Niseko backcountry

[soubriquet 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Fattwins:
that comment was a knock on SJ is was to stay that they are not official stats of the areas in question.

Hmm. I teach English for a living. My criteria for language are that communicating the message is all.

What language is this?

[Fattwins 0]

wow shocking that one time to edit i think

[Mantas 3]

is there anybody doing any snow reports out there that has no links to any resorts/ ski shops/ tourcompanies/ ski lodges/ ski transit operations or any other vested interest in the ski industry ?

 

This would be the only way to eliminate doubt and suspicions in anyones mind. A 100% (not 95%) totally unbiased report.

 

I mean we have huge resources devoted to ocean stats ie swell wind wave hieght ect. and no one has a vested interest in that !

 

The snow reports over here are laughable. Reading between the lines is the only way to read them !

[Rag-Doll 0]

Who cares! It is only an indication and the depth of snow will vary from one place to another at the resort anyway. The same applies for fresh snow falls. The snow gets blown about and settles more in one place than another, it gets groomed in places and packed in others.

 

Japan get so much snow that apart from very early in the season when you might be thinking of making that first run to the hills, any difference between the claimed depth and actual depth of the snow is largely irrelevant.

[thursday 1]

well, if December is the time that you must go because you have to burn off your leave before the next year starts then it's important to find a place that has snow if you intend to ski. Looking at the stats on SJ helps you to guess where the most likely place to have enough to ski on would be.

 

So I guess I care about the stats. But going by my personal experience the past 2 seasons, it's going to be Niseko for sure. December is the key word.

[Rag-Doll 0]

Fair point. If you're heading up early you might want to head to those places that traditionally get the goods early to give yourself the best chance and the snow depth reports will help. But in that case the info will be historical and there is no promise that the levels they had in previous years will be repeated for the coming year. Unless you live locally you're going to have to lock and load your travel plans well in advance so it is still a toss of the coin. Being in Hokkaido, Niseko tends to get snow earlier than many places but there are better places in Hokkaido (for early snow) and it often happens that Honshu gets dumped on while Hokkaido misses out.

[SnowJapan#Andrew 6]

I was just reading this thread and thinking about something that happened in February or March. I can't remember when exactly this was, probably when spring arrived early this last season.

 

Anyway we actually had a few resorts contact us with some strong words about our reports - not because they were inaccurate, but because they were too accurate. They didn't like us saying that it was raining and the slopes were slush conditions. They asked us to change the reports in question to tone down the language and basically hide the real truth. I was astonished that they had the nerve to do that - these were resorts that we did not have a previous relationship with.

 

I told them where to go.

Very politely of course

 

Unfortunately it is true that resorts and some businesses that are selling like they are feel the need to either bend or hide the truth or even outright lie. Snow Japan is in a very different positon to that. We are not selling tickets, tours or beds. We are providing an info service and community and so it is important that we are strict about our reports. We want them to be spot on and for people to totally trust them. (Of course different people writing different reports means that writing styles will be different etc)

 

As #3 said, if you ever read a Now report and feel that it is not accurate, let us know about it and we will certainly look into it.

[kaiser soce 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by TJ OZ:
I saw a video which showed the crew campervanning. Not sure what part of Japan. There would be a lot of digging out.

Karumi Daichi?(SP) by one films?
If it was it was exclusively shot in Hokkaido.

[damian 0]

Nice one SJ#1. A timely example of spin busting.

 

Although impractical to monitor, I think the best indicator of snow conditions in a resort is if the resort are currently using snow making (or if they have it at all!). Fact: man made snow isn't snow. Fact: if they are using fake snow it is because they don't have enough real snow. Fact: the process of making fake snow is a waste of energy. Fact: fake snow is bad for local ecology. Why would you visit these resorts?? Its like visiting a tropical island that has outdoor coal burning heat lamps in case the weather turns cool.

[Mantas 3]

Fair comment le spud and I totally agree. Problem is in places like Australia we simply wouldn't have many places to ski if it wasn't for snow making. Hundreds of thousand of people visit the Aussie snow fields every year. It's very popular, just take a look at the size of the winter olympic team we send overseas every year( not that we win anything).

 

With no snow in our own country to ski. you would have all those powder hungry Aussies at your favorite resort !!

[damian 0]

By rights, the Australian 'ski industry' shouldn't exist nearly to the size (relative term) that it does today. Or, it isn't really a ski industry at all. It is mostly an artificial ski industry. I don't begrudge people like me having some recreational fun on the snow, making do with what there is, but lets be honest Australia is once again disproportionately over emphasising itself in an area that it is a global insignificance. Talk to the average Australian snowboarders and you would be excused for thinking you had just met some freeride pro from Utah. Small pond syndrome given support by a man made snow industry and an absurdly oversized winter Olympics team

 

Don't worry about my rants, I just had the worlds yuckiest fish meal in my company canteen. Its fish every Friday! Makes me grumpy.

[grungy-gonads 54]

Why is fish often on a Friday? It was in my family too. Actually I'm going to start a new thread because this hasn't got much to do with Niseko backcountry!!

[grungy-gonads 54]

Here we go:

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/8/6074.html

[oo 1]

Lets naming and shaming

[Yuki's Passion 1]

 Quote:

Originally posted by oo:
Lets naming and shaming

It must be the Geihoku crowd in Hiroshima eh Bushy!

I know once the snow starts to fall I read the reports religiously. Its nice to have such quality information here on SJ Now, if the forum members wernt such w*****s

Last year's Shiga trip from the 20th-26th was just epic! Had 40+ cm snowfalls what seemed like daily. I hope this year will be just as epic as it is only a taste of whats to come around Hakuba valley

[SnowJapan#Andrew 6]

Thanks.

 

They weren't in Hiroshima, but rather in places that were covered by our Now reports but I won't say any more than that.

 

When I explained our rather simple concept to them (a basic one of honesty and telling it like it is), they didn't seem to get it. Sadly they seemed to prefer to mislead potential customers to get them to their resort. They didn't seem to be bothered that if people go and find that they were being mislead, they will be not be happy and in the long term no good will come from it. Just that "everyone is doing it".

 

Whatever we are sure not going to change our reports in that way. Resorts have zero say on how we run our operation and so they just had to accept it. If that makes them not like us, so be it.

 

Some of the reports I read actually makes me very angry because I can see how people are being misled, sometimes intentionally. It's not good.

 

(I was quite happy that resorts were noticing our reports actually)

[soubriquet 0]

Good for you, Snow Japan. You must be doing something right if they consider it worth trying to influence the reports

[Fattwins 0]

man this wasnt what i was trying to say at all. basically i was talking about national official snowfall stats vs stuff that tour ops are putting in there info packs. somehow niseko has, or keeps adding a 1 meter at times. thats my point, never to slag SJ which i would never do.

[SnowJapan#Andrew 6]

We know that Fattwins, of course - no worries.

 

We just felt the need to clarify a few things so that there was no misunderstanding about what we are doing and where we are coming from.

[Mantas 3]

Hang on le Spud. I feel i've got to defend our little ski industry down here.

To say that we "shouldn't exist" and we are of "global insignificance" is going a bit too far. Ask Lisa Camplin or Steve Bradberry if they felt insignificant when they were standing on the dias with gold medals around their necks. (No germans on either side of them I noticed). Sure we have an obserdly large winter olympic team. But thats more to do with the Aussie spirit of having a go. That goes for all sport. Even soccer,a very obscure sport down here but we still made it to the top 16. A lot higher than countries 10 times our population (sorry Japan).

Mate if oragami became a global sport we would have a go at that too.!!!

Have you ever skied in Australia?

It wasn't so long ago that I skied Thedbo with 20-30cm of quality powder top to bottom! Thats over 680m of vert.

Sure it's not like that all the time and we do use alot of man made snow down the bottom just like they do in places like Whistler.

If what they are saying about global warming is true then there will be a lot more "insignificant" resorts around the globe.

 

Lay off the fish mate!!!!

[Yuki's Passion 1]

One question:

 

would it really be called backcountry in Niseko? Or is it more off-piste?

 

The only thing that I could consider outta the resort is when you ski the back bowls down to Goshiki onsen...'Course, Yotei san is pretty sweet. The rest, to me, is pure resort skiing...

[Rag-Doll 0]

>But that’s more to do with the Aussie spirit of having a go.

 

Mantas I reckon it has more to do with the fact that Australian governments have made an art form out of using sport to draw attention away from their poor efforts and to pander to Australians' distorted view of their relative importance to the world. We're Nauru times a billion, but the principals are the same – we have a shit load of natural resources that we dig up and sell. We do bugger all else. During my time OS I’ve been struck by just how low an international profile Australia has. When Camplin and Bradberry were getting their gongs, there would have been more than a few people watching and thinking - hmmm, Austria is doing well.

 

Other governments around the world have cottoned on to the idea that spending money on sport is an easy way to make the population feel good about themselves, but Australia were an early proponent with the AIS after we bombed at the Montreal Olympics. Forget about affordable housing, education, medical services and all the other stuff, so long as we beat the yanks in the pool or the poms at cricket or the kiwis at rugby etc. I enjoy participating in a wide variety of sports and take pleasure from our international success as much as anyone, but that doesn’t prevent me from recognizing cheap jingoism when I see it. The USSR went to absurd lengths to win sporting events and the Chinese have a similar approach today - at least we're in good company!

[Fattwins 0]

or unless you become like Canada and run out of money and cant spend it on sport.

[Mantas 3]

Rag Doll . What makes you think we care what other people think of us.

i've lived in Canada and the UK and spent time in many other countries so Im not nieve enough to think that we are some super power.

most people who do know anything about us think that we are nothing short of a nation of beer swilling cartoon type charactors.

 

Who cares!!

 

Tell the 4 billion people who watched the soccer world cup , some crying in the street. or the billions who watched the olympics, that sports not important.

 

All I'm saying is that we are a long way from "insignicant" on the world scene. especially when it comes to sport.

 

As for the governments involvement with " cheap jingoism ".

Can't really anwser that one. I watch sport for me own enjoyment and couln't give a rats arse about what the goverments doing.

 

It must be pretty sad in Hong Kong in regards to home ownership and medical. Almost everyone I know down here owns there own home and they are all basic wage earners like me.

My sister in law recieved a kidney transplat a few years ago from the best transplant hospital in the world. aprox. $40 000 AUS

ALL FREE !!

Where else do you get that?

 

I know we are pimple on the arse of the world. Thats just the way I like it !

[Rag-Doll 0]

Mantas, mate I agree and by the sounds of it, like you I reckon Australia is a pretty good place. I'll be moving home one day when my grand adventure is over and I'm looking forward to teaching my kids the fine art of beach cricket. I was just making a point that there are a lot of things that could be better about Aust and being good at world sports because the government throws mountains of cash at it doesn't really amount to much. There are nearly/roughly 1 million Australians living OS - that says a lot about the state of the country.