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No Whistler....?? :wakaranai:

 

I could have fun there and I have some contacts through TGR, but I'd choose other places first. Namely, Fernie, WH20, Revelstoke. On top of the expense of an overexploited resort, Aussies have long since passed novelty status (decades ago) and I don't want to add to the tally. Or so I hear. When we spent a couple of winters in Fernie, you could count Aussies on one hand (including us). Even the Scandis were few and far between. Mostly just Ontarians and locals. I know it's different now and I probably wouldn't go back but it was nice back then, when it was two bowls.

 

I did look at some interior B.C. and Montana resorts but they involve in the order of 50 hours travel time. I can't chuck the kids on greyhounds after an international flight, it's just not happening.

 

What you are after doesnt exist in Japan.

 

That's what I fear.

 

For me after this year i have found that yuzawa and Kagura and Hakkaisan (need to duck ropes) is the best combination of a great town and awesome uncrowded skiing with deep deep pow. But you have to drive to the resorts.

 

Rope ducking is something I will do myself but I'm not taking kids under ropes unless it's sanctioned (Europe style).

 

Nozawa is the only resort that really ticks all of your boxes, but that is getting busier year on year.

 

Yeah, I thought it was a lucky good choice the first time. I will keep it in consideration.

 

Tsugaike Kogen

 

Thanks! It's second choice only to Mt. Granview.

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The Prince hotel is a monstrasity, but it is not the only option around Naeba. I wrote this report earlier this year of Naeba. I loved the place we stayed! The rooms were really big and had bunk beds. It was also pretty affordable. You had to walk across the street to get to the hot spring, but the baths were huge and great! They also had sinks and a stove in the room. It is not ski in ski out but it is also not far from the resort.

 

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/topic/23626-naeba-01182014/

 

Naeba is also connected to Kagura by bus and "Dragondola" and one season ticket covers both. Kagura has some amazing short hike accessible BC. Here are a couple of my links for Kagura.

 

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/topic/23535-kagura-snow-creatures-what-do-you-see/page__hl__kagura__fromsearch__1

 

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/topic/23420-kagura-in-all-its-glory-4-different-trips/

 

Naeba is definitely not a big town, but you could head into Yuzawa on occasion for supplies. Nozawa is unique and hard to replicate, but Yuzawa has a lot of good things going for it too.

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No rope ducking necessary at Kagura, naeba has plenty of inbounds pow.

 

Naeba could work for you cant get more ski in ski out. The hotel is cheap if you get an early deal, and we just walked across the road to the local town for our meals which had some decent shops and food. Hotel has two decent onsens and the onsens in the village are awesome.

 

No aussies as well.

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Hmm, yeah, Naeba could work in combination with Yuzawa centre-of-town trips. And with the Dragondola for added interest linking Kagura. I'm also interested in the stuff the map doesn't show, like lines off the peak looker's right along the prominent ridgeline towards the Dragondola, and lines off the peak looker's left through the forests or along the ridge in the area of the two prominent creeks. Thick trees in the area or skiable?

 

The high tension powerline crossing the ski area is a nice aesthetic touch.

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Did you ever get to Sun Peaks in Kamloops? It's a real up and comer lately I've heard. It's on my shortlist of Canadian resorts to visit.

 

No, only done Fernie (and Island Lake) and WH20. Other members of the party have done Red and Kicking Horse as well. Red is interesting but a bit isolated to get to (like WH20). At Fernie we lived in town and hitched, but can't do that with kids. Same at WH20.

 

Sun Peaks and Silver Star are moderately interesting, but I'd do Revelstoke first. The BC double tax kind of sucks and makes it more expensive than you first think.

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Trees are very widely spaced. But you are very visible and patrol will chase you. Also the area is very very steep and cops a fair bit of wind so is really unstable and risky. Saw a few naturals especially lookers left of the top.

 

Kagura on the other hand is the perfect backcountry spot super safe and great options of the peak with an easy hike. Gets way more snow as well.

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Don't take this the wrong way but it seems you are just wanting too much. The resorts here (anywhere) are what they are and it's unlikely you are going to get everything you've asked for. FWIW in Kagura you may/will have to duck ropes but the patrol are super laid back and don't care.....in fact you hardly see any patrol. In terms of accommodation options, Japan is still stuck in the 70's or 80's with their pension style, not so many lodge type places on offer outside of Niseko or Hakuba as far as I'm aware (I could be wrong), you should make a list of most important points and then see which place ticks the most.....as it's unlikely you'll get one that satisfies all ur conditions

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Don't take this the wrong way but it seems you are just wanting too much.

