agillgren 13 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Cheers- will do. And looking forward to Tues/Wed - looking like fun. Looks like 15cm or so overnight on top of the frozen crust. It's a start. Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Great thread and photos Annika Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yesterday the wind was howling-- but at least there was some fresh snow. We headed to Niseko- Hanazono to try find shelter in the trees. That there was (it was still cold out there though) but unfortunately not enough snow had gathered to cover the ice layer beneath. We gave it a shot for an hour or two before deciding a big lunch-- then beer/onsen was more appealing. Today was another story With the avi report saying some of the gates may not open or be delayed we decided to somewhere we could stay in bounds and still find untracked fun: Rusutsu Honestly it was terrible.. don't bother going there . Unfortunately I think it's a bit late to play that card as there were plenty of Westerns there today... but with so many tree patches to pick from at least it spread the crew out. Some areas were wind affected and very icy... others were awesome. Had a good day picking easy routes between the groomers in the trees. There are so many "legal" tree runs here-- and most pop out nicely onto a groomer to get back to a lift. With a bit of caution watching for creeks ect. at the bottom of some of the gully's ect it's a pretty easy place to explore. We stayed at the resort a few years ago - and oh my is it quirky. It's not really our style- so it's nice coming here for a day trip now. I do like the addition of the dog shaped bus running between the carparks. Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 You picked a fantastic day. It was great out there today and yes that bus KILLS ME every time I see it. Its so dumb and dumber. Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I have never seen the bus photo please Looks nice and fluffy (the snow not the bus) Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yeah... still got a grin from ear to ear. Waiting for the forecast snow to dump tonight... fingers crossed and tomorrow should be epic. Sadly the bus isn't fluffy.... that would be even more awesome. I didn't pull the camera in time unfortunately. Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Ill try and get a pic of the bus lol. Tomorrow looks good with snow falling pretty much all night . Friday is going to be HUGE! FWIW I filmed a heap of sick runs today with no card in the gopro!!! Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 I'm trying not to look. We fly out Thurs arvo (seriously looking at pushing flights back a day or so). Nice one with the gopro. Better than our effort though---- we were having too much fun to stop and pull our old fashioned camera out (and your had gets cold). Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 OMG delay those flights. It may not even be possible to fly out thursday arvo looking at the forecast. Better to be riding than sitting in chitose Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yeah that much snow may delay the flights wish I was there Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 :D :D It's days like today that remind me why we love it so much here and keep coming back each year. It was a day you needed wiper blades for your goggles (after the face shots) and a defroster to unfreeze the smile on your face. Seeing the avi report and weather reports it looked like Niseko top lifts might not run---- and definitely no high gates. But good news was at least 15cm overnight and still snowing. We made the call to head back to Rusutsu - as when I checked on Monday with similar winds most lifts ran that day and there a lot of runs in gullies where you can get out of the wind. We had to dig the car out to get there - but boy we were rewarded. Deep stashed on some runs --- and we were still finding freshies on our last runs of the day. It was cold out there so the ice left on after face shots were punishing once you were back in the open- but soooo worth it. Sorry no pics---- couldn't bring ourselves to stop and pull the camera out (and visibility wasn't great). Beer now and after a hotpot tonight I'll be very contented--- it's amazing how one day like this makes the whole trip worthwhile. Think tomorrow will be good also as the wind will die down and all the places closed today will be on. I got as far as calling Cathay to try push our flights back-- no seats available doh! Ah well-- we should be able to manage a sneaky one Thursday morning on the way tot he airport. Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Oh. And here is one snowy dog bus: Got to love it. Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thats my car in the background LOL Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Classic---- prime bus viewing location! Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I think the bus pissed on my car as it went past LOL Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Fun day at Kiroro today. Snow was a little heavier and not as deep as yesterday but it was still nice out there-- and much more pleasant weather. The mountain had definitely been wind affected-- I'm not sure the technical term but you could see the ridges and shadows of snow carved by the wind. Our first expeditions into the trees in the most obvious spots were a little disappointing after yesterdays ventures as the snow changed from boot deep powder to ice rapidly. But as we found our way a little later we found some fun knee deep sections with plenty of fresh lines. We still had freshies on the last runs of the today with a few face shot worthy turns. Nice way to finish up With despair we are still leaving tomorrow... although looking at the forecast we might well be stuck at the airport for a while. We'll try get a sneaky quick session at maybe Moiwa in the morning (another benefit of having a car and not being on the bus). I can't believe we haven't been there yet this trip--- a couple of epic days at this little place on previous trips was one of the motivators to start exploring more in the first place. Actually it's a little weird finishing off a trip without really riding at Niseko either (only 2 hours at Hanazono on a windy day)--- we've been having so much fun exploring other places and with the weather we kind of ran out of time (despite staying here the past 4 nights). I suppose haven't spent quite a bit of time there in other years and this trip was about trying elsewhere - so thats where our motivation was. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Riding new places and expanding ur horizons is always good, no need for apologies or regrets Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 And if you can get a quick sesh in at Niseko, you'd have fresh notes for your tip comparisons. Good reporting. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
agillgren 13 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Thanks... not a regret or an apology there. Just an observation. When we planned this trip we thought it would be nice to finish in Niseko. Back in the comfort zone and staying walking distance to lifts. But once we got into this trip we were loving freedom to choose our destination for the day and finding new routes and we didn't want to stop. Niseko has served us very well in the past as our riding developed - and in my mind still has a purpose/place depending on what your looking for on a trip. It still served well as a nice base camp this time round--- and it was a change of scene having English conversations again after our first 10 days trying mime/bad Japanese/English. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Indeed. Good trip, good report. Thanks again. Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Cheers Annika really enjoyed your report safe flight home Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Cheers dude Link to post Share on other sites
pdoull 2 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Cheers Annika really enjoyed your report safe flight home Me too. Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Rich 78 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Just read my way through this - sounds like a good trip! Did you manage to squeeze in a sneaky trip to Moiwa and if so, how was it? Link to post Share on other sites
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