Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hi All,

 

yesterday, at Kagura, the top lifts were closed. Very disappointing. Although it was snowing reasonably heavily, I didn't think it was that bad. Anyone else out that way who thiks the same. Perhaps it was worse up higher, but, still, seemed a little bit of an over-reaction. Other than that, though, a great day out. Cheers.

 

coolboarderguy...

Link to post
Share on other sites

All closed above the Kagura gondola?? That means basically ALL of Kagura closed (because the gondola only goes to the bottom of Kagura, right)?? They must have had a good reason for doing that......

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm curious too. My only guess is the wind. Though it didn't seem too windy to me yesterday. But if it was anything else, I would think they would have stop people from hiking up.

 

Liquid X - yes all of the Kagura lifts were stopped. Including the single chair that only goes halfway up the main gelende.

Link to post
Share on other sites

All they have on their site today is

 

なお、自然状況によりリフト運行状況が変わる場 512;がございますので、お電話にてご確認くださいま せ。

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, the gondoras over at Happo and Goryu47 were closing about 3:30-4 just before N.Ys. Kinda sucked but there was barely enough snow to cover the rocks. A few mates got some HUGE chunks taken outta their boards. Davo got attacked by a great white I think... eek.gif

Link to post
Share on other sites

Kagura decision making has generally defied logic; I have sat on that quad when it has been so windy I thought the thing was going to do a loop and yet other times it has been closed when there has been just enough wind to ‘part your hair’. However, the whisper is the management are tearing their hair out over out of bounds riding and the number of ‘idiots’ getting lost or left behind at the end of the day, this season. Short of them finding some solutions to this problem, which I suggest is highly unlikely given their management culture – I suspect on days of heavy snow and bad visibility the quad lift will be non-operandus. Sorry but I don’t consider stopping the lift as an intelligent response to a problem that exists largely because they have kept their head in the sand until it has reached the point where they have lost control.

My suggestion to anyone heading to Kagura on a snowy and or windy day is give the office a call and ask them not only is the quad going but is there a possibility it will stop; get the name of the person you talk to. If it’s any different from what you were told by telephone then you can take issue (or not) however you feel appropriate.

On a brighter note, the top lift at Naeba has been running most of the time, which I find as hard to believe as the lifties now smiling at customers and saying ‘thank you’. Someone must have changed the water supply.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Was in Kagura today. The conditions were just out of this world. 60cm the day before, 40cm overnight and another roughly 40cm during the day today. Whiteout conditions, but does not bother me. What bothers me is that they only opened up to the 2nd gelende, everything else was f..... closed (the entire tashiro section). So put together huge amounts of snow with slopes as steep as my ironing board and you get the the picture, lots of walking across flats, lots of board pumping, etc... Found a couple slopes that were steep enough so that I did not have to take off my board, but barely, and after doing them about 10 times each, it gets a bit old. Conclusion: I will vote with my feet and not go back there boarding during heavy snowfalls unless I am sure that a decent amount of lifts are open. These guys are just stuffing the users. Once you pay at the bottom they do not give a s... Do not make the same mistake I did and ask which lifts are open before you buy ur tickets. Is Naeba any steeper? never been there, and do they tend to close some lifts midweek or during heavy snowfalls? thks.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lifts close all over the shop during this kind of megastorm. Many of Hakubas do. I hear 47 offered only the park and the lower bit today, while Goryu's gondola didn't move. The no-refund thing is a bitch for sure.

 

Resorts in some countries close for days on end during big storms.

 

Ideally only so much new snow would fall at any one time. 50cm on three non-consecutive days is way better than 150cm in one storm.

Link to post
Share on other sites
 Quote:
Originally posted by Mr Wiggles:

Resorts in some countries close for days on end during big storms.
In Switzerland there was about 5 days of white-out blizzard and nearly all lifts shut except lower lifts. Any lift in an area that was hard to patrol under the blizzard conditions was most certainly shut.

I had to leave the resort on the morning the lifts re-opened.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Joshnii, you are absolutely right (please see my earlier quote). I should have, but I did not think that almost everything would be closed or that it would be closed the whole day. Also, you can be certain that they do not advertise the fact that almost the entire resort is closed before you buy your ticket.

 

The bottom line is: If there is a heavy snowfall, you are a boarder and only up to the second Gelende is open, then do not go to Kagura unless you are a beginner or enjoy carrying you board under your arm for long distances. That is my humble opinion. In different circumstances Kagura is great when the steeper sections are open.

 

Where I come from, lifts get closed when there is too much wind but not too much snow (except for one exceptional year when it had snowed so much that they had to dig a channel for the gelende's cabins to go through...) except for areas where avalanche control is done through the use of explosives and usually not for more than half a day (and these slopes are closed after the snowfall as well, not during, even for large dumps). A nearby resort has no grooming and no patrol and it NEVER closes during large snowfalls.

 

I guess it all depends on the specific resort's management philosophy.

 

One problem though with european resorts these days is very often not enough snow! So I am quite spoiled to complain about the side effects of too much snow.

 

Joshnii, since you are from Nigata, which resort would you recommend nearby Kagura when heavy snowfalls pose the problem mentionned earlier?

Link to post
Share on other sites
×
×
  • Create New...