Central Hokkaido, Japan 2013/14

A snowHead

Stunning day at Mount Racey today. No new snow, but beautiful blue skies more than made up for it.

Panoramic view from the top

Still the odd patch of powder to be found

Fun on piste

New olympic sport, switch GS?

Blue skies are awesome, but I'd love some more snow now! Hopefully heading down to Rusutsu next weekend.

A snowHead

Video edit from the weekend. (Cover your ears for the first 10 seconds if you don't like bad language!)

Teine Highland and Mount Racey from Andy Evans

https://vimeo.com/84510158

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I had to cover my ears after the first 10 seconds....I really can't stand that song

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Warm weather today, even a bit of rain in places. Should be colder and back to normal from tomorrow.

Rusutsu tomorrow and Sunday.

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Not a bad weekend at Rusutsu considering the warm weather. Saturday morning we had a tiny dusting of new snow in the hills after rain in the night. It was still warm so the snow wasn't great.

A dusting of new snow on a crusty base.

This didn't end well

Sunday was alot better with around 10 or 15 cm of new snow. It wasn't too busy either, so the trees stayed fairly untracked.

Using poles again. But only short, light ones!

The classic chairlift drop

Also saw the Nimbus crew on the gondola. Got a photo with Eric Pollard, and was photobombed in the background by Pep Fujas. They were riding some tasty looking hardware.

It really got windy after lunch and it was very unpleasant on the mountain. We called it at around 2 and hit the road to get home. It was quite a sketchy drive with strong winds and snow. Looks like the snow will continue for the next few days. It'll probably be Teine and maybe Kokusai next weekend, hopefully with Clarky999 from the forum.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

The Lad has been up to Asahidake the last few days....is that in your neck of the woods?

After all it is free

I'm in the Sorachi area, between Sapporo and Asahikawa. Asahidake is a couple of hours drive away. I usually head up that way a few times over the winter.

Did he get good conditions up there? The weather can be temperamental in January!

Had a wicked day at Mount Racey today. Very deep snow after a big blizzard Friday through the day and night. We were planning to go to Teine, but the wind was looking very strong over in that area. It was definitely the right call.

In the bowl under the gondola

Mrs MagSeven

Riding switch in the powder

By the sounds of it, Kamui Ski Links was the place to be today. Pictures of mates on Facebook look insanely deep.

Weather looks better for tomorrow at Teine so we'll head down there. Looks like it should be a good one if it keeps snowing.

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Nicely done.

Rusutsu was deep & light Smile

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Mixed day today at Teine. There wasn't the fresh snow that we were hoping for, but we had a fun morning up there and met up with clarky999.

We managed to find a few untouched spots in the bowls, the snow getting better the further along the ridge we traversed.

Traversing along the summit ridge out to bowl 5. A fierce wind was blowing across the ridgeline

clarky999 slashing his way down bowl 5

Checking out terrain

Dropping off the cornice into a chopped up bowl 1

As we left in the early afternoon the temperature was starting to rise with the wind coming from the south. Looks like we're in for another day of warm temperatures and possibly some drizzle at sea level before more snow arrives from Tuesday onwards.

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MagSeven, nice photos! Your jump looked a lot bigger than that from above! I was quite glad the japanese guys dropped the cornice into the landing to give me an excuse to pussy out wink

Thanks for showing me around!

Just dropped in for the first time in three weeks and I'm not disappointed.

Great pics!

You know it makes sense.

Thanks Ordinary_Skiier!

It seems like most of the snow has been falling down in Honshu over the past few days. They've had big snowstorms all over, with news reports showing Tokyo struggling to cope with the rare snowfall! We've had a little bit up here, but nothing huge. It's been really cold though, down to -30c in some central and northern areas. We've had some beautiful clear days too.

Cold and sunny. Local hills.

The Sapporo Snow Festival has also been going on in the city. There are huge snow sculptures along the length of Odori Park, ranging from the impressive:

To the topical (Sochi Olympics)

To the slightly creepy

On Saturday we went up to Sapporo Teine. About 10cm had fallen overnight and the sun was shining. It was a fun day, but the off piste got tracked out quite quickly. There seemed to be alot more foreign skiers than usual. I imagine many were visiting Sapporo for the festival and getting in a days skiing.