Not at all. I appreciate all the help, positive or negative. Finding a place is a delicate balancing act and involves compromise, for sure. That's part of the fun in choosing and we've never been (too) disappointed, even in lean European years. Japan is what it is and we can either appreciate that or decide to go elsewhere.

 

Personally I'm happy with tatami mats, a futon and a place to dump a suitcase, just need a ski room and be able to wax and do some minor maintenance and heat boots. Food I don't care, but enough that's not too out there (probably wouldn't eat horse or whale or fugu) and I'm good. Others in the group would probably appreciate a common room and some things to do after skiing without getting cabin fever. For me, it's all about the snow and skiing.

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Trees are very widely spaced. But you are very visible and patrol will chase you. Also the area is very very steep and cops a fair bit of wind so is really unstable and risky. Saw a few naturals especially lookers left of the top.

 

I'm quite well versed in snow safety, at a reasonably professional level (once). Me and one other have a lot of experience, like 3-4000 days between us. I don't do super dumb things by choice. I can make good routefinding and snow condition decisions. We carry all safety gear and I wear an ABS pack. I'm more likely to be super conservative than aggressive these days. Not 20 years old and bulletproof now. But I still have the ability to charge and love exploring when circumstances and terrain allow.

 

If I am trying to find an area that's interesting I'm more likely to be interested in long lines top to bottom than little 50m stashes between runs. E.g. in Europe I'm quite happy doing half day or longer trips into remote valleys. Quite comfortable touring and overnighting in huts, although I'm a little pampered these days and prefer a warm bed.

 

I'm not a big fan of the Japanese policies, and if it's all visible and frowned upon in Naeba then I'd save my slackcountry for Kagura. Just another thing to factor in.

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Kagura, Hakkaisan and Tenjindaira. You will be in heaven.

 

When i was at Naeba we had a meter of snowfall on sheet ice with crazy winds, which unfortunately ruled out alot of the Naeba side country. The trees of the top down to the dragondola were good and discrete.

 

The area (yuzawa and gunma) as a whole has massive potential and i will be back next year for sure.

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If you go to Tenjin, just remember to not get up too early, have a late breakfast and then morning coffee before setting off for the first Gondola, and also to take some entertainment like a thick novel, some knitting, and also some handheld video games to make the time go quicker on the journey up there!

 

http://www.snowjapan...h-january-2014/

 

;)

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Wasting time and came across stuff like this:

 

naeba.jpg

 

Naeba_Ski_Resort_1.jpg

 

 

You could stay very busy off either of those two gondys, if you were allowed by conditions and regulations. Enough to stay entertained for quite some time and both areas funnel back into the resort bounds. Looker's left off the ridge is the sketchiest but even then maps indicate it should be possible to pick a safe route in the worst conditions that would still come back to base. But I guess the easiest way to cater for the lowest common denominator is to forbid access entirely.

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The BC lines make the waiting worth it at Tenjin. Also the views (see anything muikabochi has put on this website with Tenjindaira in the title :) ) You can also make it without too much difficulty from Naeba. You might also look at Minakami as a stationing point. Nice little town with everything you could need. Only problem is no ski in ski out that is also in the town. Would need to bus/train to the resorts or into town. I think a lot of the skijos have free shuttles though. I would say Tenjin has better BC lines than Kagura. Also Houdaigi has some nice tree runs. I would say those are the main two for Minakami. Could also get to Kawaba, which has some nice off-piste, as well as the Yuzawa resorts by train, bus or train and bus depending on the place. Could also stay in Yuzawa for a while and move to Minakami. They aren't that far apart.

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You could stay very busy off either of those two gondys, if you were allowed by conditions and regulations. Enough to stay entertained for quite some time and both areas funnel back into the resort bounds. Looker's left off the ridge is the sketchiest but even then maps indicate it should be possible to pick a safe route in the worst conditions that would still come back to base. But I guess the easiest way to cater for the lowest common denominator is to forbid access entirely.

 

I've been in the valley looker's right. It does come back to the runs. I don't actually know about the regulations. I rode that valley some years back and haven't went back. Last time I went to Naeba the drop into that valley was looking amazing but the bottom had some serious holes that discouraged me. Looker's left seems more dangerous to me, but I don't have any BC training. Kagura is safer and more used for BC. I have seen someone cause and get trapped (but eventually freed by his friend) in an avalanche at Kagura though the spot they were riding was one of the most obviously dangerous.

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You would be suprised how long the main face stays fresh legion. They only open the left gondola during the week. But we lapped that 9 times on a pow day before it started to get a bit choped on the main ungroomed pow runs. Was a 15 minute lap as well the fall line is super consistent. The valley on the right is great fun. Like i said before the conditions were to sketchy for the left hand side. The main entrance to the upper bowls on the left hand side is pretty heavily corniced as well.

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