Plucky 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Good stuff yesterday! Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Got an old article from a snowboarding magazine somewhere about Hachimantai... whats the deal Plucky? Decent BC? Snow shoes etc? Major pow pow? No people? Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Author Share Posted January 21, 2003 This is MY place, and I hate to give it up. Thing is, there was nobody there! It was sunny with 1 foot of pow and untracked! Now, the backcountry - depends if you're a boarder or not. I took three guys out and they couldn't make it. They HATEED me after this run. Us skiers had a blast though! Hey woywoy, if you want some more info, let me know. So much more to tell! Link to post Share on other sites
huckster 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Awesome time!! I'm glad to see that you are alive Plucky haha. I can't wait until we go there again. Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Author Share Posted January 21, 2003 Ripper - I just farted. It reminded me of you. Great time this weekend! I just watched CF again! It's afganmanastation! Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Plucky My buddy went to Hakkouda and said it wasnt steep nothing at 40% or more is it true. Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 21, 2003 Author Share Posted January 21, 2003 Fattwins - Hakkoda isn't 'extreme' if you take the managed runs. The reason that I like it (and Ripper) is that you can go anywhere your little heart desires. Nothing is roped off, there are no closed signs and you basically can just point your skis and go. The headwall at the bottom is over 40% though. There is some stuff up top off the main runs that definately gets over 40. We like the mountain because it is so different from anything else up north. It can definately be hairy. People who are unimpressed with the place either don't spend enough time skiing in Japan or don't know the lay of the land up there. There is a lot more than meets the eye. Granted, I would rather ski Whistler or Hood or even Bachelor, but this is the best we have up here and we make the most of it. FT - if you ever get up north, let me know. People tend to migrate to Hakkoda but there is a better spot that is more fun. Hachimantai is pretty crazy too. Cornices, backcountry, tons of pow, no crowds - we had an absolute blast there. Oh, and avalanches. There is a headwall there with probably 200 meters of exposure with a huge overhanging cornice. It's around 70 degrees the whole way down. It's the steepest slope I've found out here. It kept releasing 1 foot deep slabs all day. Tons of schwag at the bottom, but damn it was worth it! take care man! I gotta head to work. Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Check your personals Plucky! Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Good for a picnic is it? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 sounds crazy 70 degrees sounds moree like a cliff? This year we are sticking to the Gifu and Nagano areas. Reason is to save a bit of money for the future. Seasons pass was only 20000 yen for 1 person. Want to get out there next year if I can. If your still there I will be here a while. Do alot of short hikes in the gifu area. Good sking sometimes short, long or the weather gets warm quickly. Was there the other week when it got 150cms, crazy. I will be going on some spring sking treks in the nagano and gifu areas this year too, got all the gear times too. Just got to get new skins for the new skis. Dane is a good skier, if you hook up with him he can hold it together. My buddy fell in love with the cortina steeps and the length of the runs, nothing makes him happy anymore. Also he leaves the route finding to me. I helped him be phone when he was in Hakkouda. I only know what hutch told me. Link to post Share on other sites
huckster 0 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Plucky-I just took a hefty one and it sorta looked like you. CF is an awesome flick! I'm sorta missing skiing...you better bring that movie over!! haha. See ya skiing this weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
hem now 0 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 "People tend to migrate to Hakkoda but there is a better spot that is more fun" Plucky, you`ve got me curious - is this place in Aomori ken? hem now - scratching his noggin. PS What is 40 percent in degrees? Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 assuming they are use the same sort of system as Surveyors and Engeneers in NZ 40% = 1m down every 2.5 metres along or 1 in 2.5 this is slightly steeper than the steepest street in the world which is 1 in 2.6something. 40% is almost 22 degrees. Doesnt sound like much but things are always alot steeper when your standing on them. 70 degrees is almost the same triangle stood up on the small side - im afraid I have my doubts about snow sticking to a slope that steep. Link to post Share on other sites
