TR: Hachimantai

[daver 0]

The weekend past Samurai and I hit the road and went to Hachimantai for a last breath of winter. While most of the island was quickly moving into spring, weather reports were forecasting upwards of 25cm of fresh snow and winter conditions for both Saturday and Sunday in Iwate. So at 4am we loaded up the rental car and blasted up north to be at the resort for first chair.

 

Hachimantai is a resort unlike any other in Japan. The lifts system makes sense (albeit there are only three), the lifties are friendly and make conversation, JPop is not polluting your air space rather you are greeted by old school funk or hipped out tabla grooves, and powder is encouraged. To emphasize this fact, there is no park so as to discourage jib gibbons and million dollar snow cats lie buried under meters of snow.

 

However the real treasure at this resort is its lift accessible slack country terrain and there are plenty of options to either side of the top lift. We had decided to investigate the areas to the North for our first day.

 

To start off we decided to skirt the boundary, and most southernly ridge of the Okuro-mori cirque to both get our bearings and inspect the snow conditions. Cornices above north facing slopes were demonstrating signs of loading and ski testing revealed a hard slab had formed on the top layer. North faces were out. However low angle Southern aspects proved to be soft and stable in the early morning sun and with that we picked our way down to lower safe zones.

 

We made our way down to a little plateau midway along the ridge from which point we planned an exit route back to the chair and got a better vantage of the southern aspects of the Okuro-mori summit(the northern terminus of the cirque). From a distance it appeared that snow was still on the trees and the area was free of wind loading. A dubious assumption at best. A few hundred meters of fast rolling low angle southern aspect slopes proved to be fun so we decided to head back up and skin to the Okuro-mori summit.

 

Temperatures were raising rapidly and by the time we had completed our 25 minutes chair ride to the top weather conditions had changed significantly. However the skin up demonstrated no weak layers, snow was still cold and absent of crystal growth, nor were any signs of slab development apparent. We made it to the summit after a short 30 minute skin up. At the top we noticed two local snowboarders we had met on the trail dropping into some appealing northern aspect chutes. Snow was sliding on them but merely in minimal sluffs to be expected of steep angle slopes. Maybe northern slopes weren't so bad after all.

 

After a brief and obligatory back-country gear problem (friction plate on my Fritchis some how popped out) we dropped into the southern face of Okuro-mori to ski 30-35% rolling terrain with occasional pine trees. The snow was noticeably more dense than we had predicted but still soft enough to make smooth fast arcs. So fast in fact that I did not notice the series of wet slabs I triggered behind me. It wasn't until Samurai and I regrouped further down the hill that I was to learn of this. It seems that not too far into my run I triggered a small but substantial slab running about 10m wide 30m long. However it was not long before I witnessed first hand the instability. As we entered the lower, steeper, and warmer section of the run soft wet slabs started releasing at every turn. Neither of us had ever witnessed snow trigger so easily. Luckily the slabs were marginal in size, and now easy to predict. We were not going to get buried by this snow but it was setting up very fast and could easily drag a skier into an awkward place. South slopes were out.

 

With that we picked our way down the mountain and reconvened for another safety meeting. South slopes were out, and north slopes were still suspect. Snow was sliding and fast, but it was predictable and manageable. As temperatures were raising, northern slopes were likely to remain colder longer.

 

We decided to investigate the northern aspects of the central ridge, close to where we had seen the local snowboarders riding. Clouds we rolling in, there was no wind loading on these slopes as witnessed on earlier north aspects and although snow on the steepest aspect was sliding, it was not falling with serious mass, nor was it falling in cohesive slabs. Sluffs. Sluff management is steep skiing. In we went. Here is the proof.

 

 

Samurai busting out of a side chute, third run of the day.

 

 

Nice soft stable snow on the lower aspects.

 

 

Samurai on the forth run of the day, nice rooster tail. Wasn't there a thread on this topic?

 

 

And there's the face shoot. We skiers can do both.

 

 

 

Along a mini ridge line on the lower section of the run.

 

 

Samurai skiing clean, as per usual.

 

 

And a nice trackless landing.

 

By late afternoon it was snowing again and our hopes were high for the next day. So at 3pm we rushed down to the base to get a spot at the Youth Hostel, scarfed a curry, and chugged a beer to celebrate a good day out. We checked into the hostel and cracked open the rest of our beer early so as to ensure an early night's rest. Later that evening we feasted again on a wonderful Japanese meal provided by the friendly hosts at the hostel, and befriended a group of snowboarders from Akita who insisted on sharing their whiskey with us. Who were we to decline? I couldn't have asked for a better day skiing.

 

Unfortunately the weather changed at some point during the night and the southern warm front pushed its way up to us. We woke up to heavy rain and dampened spirits. There would be no second day of skiing. Spring had officially hit the north. We packed up our things and glumly headed back to Yamagata. The winter was certainly over, and with highs of 20% prospects of a freeze/thaw season were slim. It was time to eat ice cream.

Well, it was a great season, thanks for the turns Samurai. Although I won't be around to make more next season, lets make sure this past weekend won't be our last turns together. Hey, this current cold front could bring a freeze/thaw after all. Kumano Dake?

[soubriquet 0]

Nice one. Good to see a less well known part of Tohoku. It's definitely on my list for next year.

 

Where you off to, daver?

[Fattwins 0]

very nice tr

[mattlucas 0]

Kick Ass report

And great pictures

 

You moving to the West Kootenays?

[tsondaboy 0]

Great TR daver!

 

On the other hand me and SerreCe spent Sunday bushwalking.

 

It made for some really funny picks though.

[samurai 0]

That was a good trip Daver... we'll definetely make sure those weren't the last turns. That's not a bad sequence either... I like number 6 the best. But number 1 actually shows a bit more of the running from the moving snow we had encountered. And I guess in that light, you can still see remnants of the debris here and there.

 

I like dangerous layers without an actual heavy-duty risk... they make for fun, predictable skiing. It's when you cut the slope and it DOESN'T slide that I get creeped out.

 

Nonetheless- props to a healthy and safe season of tarzaning, bushwacking, pioneering, and mini-wet-slab racing. I feel refreshed.

 

Hachimantai is a sweet place. The lines are long enough to wind your lungs, but short enough to run laps. However, I imagine in early season the out from the lines we skied would be miserable through the bushes. We hit it right, imo. Oh, and Stanley Kubrick's Shining Hotel could use a bit less silence drowning its corridors. I kept waiting for a tidal wave of blood to come pouring at me, or some dude with an axe in his head laughing around the corner. It's clean and definetely worth the money (5600 for on-slope-dinner-bed-breakfast) But if you have a wild imagination and watch too many horror movies, you may find drinking heaps at night to highly aid in sleeping.

 

I'll defintely go again once the base has arrived... although I should mention that the traversable lines heading south from the top chair won't require much base at all... very few trees, but not as steep as the northern traverse.

[eskimobasecamp 0]

nice

[thursday 1]

excellent.

[SirJibAlot 0]

sweeeeet!

[daver 0]

thanks guys. it was a great trip, and certainly worth checking out if you are up in the area and you have the skills. a little far from tokyo are i suppose but worth it. happy to add a little northern flavor to this rather hakuba centered forum.

 

 Quote:

Originally posted by Toque:

You moving to the West Kootenays?

nope. too bad, i love the kootenays and i was thinking about doing the UBC teacher's programme there but i've decided to do it in cantebury new zealand. CLUB FIELDS!!!

[eskimobasecamp 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by daver:
happy to add a little northern flavor to this rather hakuba centered forum.

yehh really good to see some stoke from up north, nice one daver

club fields ---- sweeeet as!!! that's cool

[Mantas 3]

Nice one Daver....Craigieburn bound ay???

[daver 0]

actually the university ski club has a deal with temple basin - do some work for a weekend early season and score a free pass. not too bad at all.

[quattro 1]

looked sweet. About where is this located?

[SerreChe 2]

Excellent pics and TR. Good luck in your new job.

[woywoy 0]

Where are your pics tsonda??? Tell us more about the bushwalking ...

[soubriquet 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by quattro:
looked sweet. About where is this located?

Tohoku.

[lin 0]

In driving terms is it reachable from Appi?

[soubriquet 0]

It's the other side of the mountain. Maybe about a 20km drive.

[samurai 0]

It's just south of Aomori, close to Hakkoda. A good trip could easily include both, assuming you're avvy-savvy and not expecting piste. I still can't believe that brand new million-dollar cat completely buried like an old, rotten left-for-dead farming rig. then again, there isn't a large clientel to finance operating it for a cat-skiing gig. Although the place is 95% tourers, it was pretty empty. I would guess 20 people rode the chairs that day, 18 of which were bc riders.

 

It was also the first time in 30 seasons that I had an opportunity to ride a single chair. I can't believe how excited I was about that. Single chairs and stoner-indo opium-room music. Wwaaaay different from any other japanese resort I have visited. way different from any resort period... club fields' style minus the monster terrain available in NZ. Instead- avalanchie tree chutes. Steep does exist and running from your snow is real. the slabby conditions we faced probably just slowed the slides down. Wet slabs like that take a moment to get moving. Light, wintery sluff gains momentum quickly.

 

I wanna go again and billy-goat those pillows. It's also kind of hakuba-esque in the sense that all the ridges run down to avy traps, except it's not 5000 vert and there are trees all over the place giving you sanctuary. This is one of the few places that combine running from snow as well as negotiating vertical wood. The patches where you run are open enough to do so but then again, entering a tree field at 60 will force you to plan your line. Thank god we spent the winter tronning our zao trees, gaining confidence where mistakes make you thank your helmet.

 

Hit this place up, guys.

[AK 77 0]

Good report!

 

Probably still my favourite skijo (resort??!) in Japan.

 

No people and one of the few resorts with open terrain suitable for building kickers (always lots of photos from there in TWS Japan)

 

I would live in Morioka to ride there every weekend, if I ever saw jobs there.

[Kumapix 0]

great photos Daver. I really like the one of samurai jumping by the tree stump. One request: can you resize the photos so that they fit on a screen? That way we don't need to scroll down or across to see the whole photo. i find that a max height of 600 pix or a max width of 800 fits perfect

[tsondaboy 0]

Kuma, they fit just fine on my screen @ 1400/1050 resolution.

Maybe its time for you to buy a new monitor and a video card.

[daver 0]

it is certainly a unique place. i too was perplexed by the buried snow cat. a good demonstration of the resort's priorities.

[Plucky 0]

Great post! I basically considered Hachimanti my home resort while living in Japan. Freaking loved it there compared to most of the tightwad rule-constricted places in Japan. Check out my video post. I'm sure you'll see some stuff you recognize Besides Hakkoda, if there was a place I was intimate with in Japan, it was Hachimanti Forest. Such a difference from the corporate J-pop ridden BS over the peak at Appi. Too bad you never got to make the 2 hour climb to the top of the peak off the top chair (to skiers left). Fantastic stuff up there.

 

Being from Oregon and having done a lot of backcountry touring, Hachimanti had the best vibe of any place I visited - that includes Hakkoda. Thanks for the memories