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SnowJapan Giveaways - 10 Mt Naeba (Yuzawa, Niigata) lift tickets


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Saturday 2nd February 2013 until Friday 8th February 2013

 

 

The prizes:

10 one-day lift ticket vouchers - each one can be exchanged for a one-day Mt Naeba lift ticket.

The ticket is valid at Naeba and Kagura resorts in Yuzawa town, Niigata Prefecture.

 

 

 

Please read this before entering

Thanks

 

 

Who can enter?

Any active, logged in members of SnowJapanForums can enter this Giveaway. (You need to have made at least a few posts on the Forums, and join in - not just simply register).

>> If you are logged in, click here to enter.

>> If you need to register, please do so here.

 

 

The winners:

10 people will be chosen and notified within four days of the Giveaway period closing.

 

 

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Mt Naeba website

 

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We would like to thank the kind people at Mt Naeba and Prince Hotels for taking part in this Giveaway.

Please do take a few moments to post some comments on the form when you enter... each year your comments help us try to improve SnowJapan.

Thank you.

 

 

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No one else try for this one I realllly want it!!! :) I always just buy Kagura lift tickets because I prefer it to Naeba and it is big enough by its self, but I've always wanted to ride the Dragondola, just to see what all the fuss is about.

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Its 20 minutes of tedium. Break it up by singing slayer and suicidal tendencies as loud as you like. Its what I do. Its well worth flitting between the two. Once you've scored some pow at kagura, head over to naeba, ride a couple of top to bottoms, grab some pizza, then back over to kagura for a bit of a play in the trees and then back on the train home. Brilliant way to spend a day to be honest.

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I'm not excited by it either.

Been twice one in winter and one in autumn.

Naeba and Kagura are both big enough for at least a day each and so I don't recommend splitting a day up unless that's what you really want or perhaps a good way to get to Kagura from staying in Naeba.

But it's nothing exciting.

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Neither would I. Spend at full day at Naeba or Kagura.....the only thing the dragons oak is ok for is if u are staying at Znaeba but want to ride Kagura....but actually even then it sucks. It generally doesn't open till well after the first lifts and then it's often cancelled because of wind...so actually the bus between Naeba and Tashiro/Mitsumata is a much better way to get across

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Its probably just me, but i hate riding short lines to be honest. If the top lift is open then the sidecountry parts are long enough for a good run out. Though to balance the force, the top lift becomes a bottleneck (hopefully the early opening means people are still down at the park or are on their appropriate ski jo and leave kagura to the powder hounds). When its just teh highspeed quad, and you know where youre going, its maybe getting a bit sticky and the queues are forming on the top two lifts, it starts feeling a bit of a dull ride. So ill pop to Naeba to re-energise.

 

Naeba really appeals to me because of the long top to bottom run you get on it through a decent fall line (and the skiers right side has an awesome little pseudo half pipe feel to it - can i call these things chutes? They seem too small and flat to be honest). The big problem is that kagura to naeba is no bother. If youve got a good wax job and its decent conditions youll need no lifts from the kagura high speed 1and youll ony have to unclip as youre coming to the dragondola itself (i dont think ive carried enough speed to ever make it all the way). Youll not be too far from the end though. So all good.

 

The problem is returning. Four lifts i think (might be five, would have to check), which EATS your time up and even then theres still plentry of points youll need to carry speed. So if you do decide to hit them both up, keep that in mind.

 

Really though, if youre a powder kid, the top lifts not busy, and its got decent conditions, youd probably just enjoy sitting at kagura more. I only popped to naeba when it felt a bit slow, repetitive, short, and busy. The nice thing at naeba is more food options, better piste lines, and you can ruthlessly exploit the single person line to snake the gondola even when its mad busy, making lapping it kinda quick and fun. Loads of cute side hits as well since the mountain is really loads of nice folds and bumps.

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Ride in march when the other resorts shut down or the weather starts getting bad and only kagura has snow, and they move the park up the hill. The high speed quad becomes miserable and the top lift becomes a bottleneck. I swear Im not just making it up. I went there a LOT last season and i can still remember the first time i saw the queues for the gondola stretching into the carpark. I thought it was just a freak day, but then it carried into the high speed quad and thats when i started popping over to naeba. In fact i probably yammered about it in one of the very weekend reports. :)

 

Holy shit im awesome!

 

Dated 18th March 2012:

 

 

You should have seen it dude...

 

Near constant rain.

Queues for the gondola that stretched way into the car park, and queues up on the top lift that took almost 20 minutes even using the 1 person ninja line.

And super sticky snow.

 

Youd think that would equal the worlds shittiest weekend. Still, had an alright time since i was on the scope and could just spin and butter about a bit :) 5/10. conditions were about 2/10.

 

longer version (in reply to YOU of all people you massive :stir: ):

 

 

i dont care. if theres snow on the pitch im playing snobo.

As i once mentioned. If im willing to travel the entire length of korea to score shitty indoor snow on a run that takes less time to complete than it took me to sit down and strap in, you can bet your ass while theres snow, im on it.

 

I wasnt alone either. Looks like everyone changed their plans and came to kagura instead. It was honestly as busy as ive seen it. :) Amazingly kagura gets busier in march than in january and february when its absolutely killing it for powder. I HATE having all the park rats hit the top but whatchagonndo? Better that than them shutting the lifts down. Plus, as i said, Naeba was still decent fun again. Loads of people there too by the way. And theyve gated the top of the small gondola run. Not sure if its just to keep the numbers down (it was muju numbers out there this afternoon), or if the conditions turned this into a black run, or they just want people to slow the hell down... either way, now a massive fence and a small entrance way through it.

 

I would like to make one complaint. I have a pizza la just down the road from me. Its not great, but its passable. The pizza la at naeba is ****ing disgusting. Its reconstituted cardboard. Avoid.

 

So anyways, this weekend:

 

Day 1:

- OMG!!! QUEEEUUEE for the ropeway stretching to the carpark! Never seen that!

- Chatted with a dude on the gondola who told me that shiga sometimes even goes to june... Ill be there on the last fekkin day, you mark my words! he also drew me a cute little map of where the good riding was in tenjindaira (its a 3.5hr hike from the top toward some other mountain beginning with T i think). He also told me what goes on up beyond that gate at the top of kagura. 30 minute shank by skissnowshoes to the second ridge. Its where all the cool kids go. And its northfacing so apparently its nice.

- Got to the high speed quad and almost spat out my protein jelly. NEVER seen such a queue at kagura. 10-15 minutes later i made it to the front (loads of groups trying to skip the main queue by going as singles). Headed straight for the top... turned skiers left and headed under the ropes to realise the snow was sticky as hell. Rode it all the way to the gondola in the forlorn hope that id maybe get lucky and score some ice. No chance. Velcro all the way down.

- Rewaxed my board several times. Fine on piste, but the second i went off piste it dried it out. Had to decide whether i wanted to reapply every two runs or just give up and stay on piste. Stayed on piste the rest of the day. Kinda bored and finished around 3.45.

- During all this finally destroyed my goggles. They didnt stand a chance against the speckly rain. It wouldnt be so bad if it was proper rain, itd at least run off, but this shit is like mist glued to yoru goggles. Its too fine to go anywhere, but it doesnt half build up. Jesus i hated it. But it meant i kept rubbing it off, so i reckon thatll be the lens done for.

 

Day 2:

Thought, "HUZZAH!!! Mayhaps the cold night air hath turned the slush to choppy ice!" Went down the little side alley under the high speed lift and found out that no, no it hadnt. Had a few runs in the already wet and mushy (untracked by the way), groomers before the peasants made it to the top then once the queues started forming (about 9.30ish) headed to Naeba. Had some fun over there just playing on walls and getting trenchfoot. Enjoyed the fact the mist wasnt as bad, ran up and down the walls, and made a point to try and do it in switch, took a few spectacular tumbles thanks to digging, but had a generally fun time. Came back to kagura around 2, took a last run top to bottom, got my bus (only just) and came home.

 

Basically worked a lot on switch trying to learn to hold presses and hit rollers without being completely off balance. Also rode some walls but kept coming out regular toe side which kept confusing me. Need a bit more work i reckons. Carving is fine. I think the biggest thing was just enjoying being on the scope again. I was kinda psyched to be on it now that ive lost the berzereker and the bataleon isnt working for me. No washing, perfectly stable (though we'll see about that on ice?), super soft. Shockingly so. But still hods it together at speed and is happy buzzing up and down walls. So all in, a reasonably fun weekend. Just a bit pricey. Maybe next time it rains ill just go to karuizawa or something. :)

 

ETA: i believe the phrase "queues for the gondola that stretched way into the carpark" is wildly inaccurate - those would be some ****ing long queues! I believe i meant ropeway :)

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Oh yeah I've been stuck at the bottom of the car park many a time, waiting to get on the Ropeway.....but I've nevr seen a queue to get on the top lift of the forestry course. The quad....yeah I've seen big queues there as well

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