Simon 0 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by jared: 70 degrees is almost the same triangle stood up on the small side - im afraid I have my doubts about snow sticking to a slope that steep. Agree. 70° is almost a wall, impossible to ski or ride (at least for us). I remember reading the best ones in extreme skiing hit slopes with 55/60°, even 65° (they called these "non existing slopes" because they are basically cliffs). As for snow sticking to a slope... it really depends on the climate of the area. In Alaska you can find good snow on slopes with 55°. But in Japan (as in Europe), I think that 45° slopes are the maximum you can ski: more than that and you only have some centimeters of snow (impossible to ride). Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 24, 2003 Author Share Posted January 24, 2003 Sorry everyone, I meant % not degrees. I was using a clinometer at work all last week and had degrees on my mind. I'll get back to all of your emails tomorrow. I've been too busy with local ski club business in the evenings to be online much at all this week. Did this snow storm hammer any of the resorts down south hard at all? It started snowing here at about 5pm and is still coming down. The radar looks promising for overnight too. take care all! Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 just cos im a geek ill give you some more numbers, 70% is about 1 in 1.4 and about 35 degrees. and if its been snowing in hachimantai like it has been in mizusawa then it should be good tomorrow!! If your in Iwate anyway (as is hachimantai) you should have a look at geto it seems to have more snow than anyware including hakkoda. Link to post Share on other sites
rachael 0 Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I've never been up there, it seems such a long way to go - but people seem to have only good things to say about the area. Link to post Share on other sites
micke 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Old thread, new questions. Are there still people going to Hachimantai Forest? I read the reviews of it, and it seems to be right up my alley. But someone wrote in another thread that the place seemed like a ghost town last season. Don´t get me wrong, I don´t want a big crowd there, but I don´t want to ski alone either. What really got me interested was the supposed freedom and ski bum atmosphere of the place. Has anyone stayed at the hostel there, and know how much it costs? Link to post Share on other sites
firedog23 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I said it felt like a ghost town but I mean it in a good way. They did close the kitchen half way up the mountain and it was always just locals that were there. It just had this feeling like they were just holding on to the place. I love it because just over the way is Appi and everyone and there brother goes there and don't seem to know the forest exists. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 alot of guys that skied there from this forum went back home or moved out of japan. still gets great write ups in japanese mags but it has shortish lines but steep shortish lines. its like lift accessed back country Link to post Share on other sites
micke 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Anyone know how far it is between Hachimantai Forest and Hakkoda? Even if I bought a season pass at both, it would still be cheaper than one season pass in Chamonix. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 the best touring if thats what you are into is in nagano nigata gunma and gifu, the stuff up there is short. hakkoda sells only monthly passes for 20000 yen i think. also you will certainly need a car. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 "Anyone know how far it is between Hachimantai Forest and Hakkoda?" It's 80km direct line, and about 100km by road. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 One reasonably accurate observation is that a lot of Japanese resorts have a ski bum feel to them compared to European resorts, especially venues like Chamonix. The Japanese ski bum vibe is not so much a result of lots of ski bums, more so because the farming towns in the valley are otherwise quite undeveloped. The slopes and towns are empty on weekdays. Even a well known place like Hakuba is ski bum feeling, even though it probably doesn't really have any ski bums (?). Just because the Winter Olympics were based around Hakuba does not mean that it is an overdeveloped thriving resort environment. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of tourist factory resorts with grotesque hotel developments as well. But many places are based around undeveloped towns that western visitors often complain about due to drab appearance and lack of nightlife. In Hakuba I once struggled to get a taxi at 11pm. At times it is a pleasantly humble place. Did you ever ride at les Houches in Cham? Because that is what most Japanese resort hills are like in terms of terrain. The mountain range around Hakuba are an exception. But you need to re-calibrate your terrain-ometer: not one Japanese resort has anything that even comes close to the steepish rolling hits and drops of Flegere, it would all be totally roped off if it even existed in resort grounds (which I doubt). Your are on the right path with Hachi/hakkoda for freedom and powder and I would love to spend a month or so there myself. But if you deep down need terrain then heed Fattwins advice. Hakkoda is good, but has amazingly long flat areas that regulars know how to avoid. Check out this guy's stuff. He is a forum member from Australia called Low Pressure Lover (but his real name is Alphonse). He's got some good video footage but i couldn't find it. http://lowpressurelovers.com/images/japan_2003-4/japan_2003-4_web/japan_2003-2004_index.html Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 micke. My experience is limited to mostly smaller ski jos in Yamagata and Iwate, but I agree with spud's comments. During the week they tend to be pretty empty. Typically there will be a bunch of young snowboarding dudes and dudettes, a few groups of grey haired old men on skis (that's me) and some school children under instruction. The army may or may not be there. There are a lot more ski areas operating than people to fill them. Doubtless there are places which draw from the big cities and get crowded at weekends or holidays, but I've never experienced that in Tohoku. Link to post Share on other sites
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