ju87 0 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Brilliant Vid Mike Pow. What runs & areas at Rusutsu did you capture that footage? yes, I'd also like to know if you would be so kind as to share Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Rusutsu was pretty epic today.....all tree runs were waist deep at least. Favourite was probably under the 2nd gondola 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Here you go ordinary_skiier and ju87. 0.00 to 1.02 The East Tignes piste and short hill off the East Quad chair that leaves from East Mt Gondola base station 1.02 to 2.25 The Isola Grand Bypass piste that takes you to the Isola Grand piste that runs down to the Isola Gondola. Underneath the Isola Gondola. Trees skier's left of Isola Grand piste 2.25 to 2.50 The trees skier's left of Steamboat-A piste 2.50 to end Underneath the gondola Link to post Share on other sites
ju87 0 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Here you go ordinary_skiier and ju87. 0.00 to 1.02 The East Tignes piste and short hill off the East Quad chair that leaves from East Mt Gondola base station 1.02 to 2.25 The Isola Grand Bypass piste that takes you to the Isola Grand piste that runs down to the Isola Gondola. Underneath the Isola Gondola. Trees skier's left of Isola Grand piste 2.25 to 2.50 The trees skier's left of Steamboat-A piste 2.50 to end Underneath the gondola many thanks !!! can't wait to hit those spots next week Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 DAY 36 : THURSDAY 02 JANUARY 2014 22 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ As of today 502 cm (198") has fallen at MQ in Higashiyama Day 5 for the Lovelock family and we headed back to Hanazono. The wind was still howling and there were intermittent snow squalls throughout the day but they kept the Hanazono #1 Quad spinning all day. Legend of Shinya, Blueberry Fields and The Cuts offered up boot top to knee deep turns all day with all getting better by the run. And we even got 5 minutes of sunshine early on. Ria skiing the trees off the terrain park Alex Hayden Neil Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Are you finding these powder stretches on-piste, or off? Looks lovely either way. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Are you finding these powder stretches on-piste, or off? Looks lovely either way. These are off-piste beside the terrain park in Hanazono. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 DAY 37 : FRIDAY 03 JANUARY 2014 21 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ The winds calmed overnight and there was a good covering of superlight powder on the Grand Hirafu slopes this morning. The Lovelock family were having a rest day so Ian and I spent the first two hours skiing Konayuki and Tetse's. After coffee I skied with Greg Heptonstall. The wind increased and it got a little warmer which made for denser powder but we still found plenty of untracked goodness in Tetse's and Waterfall. Gate 9 was still closed but we traversed in to Waterfall from the Holiday piste. Greg in Waterfall DAY 38 : SATURDAY 04 JANUARY 2014 20 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ Day 6 for the Lovelock family and we were joined by their friend Craig who flew in from Sydney last night. On the menu for Hayden's 16th birthday was boot top to knee deep powder and sunshine at Moiwa. I picked up my season pass yesterday afternoon, a steal at JPY 30,400 for the early season price - JPY 38,000 otherwise. Still a steal. We spent the morning lapping the B double chair skiing the pistes and the trees and open stashes between them. And after lunch we lapped the A quad and skied powder, packed powder, and light crud all afternoon. When we left the heavens opened and it was nuking big fat flakes. We may have to go back tomorrow Link to post Share on other sites
Dunga 1 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Nuking is probably the best way to describe it. Waist deep powder all over the mountain! Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 DAY 39 : SUNDAY 05 JANUARY 2014 28 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ Today at Moiwa will go down as one of my best days skiing. Ridiculously deep snow and very gratifying to see 6 of my students enjoying themselves so much and skiing so well. The collective energy of the group encouraging and complimenting each other was wonderful to witness and be part of. We skied the runs and the trees off the double chair 'B'in the morning, and after a relaxed lunch we skied the trees off Shirakaba Slope and Giant Run. It was well tracked - well trenched would be a better description - but there were more than enough clean lines and diamonds to play in. And the sun came out too Alex Ria Hayden Craig Neil Ian And Ian sums up the day for everyone DAY 40 : MONDAY 06 JANUARY 2014 47 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ As of today 618 cm (243") has fallen at MQ in Higashiyama We were all pretty wiped after yesterday's pow fest, so we headed to Rusutsu for a cruisey day. Not as much snow as in the Niseko Resort Area, but the pisted runs had a 3-5 cm layer of 'hero snow' sitting on top of perfectly groomed slopes. We spent the morning working on our turns and the afternoon playing in the trees. Telegraph Road was particularly good with boot top to knee deep powder top to bottom. It was noticeably colder today with temperatures set to plumment to -20 C by the end of the week. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 My mate was riding Moiwa as well on Sunday, he also reported an awesome day Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 DAY 41 : TUESDAY 07 JANUARY 2014 9 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ Day off snow today. Alex injured her wrist yesterday so it was a morning at the hospital to see if anything was broken. Thankfully not. She'll be back on skis the day after tomorrow. It's snowed most of the day but hasn't accumulated to much. Noticably cooler today, getting down to the temperatures we experiened last year. Light snow forecast overnight, but with the cooler temperatures the snow is staying in great shape. UPDATE : SUNDAY 05 JANUARY 2014 The Lovelocks, Craig and Ian enjoying the Moiwa powder Moiwa Part One Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 DAY 42 : WEDNESDAY 08 JANUARY 2014 6 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ It warmed up considerably overnight to leave a dry, calm day at Hirafu and Hanazono with the Lovelocks, Neil and Ian. We started our day at the Hirafu Gondola and after a couple of laps on Ni Kabe made our way over to the Hanazono 3 chairlift and the Yotei Sunset run. We worked on letting the skis run on the steeper slopes and bringing that acceleration under control with soft, quick steering to mimic the rhythms and tempo we'd need to achieve once we got into the spongy, fast boot top to knee deep powder. The Legend of Shinya, Blueberry Fields, the old lift line, and Konayuki were great and the pick of the day was Ten Turns to Silver Dream to The Cuts. With the peak gates open Hirafu and Hanazono were very quiet. Temperatures are set to plummet and snow is forecast for the next 6 days. UPDATE : SUNDAY 05 JANUARY 2014 Neil and Craig in the Moiwa powder Moiwa Part Two Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Nice one Mike, I had a good day with some heavy pow in Rusutsu today 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 UPDATE : SUNDAY 05 JANUARY 2014 The Lovelocks, Craig and Ian enjoying the Moiwa powder. May contain sunshine! Moiwa Part Three Link to post Share on other sites
Boolugu Mez 3 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Awesome vids Mike ! If you don't mind sharing, are the tree runs you filmed in "Moiwa Part Two" shot out of gate 6, or in the trees between pistes of the ski hill? Link to post Share on other sites
anything 6 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 whats Moiwa's lift status like with strong winds? thinking I might head that way on Sat to get away from people. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Awesome vids Mike ! If you don't mind sharing, are the tree runs you filmed in "Moiwa Part Two" shot out of gate 6, or in the trees between pistes of the ski hill? Thanks. Top of 'B' double chair, turn left, traverse 200 m, drop in and enjoy Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 whats Moiwa's lift status like with strong winds? thinking I might head that way on Sat to get away from people. Not good. The quad is often on wind hold with strong winds. Then it's just the 'B' doule chair and the queues can get quite long. Rusutsu is a better option when the winds are high. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 DAY 43 : THURSDAY 09 JANUARY 2014 2 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ We were back to the full complement of Lovelocks today at Annupuri, with Alex back on skis. Just 2 cm of new snow at MQ when I measured at 6.30 this morning, but at 7.30 the heavens opened and by the time we were heading up on the first chair at 8.40 there was 10-15 cm of dry powder on the piste. We spent the morning lapping the quad, progressively moving from the piste to the trees. Surprisingly deep turns were to be had Skiing Powder in the Trees at Niseko Annupuri Craig Hayden Alex Neil After lunch we explored the terrain underneath the gondola - disappointing to see so many traverse lines - and then took the gondola and chair to the top of Annupuri. Blowing a gale and bitterly cold up high. Craig, Hayden, Neil and I had a great run down to the Hirafu Gondola, with the Old Lift Line giving the best turns. 12 cm had fallen during the day at MQ, with another 12 cm falling since I shovelled. Tomorrow could be rather special. Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Japow Moiwa looks awesome Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites
anything 6 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 whats Moiwa's lift status like with strong winds? thinking I might head that way on Sat to get away from people. Not good. The quad is often on wind hold with strong winds. Then it's just the 'B' doule chair and the queues can get quite long. thanks. i really need to get there more Link to post Share on other sites
Boolugu Mez 3 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks for the tip Mike - you are a Gentleman and a Scholar :lol: Looking at the trail map this area seems to be "outside" the resort rather than between pistes? - If so, is such adventurism perceived by staff as being a tad naughty? Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Moiwa has a gate (G6) like they have in Niseko. Accessing the sidecountry via the gate, when it is open, is no problem at all. Plus there's plenty of off-piste riding right beside the groomers in resort and like Niseko there's no issues with accessing it. Like any resort just don't duck ropes. There's really no need to. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks for the tip Mike - you are a Gentleman and a Scholar :lol: Looking at the trail map this area seems to be "outside" the resort rather than between pistes? - If so, is such adventurism perceived by staff as being a tad naughty? No ropes, no signage. All good. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts