have been 10 grey, mild, and overcast days this month, the other 21 days have given us mid-January powder, classic Spring groomed runs in the sunshine, and best of all sunny, powder days for the ages. And all with no lift lines or the hustle and bustle in the village of December, January and February. It's been snowing very lightly but continuously all day here at MQ in Higashiyama and in the past two hours or so it's been coming down properly. There's a good 5 cm and counting on my deck and if this keeps up tomorrow's turns could be good. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 DAY 96 : SUNDAY 01 APRIL 2012 6 cm of new snow on my deck at MQ (Mike's Quarters) in Higashiyama. A local company have done a great job providing a consistent daily snowfall report throughout the winter but they're done until next season so it's my measurements from now until I leave Hokkaido on the 17th April. My measurements are at a different snow site from theirs but at approximately the same altitude. Spent a couple of hours skiing Grand Hirafu this morning with Ian M, local photographer Glen Claydon and his wife Sachiko. The sun was out, the slopes were quiet and there was between a micron and 10 cm of dry powder on top of a melt freeze crust. When it was good it was very, very good. And when it was bad it was bloody hard work. Glen and Sachiko on the Hirafu gondola Glen riding Tetsu at Grand Hirafu Sachiko riding Tetsu at Grand Hirafu Been trying to snow all day. Hopefully I'll be shovelling tomorrow morning. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 DAY 97 : MONDAY 02 APRIL 2012 2 cm of new snow on the deck at MQ (Mike's Quarters) in Higashiyama. A second morning at Grand Hirafu with Ian M, and much better conditions on the groomed runs today. Yesterday's layer of grey crunch had been tilled with the new snow in the past 24 hrs to give a far better glide. We skied laps of the Hirafu gondola with the odd foray into the trees where the light, dry, new snow had blown around to make for some very smooth patches. Just not enough of them unfortunately. I've been skiing on Movement Jam skis since February of 2011 - Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Hokkaido, Norway, Sweden, Wales - and this winter I've felt that the combination of the oversized slalom profile (136-85-117 in a 173 cm length) and the loss of about 5kg in bodyweight has kept me higher in the powder than I prefer. So today I demoed a pair of 2010 Head i Supershape Magnum skis in a 170 cm length with a profile of 121-71-109 to see how they went in tricky, mixed snow conditions on and off the groomed runs. They have great edge grip through the length of the ski and carving is effortless. But I knew they would be with a turning radius of 13.5 m I was more interested in how they pivotted. They didn't disappoint. It's been snowing on and off all day with a fair bit of wind, so we're heading to Kiroro tomorrow to ski the groomed and hopefully a bit of powder. If they go well there, then the rental binding and riser plate are coming off and the Dynafit TLT vertical FT bindings which I have on the Jams are going on. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 DAY 98 : TUESDAY 03 APRIL 2012 7 cm of new snow on the deck at MQ (Mike's Quarters) in Higashiyama. And snowing when Ian M & I left for Kiroro. The base area at Kiroro is 570 m and this additional altitude in comparison with the Niseko Resort Area means that Spring springs a little later there. And the skill of the grooming team doesn't hurt either! The wind was howling up high and the upper lifts were on wind hold but there was more than enough terrain for us to play in down low. The groomed runs were fabulously smooth with a coating of hero snow on top. After a few laps we ducked into the trees and were very pleasantly surprised to find knee deep light powder on a solid base. With none of the crunch of previous days. Ian M skiing 'Walk in the Woods' at Kiroro It snowed the whole time we were there and throughout the day right up to about 3pm. Went in to Niseko Pizza for a bite to eat at 5pm and it was spotting with rain. Came out at 7pm and Noah was starting on his Ark. The farmer's will be delirious at least. It's supposed to turn to snow around midnight and the witching hour can't come soon enough. My only solace is I woke up at 5am one morning at the start of April in Park City, Utah to what I thought was the neighbours leaving their shower on. I thought inconsiderate bastards. Went to the bathroom and on the way back opened the front door to check the weather only to see a torrent of water running don my steps and the rain hammering down. I thought, end of season. Went back to bed and woke at 8 am to see sleet. It turned to snow at 9 am Went up the mountain at 11 am for shits and giggles and skied this at 3.30 pm Yours truly skiing a closed race course at Park City, Utah in April 2004 (Tom Wilson North captured the moment) Here's hoping. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Nice Mike, you should put youself in the picture more often Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thanks snowjunky DAY 99 : WEDNESDAY 04 APRIL 2012 4 cm of new snow on the deck at MQ in Higashiyama. It absolutely tipped down with rain overnight. I was woken from my slumber at 2am it was drumming so heavily on the roof of my cabin. The rain stopped around 5am and the snow started at 7. And it didn't stop until 6 this evening. It was wild, wild, wild out there today. The wind was howling blowing the light snow all over the place, and it kept most of the Niseko Resort Area closed for the day. Who knows how the rain has affected the slopes, but if the area around my cabin is any indication then very little effect at all. The sky is clear at the moment and the temperature is dropping. The wind is still gusting wildly out there but that's forecast to decrease overnight. Spring is on hold. Link to post Share on other sites
yoroshiku onegai shimasu 2 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 The sound of rain in ski season. The worst sound there is! Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 DAY 100 : THURSDAY 05 APRIL 2012 16 cm of new snow on the deck at MQ in Higashiyama. THE RETURN OF THE NERI Nerys enjoyed her time on Fantasy Island so much in February that she's come back for more - the Jedi Mind tick I did on her didn't hurt either ;-) Her timing is impeccable. Light powder shovelled off the deck this morning, the wind dying down, and bluebird skies to greet her arrival. An easy drive to and from Chitose and a chilled night back at MQ recharging after the flight. DAY 101 : FRIDAY 06 APRIL 2012 6 cm of new snow on the deck at MQ in Higashiyama. Good Friday? Great Friday. Nerys' first day on snow for this trip and 10th day in total, and where better to start it off than where she made her first turns, Kiroro Within 15 minutes of leaving the car park we were on snow and that's going through the rental process. Managed to get Nerys in the same boots as last time - the Head Edge + 8.5 which were comfortable, warm, and which hadn't given her any problems - and the same ski - 152 cm Vist Cross Over Lady with a 124-77-110 profile and a 11m turning radius. All that she'd learned on her first trip cam back in the first couple of runs and then we spent the rest of the day working on the Hokkaido drift and full body balancing. Nerys skiing the Yoichi #1-B Course (green run) at Kiroro Nerys skiing the Yoichi #1-A Course (red run) at Kiroro Nerys enjoying a salmon, salmon roe and rice bowl for lunch at Kiroro A fantastic first day back on snow for Nerys after a two month lay off, and it was dumping when we left. Tomorrow could be even better. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 DAY 102 : SATURDAY 07 APRIL 2012 14 cm of new snow on the deck at MQ in Higashiyama. THE RETURN OF THE NERI Nerys' second day on snow for this trip and 11th day in total, and she continued on from where she left off yesterday afternoon. On the second lap of the Yoichi #1-B Course Nerys got a little too much Hokkaido drift and got to know this young Japanese skier better than she expected. Or he expected for that matter. Thankfully both skied away smiling. Nerys skiing the Yoichi #1-B Course (green run) at Kiroro After that we spent as much time off the groomed runs and in the trees as we could. Nerys really got a handle on patience at the start of the turn in unconsolidated snow, subtle balance transference between each leg, and looking further ahead to choose better paths through the trees. Nerys skiing beside the Yoichi #1-B Course (green run) at Kiroro Nerys skiing beside the Yoichi #2-A Course (green run) at Kiroro Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Nerys skiing beside the Yoichi #1-B Course (green run) at Kiroro Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Nerys skiing beside the Yoichi #1-A Course (red run) at Kiroro And she saved her best until last Nerys kicked it up a couple of notches today and as we left Kiroro the powder kept on coming Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Good work with the Neri Mike From grom beginner to confirmed powder hunter in a few short weeks. A quick learner, your girl. Is it tuffer teaching someone close to you rather than contracted clients,. e.g does Nerys tell you to naff off if you are pushing to hard ? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 Thanks snowjunky Yeah she's really moving through the gears. She, and I, couldn't be happier. Why I'm teaching and how & what I'm teaching isn't different. The added bonus is because Nerys is really enjoying it I can come back next winter Link to post Share on other sites
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