woywoy 0 Posted November 17, 2002 Share Posted November 17, 2002 Anyone been up to Asahidake in the middle of Hokkaido? Heard it is great up there now after they put in a new cable car the season before last. What is it like? Link to post Share on other sites
Digger 0 Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 Beautiful cable car, Swiss made i do believe. Shame it only takes you as high as a decent 4WD would take you. If you've got snowshoes and are into back-country exploring it is a good base to start from, but if your looking for a gondola to take you straight to the steeps, don't waste your time going all the way up there. Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Sensational 0 Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 Hmm, I heard that place had a lot to offer. Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted November 18, 2002 Author Share Posted November 18, 2002 Bah-humbug... what a waste building such a beautiful sounding gondola if it goes nowhere near high enough? So you reckon the in-bounds powder is not that great? Im just looking for some other alternatives up in Hokkaido... Link to post Share on other sites
Digger 0 Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 Sorry fellas, guess i should've put in a bit more background to my negative review. We used to hike Asahidake before the eagerly awaited ropeway way was finished. Then when i rushed up there after the gondola opened i was a tad disappointed to find it only goes half way up the mountain. There are a few decent turns to be had, but a good two thirds of the run down is just flat track. A lot of people whose opinion i respect have good things to say about the back country there, but that is assuming you want to/ are willing to search out the good turns. However, no-one disagrees about the waste of a good opportunity the ropeway is. Up that way (Asahikawa area)Kamui is a good ski field with some nice powder runs, and of course further south you have much better options with Niseko, Teine etc. if you are looking for easily accessable powder. Hope that is a bit more informative. Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted November 19, 2002 Author Share Posted November 19, 2002 Kamui? Teine? Haven't heard of them... everyone seems to ride at Niseko these days and I havent heard the best reviews of Rusutsu or Kiroro despite the amount of snow they seem to get? Where else is there Bah-humbug? I dont want you to give away any of your secrets or anything but... Link to post Share on other sites
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