Ski Jam Katsuyama (Fukui) 23 Feb 2013 - Now with video

[Kansaiash 6]

I noticed Ski Jam Katsuyama made it on the "Guess where this is" thread so I thought I would share on of my experiences there this year.

 

February 23^rd 2013

 

Resort: Skijam Katsuyama, Fukui

 

Snow condition: Lots of fresh snow on and off the courses. There was about 20cm of fresh snow over night and snow continued through the day, heavy at times. The snow depth in the off-piste areas varied from about 10-40cms.

 

Weather: Weather wise this day would have to be one the strangest days I have experienced on the snow ever. The night before and early morning had snow, around 9am the sun started to break through the clouds and we had a couple of hours of sunshine. Around lunch the clouds came back and so did the snow. At times the clouds were low making visibility very bad and the snow was very heavy at times. I got completely covered in snow while I waited for about 5 minutes at the top of one of the lifts.

 

The day: This was the first time I have been back to Skijam in 2 seasons. Last time I visited this place was on my third day of boarding so the terrain and the lines I was seeking were completely different from my last trip. Skijam opens at 7:30 on the weekends and we arrived around 8am, I was a little worried about a late arrival after my previous experiences this season with heavy traffic in Gifu. To my surprise Fukui or Skijam seems to be less popular and doesn’t have the same issues, we had a non stop run all the way to the ski-jo. The ski-jo also wasn’t so crowded, I think we had to wait in line about 2 or 3 times all day. The rest of the time we could jump straight onto the lifts. The lift lines or lack of lift lines could be because of the area we were boarding all day. Skijam is quite big and due to the layout it is a bit of a mission to get to the top lifts. These lifts also only service intermediate and advanced level runs so I guess that keeps a lot of the beginners on the bottom parts of the mountain. To go from the bottom lift to the top requires taking 4 lifts and takes about 30-40 minutes. It's a long way up but on a powder day like February 23^rd it was more than worth it. My friends and I spent all day lapping the same quad lift at the top of the mountain finding fresh tracks in the trees every run. It was an extremely enjoyable day to be on the snow with challenging terrain and great snow. This is one place that I will have to remember about for next year during the peak season weekends. I will be back there again this season and if the snow is good I might even go back next weekend.

 

 

 

[onehunga 26]

Nice review, thanks for sharing

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Nice one ash, its always nice to hear about the other, less well known ski areas.

[yoroshiku onegai shimasu 2]

With cool names too!

 

[seemore 66]

Snow looks good too

[Kansaiash 6]

Thanks guys and yea the snow was really nice on this day. Kind of annoyed I left it to the end of the season to get up there. Next season I think ill be spending a few more days here instead of Gifu or Nagano.

[minus 1]

Thanks kansaiash.

 

Do they serve jam there too?

 

How far away are you?

[Kansaiash 6]

No jam unfortunately just shredding when Ive been there.

 

Its about 3 hours drive from Kyoto higashi IC. Its slightly less than going up to the Takasu(Gifu) area.

[pie-eater 207]

But actually further distance wise?

[Kansaiash 6]

That would depend on where you are going in Gifu.

 

Kyoto Higashi IC -> Skijam = about 210km

Kyoto Higashi IC -> Dynaland = about 215km

[Kansaiash 6]

Here is a video I put together from the day. Unfortunately the tunes I originally used were blocked by youtube so the music is not the best. Hope you enjoy and any advice welcome.