View of downtown Sapporo from Teine Highland

Didn't get any powder photos as we were rushing to hit as many lines as possible before they got tracked! Ventured into the park in the afternoon, where the main kicker has been built to give a spectacular backdrop for photos.

Sunday was a mellow day at Mount Racey on a snowboard. Not much fresh snow, but the snow on piste was in great condition.

It's snowing now, which should give us a bit of powder for tomorrow which is a national holiday. We'll be going to Sapporo Teine again.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Awesome day at Teine today. There's been a bit of a dry spell in alot of places this week, and we only got a dusting last night here, so we didn't have particularly high hopes this morning. But as we got to the foot of the hill it started to dump, and when we got to the base of the lifts it was clear that it had been snowing most of the night. We traversed way out deep into the bowls and got some amazing lines, lots of faceshots and some big drops.

Bowl 4

Deep snow

Slashing

Drop into bowl X

Short vid, dropping into the bowls

Dropping Bombs at Teine from Andy Evans

https://vimeo.com/86395044

It was snowing as we left Teine, so I'm going to head back tomorrow as I've got the afternoon off work....

A snowHead

Conditions were still good this afternoon at Teine even though there hadn't been any significant snowfall overnight.

Nothing much in the forecast for the next few days around here. We're heading up to Asahikawa this weekend, so will hit Asahidake and probably Kamui Ski Links.

A snowHead

We've had a bit of fresh snow this weekend, with hopefully alot more to come from tonight onwards.

Friday evening we drove up to Sounkyo, the gorge at the base of Kurodake's ski area. They have an ice festival there which is far more interesting than Sapporo's!

Sounkyo gorge

Ice festival

Looking up at Kurodake

Saturday we went to Asahidake. We hiked the summit as there wasn't much fresh snow.

Heading up the skin track

Asahidake summit, highest point in Hokkaido

The descent down the backside and round to the ski area was very windblown and not particularly fun! There was a bit more soft snow in the trees, but unfortunately after we ate lunch and had a bit of a chill, the wind had picked up and the ropeway closed for the day.

Sunday we had a bit more fresh snow and went to Kamui Ski Links. It was still a little heavy because of the warmer weather, but we had some fun in shin deep snow.

Heading over the backside

Pillows

Getting revenge on a drop that broke my binding last season!

Hopefully the snow continues for this week, as we definitely need some more.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Great pics of Sounkyo and Asahidake.

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Hate to break the bad news to you fellas, but I believe the snow is awaiting my return in mid-march...

NehNeh

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Ordinary_Skiier, I don't think Teine got that memo! It was deep deep deep today. We had planned to head down to Rusutsu, but late last night we changed our plans as it had been dumping in Sapporo all day. Turned out to be the best day of the season so far at Teine.

Mrs MagSeven's forearm and pole.

Drops in the bowls overlooking the sea

Scenic shot in bowl 6

The view over the backside

Huge pillows

Seemed like Rusutsu missed out on the snow, so we made the right decision. The odd flurry should come down overnight, but then it looks like we're in for a bit of a dry spell next week. With some unpleasant warm temperatures around Thursday. We're going to hit Mount Racey tomorrow, which hopefully won't have had many visitors today so we might still find some powder.

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Way to go Mrs MagSeven. Sugoi.

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MagSeven, sweet! Teine was probably my favourite of the resorts I skied in Hokkaido.

After all it is free

Yesterday at Mount Racey was surprisingly good. (Don't know why I'm surprised, this season Racey has been consistently great!)

10cm or so of fresh snow overnight and plenty of untouched lines for us through the day

One of the mellow pitches over the back

My friend Hattie really getting the hang of the powder this winter

And a quick video from Saturday. My friend Flo (aka Air New Zealand) hitting some decent drops at Teine.

https://vimeo.com/87343571

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lol, touché MagSeven. This is why I don't gamble.

wink

I love Teine too. I've only skied there once, but it was a great day that holds very fond memories for me...

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No new snow at all here since the weekend. Not complaining too much though as the weather has been gorgeous, sunshine and blue skies. Unfortunately I've been working every day this week, otherwise I'd have been out touring somewhere. But we've had a couple of great sunset sessions hitting the jumps on the local hill. The snow is quite soft, hardening up once the sun sets and the temperature drops.

Getting things a bit wrong

The Ezopow (Ezopark?!) crew

The forecast does look like the clouds should roll in again tomorrow and we'll get more snow coming down through the weekend and into next week.

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Great shots

Thanks Mike Pow!

Here's the video I put together from the past couple of evenings

Iwamizawa Greenland Sunset Session from Andy Evans

https://vimeo.com/87756941

You know it makes sense.

Loved that.

Great clours, sweet backie.

Song please?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thanks Mike. Tune is Loud Pipes by Ratatat.

A snowHead

Ditto. Great vid...

A snowHead

Missed last weekend as we went on a quick trip down to Kobe for Mrs MagSeven's birthday. Seems like we chose the right weekend to miss, the sunny dry spell continued until last weekend but its been snowing nicely since.

This weekend was really good. A very heavy snowstorm hit Friday and Saturday dumping alot of snow everywhere. We had hoped to hit Rusutsu on Saturday where they reported 60cm of new snow overnight. But the winds were looking really strong so we kept it local and went to old reliable Mount Racey where they also had a good amount of new snow and the wind was a bit more mellow.

Powder stashes under the gondola

We ended up going to Rusutsu today as the wind died down. Awesome snow in the morning, lots of bottomless turns through the trees with great views over Lake Toya and across to Mount Yotei.

It clouded over and got a bit warmer in the afternoon so the snow got heavier but we still had a good time through the afternoon.

It was snowing when we left, and it looks like it'll continue in most places for the next couple of days. I've got a few days off Wed/Thu/Fri so am really looking forward to some midweek skiing at empty ski hills!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

One word for next Thursday.

Kiroro.

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kiroro...Word....The Lad will be there on Tuesday....but I will be on a BA flight back to the UK.

I will be back.....next time it will be a hire car and a multi resort road trip across Hokkaido.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Mike Pow, its going to be a toss up between Kiroro and Rusutsu on Thursday. I've got a mate visiting from HK for the next few days so we're trying to cram in as much as we can!

rungsp, Glad you had a good one. Sorry your other half didn't get to enjoy it in the same way. Hopefully next time!

Nice sunny day here today, but it looks like a nice dump of snow is due tomorrow night.

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Otaru and Sapporo resorts had more snow out of the past storm.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I had a great few days at the end of last week with my friend Sam who was visiting Hokkaido for the first time. When he first booked his flights for mid-March, I was a bit worried in case he didn't get the powder he was hoping for. Luckily, he wasn't disappointed! We went around the standard spots, Teine, Rusutsu and Mt Racey and found powder everywhere.

Rusutsu on Thursday

Rusutsu

Friday and Saturday we were at Teine. Friday was quite deep, but unfortunately the main lift closed mid morning when then wind picked up. Saturday was incredible. Super deep snow, and empty all day.

This is what Sam was hoping for in Hokkaido!

Big drops into deep snow all day!

'Diving Board'

Happy days

Looks like we've got a bit of a storm tomorrow which'll bring rain in town, but should dump a good amount of snow in the hills. Luckily, I have a day off on Wednesday, so I'll be able to make the most of it!

After all it is free

Sweet shots. Styling.

I just posted a big post trip report:

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=109608

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rungsp, Sounds like a great time, and a really useful summary for those wanting to make the trip out here.

I was up at Teine again today. There had been a decent amount of new snow (which fell as rain at sea level) but alot of wind, which meant off piste areas were quite crusty and fairly unpleasant. The sun was shining, and the snow on piste was excellent. I spent a fun few hours lapping the park and enjoying the views.

View out over the bay

The city view course and terrain park

We might get a little more snow tomorrow. Friday is a public holiday, and we're going back up to Teine for 'Gaper Day'. I've got myself a pair of 197cm Rossignols from the late 80s, and rather fetching pink and purple ski jacket from a second hand shop. Should be a good laugh!

Help!!

Central Hokkaido, Japan 2013/14

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