Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 It was supposed to be clear and sunny yesterday at Grandeco, though as can be seen from the photos, it pretty much wasn't except at the very top of the mountain, later in the day. No matter, good skiing weather, cold enough but not too cold. They have added a third park area on the bottom leg of the Akadeko course, which is the long beginner course that winds its way down to the bottom from the top of the gondola. The main mogul course also empties out into this leg, after which that leg always felt like an overly long (kilometer or so?) run-out, so the park features are a nice addition to make that section more enjoyable. Good addition. There are some PR articles posted in the main building, one of which quotes the manager of the resort as saying that skiing the trees off-piste is officially ok. Patrol will not only not stop people for going into the trees, but will actually give advice on where to go. Instructor guides can be hired as guides to areas outside resort bounds. This seems to be a change from several years ago, when reports indicate that they were pretty aggressive about trying to keep people out of the trees (though without much success, from what I have ever seen). Good to know that it is now officially ok. Bad news: The Kashmir on-hill restaurant is closed this season, deleted from the list of restaurants. This means: no Deco Rangers! (I peeked into the other restaurants to see if they had relocated. Nope, no sign of them.) Looking for more information on the web, I found the following video from last spring, which purports to be the final Deco Ranger video. The horsing around they are doing with the plastic food samples seems to confirm that the decision had already been made to shut the place down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reAk4L-NlN0 Saraba, Deco Rangers. Thanks for the memories! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 No Deco Rangers?!!? That is a shame. Glad you got out MO. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Would have liked to have seen those guys! Nice pics, Metabo Oyaji - how was the snow conditons? Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Good Bye DECO RANGER. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Cheers, guys. The snow was pretty good on piste, dry packed powder. Lots of untracked knee-deep powder off to the sides, but just a bit too heavy to enjoy outside of the steepest sections. On-piste was better. Moguls on the main mogul course were at a good stage of development, not yet too high (i.e., I could actually handle them -- which is a pretty low standard, perhaps). A bit of ice on the Center33 course. Link to post Share on other sites
kokodoko 67 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 thank you MO. Too bad about the deco rangers. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Weather forecasts should have to pay for being wrong. Get the rangers on them! Thanks MO. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Cheers, Koko and Brit. Link to post Share on other sites
Gunma Boarder 14 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I love that frosty tree! I love seeing stuff like that while in the mountains Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Cheers, GB. Thought of you when taking that picture, actually. Looks like we will be heading up again this Sunday. The kid has been inspired by the Olympics to try out for a badge test. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Follow-up. I wrote: There are some PR articles posted in the main building, one of which quotes the manager of the resort as saying that skiing the trees off-piste is officially ok. Patrol will not only not stop people for going into the trees, but will actually give advice on where to go. Instructor guides can be hired as guides to areas outside resort bounds. This seems to be a change from several years ago, when reports indicate that they were pretty aggressive about trying to keep people out of the trees (though without much success, from what I have ever seen). Good to know that it is now officially ok. This is apparently not correct. Details here: http://www.snowjapan...ushima-2014223/ Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts