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That was a great day.   For now though. Need. More. Fresh. Snow.

I wouldn't head across JUST yet though Mike.......it needs a big storm. A lot of the good trees on Isola weren't filled in with a lot of sasa poking through

Some friends of mine headed off to Chamonix on xmas day because they found Niseko too busy last year!

DAY 93 : FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2014

 

2 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

February saw 231 cm (91") of snowfall, the 2nd lowest total in the eight winters I've been collecting data.

 

The highest total was in February 2013 when 395 cm (156") fell.

 

 

Day 11 of the Royal Visit

 

 

Nerys & I took a day off snow today.

 

High winds kept most of the lifts closed for most of the day, so we headed to Kutchan for a bit of shopping, coffee & cake at Sprout cafe, and a visit to the Kutchan Natural History Museum and the Shu Ogawara Museum of Art.

 

Shu Ogawara (1911-2002) was born in Kutchan and is a well respected artist in Japan.

 

Along with his paintings there is a visting exhibition of international artists called Kutchan Art 2014 which runs until 23 March 2014.

 

Both are well worth a visit.

 

In the evening, Nerys and I joined Ian for an excellent dinner at Dragon Restaurant in the Sekka building in Hirafu.

 

We shared the appetiser selection of seafood, pate, and rillettes; oysters on the half shell and oyster shots; and the salmon and scallop sashimi.

 

Nerys had the fish main course, Ian had the duck, and I had the lamb chop. All delicious.

 

The service was great, the atmosphere relaxed, and dining here is highly recommended.

 

 

 

DAY 94 : SATURDAY 01 MARCH 2014

 

0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

Day 12 of the Royal Visit

 

 

Happy St. David's Day (Patron Saint of Wales).

 

A grey day at village level with gusting winds, so Nerys & I took another day off snow today.

 

 

 

DAY 95 : SUNDAY 02 MARCH 2014

 

0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

Day 13 of the Royal Visit

 

 

After a week of no new snow, glorious sunshine, and freeze-thaw conditions across the Niseko Resort Area, colder temperatures and light snowfall returned this morning.

 

Nerys & I headed to Niseko Moiwa where the groomed runs were hard packed, consistent, and great fun on narrower profile skis.

 

The 2-5 cm that fell during the day made the turns on Shirakaba slope surprisingly good.

 

A layer of velvet like snow covered the sun and wind baked off piste slopes and a lighter touch resulted in smooth turns top to bottom.

 

The mercury is set to drop all next week and snowfall is forecast for the next six days, with Thursday 06 March looking like the pick of the days at this stage.

 

Get ready, winter's not done just yet.

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DAY 96 : MONDAY 03 MARCH 2014

 

11 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

As of today 12.04 m (474") has fallen at MQ in Higashiyama

 

 

Day 14 of the Royal Visit

 

 

Well the snow arrived sooner than expected or forecast.

 

2 cm forecasted up top, 11 cm on the ground at village level this morning and a massive change at Niseko Moiwa in 24 hrs.

 

Shin deep snow and the crunch disappearing by the run.

 

Comeback Story

 

 

 

Light snow has been falling throughout the day and more is forecast overnight.

 

It's getting better by the day.

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On our way down the 'Natural' run we came across a Sapporo Police Dept. police car stuck in the snow.

 

The policemen had taken a wrong turn out of the car park and headed down the groomed run instead of the mountain road.

 

I dug them out once and we managed to push them a little way back up the run, but then they sank again and had to wait for the groomer to pull them out.

 

 

 

:rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout:

 

 

The poor guys, that would have been a pretty embarrasing situation for them to explain to the Chief back at the station........

I do sympathise as I can see how it might happen to anyone, but...

 

:rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout: :rollabout:

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DAY 97 : TUESDAY 04 MARCH 2014

 

4 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

Day 15 of the Royal Visit

 

 

Nerys and I headed to Kiroro Snow World for the first time in week, and what a difference.

 

Winter has returned.

 

Boot top to knee deep powder all over the mountain on a consistent base made for a great day.

 

Discogalactic

 

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Cheers onehunga and seemore.

 

Yep.

 

"Discogalactic" the remix of "Intergalactic" by The Beastie Boys with

 

"Oh What a Night" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate

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How are we doing on total season snowfall Mike?

 

12.27 m to date at MQ in Higashiyama.

 

March mean is 1.55 m for the eight seasons I've been collecting data.

 

So on track for a normal winter in my opinion.

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DAY 98 : WEDNESDAY 05 MARCH 2014

 

19 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

Day 16 of the Royal Visit

 

 

Rusutsu was fabulous today.

 

Nerys & I warmed up on the low angle boot top powder under and around the East Quad and East Tignes run before lapping the knee deep powder under the Isola Gondola and the trees off the Isola Grand run.

 

The temperature rose sharply after lunch thickening the powder but the turns underneath the Isola No. 2 Quad were smooth and consistent.

 

We finished the day back on the East Quad and the East No. 2 Gondola.

 

For dinner we went to Restaurant La villa Lupicia in the St. Moritz area of Hirafu and chose the degustation menu at JPY 6,500 a head.

 

 

Amuse-bouche

 

Pate, brandade

 

 

First Appetizer

 

Assorted appetizers of seafood and vegetables

 

mike%20pow_2112.jpg

 

 

 

Second Appetizer

 

For Nerys

Oysters

 

For me

Spicy grilled Hokkaido venison fillet

 

 

Main Dish

 

For Nerys

Steamed menme rockfish and glutinous rice wrapped with shaved kelp - dressed with clear lily bulb "dashi" soup

 

For me

Roasted breaded lamb with Apple & Ginger sauce

 

mike%20pow_2113.jpg

 

 

 

Dessert

 

Gianduja Souffle glace crispy sandwich (hazelnut & chocolate)

 

mike%20pow_2114.jpg

 

 

 

and cheese platter

 

mike%20pow_2115.jpg

 

 

 

Wonderful setting, ambiance, service and food.

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DAY 99 : THURSDAY 06 MARCH 2014

 

4 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ

 

 

Day 17 of the Royal Visit

 

 

Kiroro Snow World was the place to be today.

 

Despite the gondola being offline all day due to high winds, there was plenty of powder on and off the groomed runs and very few people sharing it.

 

Nerys really got a handle on skiing waist deep powder on steeper pitches today, letting the skis run and the platform develop under her skis.

 

Nerys Waist Deep

 

 

 

 

I got in on the act too and Jarch is shaping up very nicely with 74 cm (29") at MQ in the first 6 days of the month and 26 cm (10") waiting for us when we got back around 7pm yesterday evening.

 

 

Jarch

 

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That's what Teine would've been like if the top lifts were open.......heading up there now, report says lifts r open....hopefully i'll have some deep pow to play in

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Awesome snow Mike

Which chair is that one and also the run Nerys is on is that a groomer?

 

All off the Center Express chair.

 

Nerys' vid

 

First clip is skier's right of the 'Center A' red course skiing the ungroomed area underneath the Kiroro Gondola.

 

Second clip is the ungroomed marked black run 'Center C'. The run we call 'Loveocks'.

 

Third and fourth clips skiing the ungroomed area underneath the Center Express chair. Had to watch we didn't hit the chairs as we skied down.

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That's what Teine would've been like if the top lifts were open.......heading up there now, report says lifts r open....hopefully i'll have some deep pow to play in

 

Hope you get the goods.

 

Most lifts closed in the Niseko Resort Area today. Windy as a windy thing :(

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