Will Lee 0 Posted December 16, 2002 Share Posted December 16, 2002 Hi all. Went to GALA yesterday since JR was offering a 6500yen hatsu-suberi(first time out)special. I`ve heard a lot of negative things about this place but just had to check it out for myself and now I know exactly what they`re talking about. First of all, the runs are so damn narrow so if you fancy big mountain riding forget about it. The snow quality wasn`t all that great, either. Early in the morning it was between heavy powder and a little slushy but soon(by about 11am)it all turned into undesirable, bumpy and icy snow. Even the run on the very top was pretty bad to begin with. Only the Central Area was open, although North and South section clearly had enough good snow(cheap bastards)! The board park was a joke...I only saw 2 rails and a box. No kicker or tabletop in sight. Also, quite a few visitors showed up(I guess I wasn`t the only one who knew about the 6500yen discount), many of them skiers. My buddy and I called it a day at around 2pm...that`s how bad the snow/crowd was. It just wasn`t worth it to push my knees any further in that shitty snow and risk injuring myself thus flush the rest of my season down the toilet. Oh, the WORST PART was that rude-ass lift operator working at the bottom(lift #9?)! I was so livid I`ll never go back there! Will post more on that later...gotta get back to work. Conclusion: unless you`re really desparate and have no other way of getting yourself to a ski area don`t go there. Just my 2 cents Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted December 16, 2002 Share Posted December 16, 2002 Seems like you had a bad time there, sorry to hear that. If you look at some reviews of the place, you'll notice people either seem to like it - or not. But putting it into perspective a bit. Yuzawa hasn't had much snow yet this year, but GALA in season does usually have good snow. And it seems that the whole place isn't open yet from what you say, and the board park ain't up and running yet. When it is all open, you can have a good time there. Best time to hit it is midweek after new snow. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 That place really can big time if you hit it at the wrong time. Link to post Share on other sites
mumbojumbo 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 First time out sucking - that sucks big time. Cheer up! Link to post Share on other sites
green 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 ...and I was planning on going there. Looks like I must time it right. Link to post Share on other sites
BigSausage 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 SnoboYaro I don't know how long you've been here, etc etc, but I think you'll find that in the case of the Board park, that will get much better once they have enough snow. They just haven't got much yet, seems Yuzawa is having a rough start this year. If I'm not wrong, GALA have a good board park up there (the right hand side of the resort near where it connects to Ishiuchi). Link to post Share on other sites
tokyojoeknows 0 Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Actually, GALA is goo when there is snow and during the weekdays. I have been to GALA when there was soo much powder that it ALMOST felt like Hokkaido. GALA last weekend would not have been a good bet. Too early in the year. If you had looked at the reports you would have seen not much snow anywhere. There is a VERY good board park there. In beginning Dec. there are very few.. if any board parks fully opened anywhere. Not fair to rag on GALA for that one. I was in Nagano boarding last weekend. Not fully opened. As for some runs being closed...it's too early. Not enough people. I like to head to GALA mid-week for a day trip quite often. I think you just had bad timing. Sometimes GALA rocks. Weekends? You would never catch me there. I have been to GALA maybe 20 times. Try GALA again from mid Jan on and during weekdays! Link to post Share on other sites
hide 0 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Like tokyosnow said, give it one more chance on a weekday in season. Yuzawa is not really open yet so it seems, but once it does you should find it improve. Gala does have good park too. - again wait for the snow to arrive in quantity for that to open Link to post Share on other sites
IIIII 2 Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 As they say, Have a Gala Day. Link to post Share on other sites
igloo 3 Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Who says that then? Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted December 24, 2002 Author Share Posted December 24, 2002 Yeah, I know what you guys mean. I do acknowledge during the "season" that place could get quite a bit of snow and they`d have a complete board park up and running(I did do my homework). What I didn`t like about the place was the fact that all the runs were so damn narrow&most of them not all that long. Also, the locker room system they use at GALA is just such a rip I felt insulted. The BIGGEST turn off was the shitty attitude from that jiji working the lift at the bottom. He left such a sour taste in my mouth I doubt I`ll ever spend my money there again. If y`all must know why I chose the place in the middle of Dec...(I think I`ve already said it)the Shinkansen package was only 6500yen. Oh well, it`ll be part of my experience. Link to post Share on other sites
Karnidge 2 Posted December 26, 2002 Share Posted December 26, 2002 The runs are narrow, so it's real important that you go when it's not busy - otherwise it does often 'suck'. Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 Went yesterday. Wasn't too busy, good fun, good new snow. Not so good visibility. Link to post Share on other sites
LiquidX 0 Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 Off to GALA and Kandatsu on the 3rd Jan. Hopefully the crowds will have died down by then Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted December 30, 2002 Author Share Posted December 30, 2002 On the 3rd? In Yuzawa? Are you kidding?! That area will be PACKED! Generally speaking Japanese ski areas begin to pick up crowd again from the 2nd. That`s why my buddies and I will head for a not so well known(and a bit out of the way)spot. Hope you won`t wait in line too long. Link to post Share on other sites
hide 0 Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 I think GALA park now open so go try! Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Yes it is open. And the place is good. I have been and the snow was really excellent (the day after the dumps the other week). It wasn't too busy either, which helps with GALA as others have said. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts