 Poster: A snowHead
|
| Neilski wrote: |
rob@rar, lucky indeed, great fun vid, was it shot whilst you were in annupuri ??? i am staying there soon and am trying to get a feel for the area  |
Neilski, take a look at this website it has most of the niseko ski runs with interactive images so you can look around all over the place.
http://360niseko.com/location/annupuri-ski-ground
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
TheRedi, what a brilliant website!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
TheRedi, Many thanks that's brilliant 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
The last day of a fantastic trip.
We woke to blue skies today and zero degrees in town. We had planned to hike the peak as it was shut yesterday, but the visibility was pretty much zero.
So we skied g5 which had some nice snow, but not as deep as yesterday. We then djd a few tree runs which weren't that deep then headed up out of g4, which we then repeated for the rest of the day.
The snow was affected by wind and warmth, we saw some wind slab, skied some wind crust but also found a lovely pitch with some creamy snow, not light and fluffy but very enjoyable.....so we repeated it until the gate shut!
+4 in hirafu now, snow melting on the roads and if the forecast cold snap arrives the roads and pavements will be lethal, and I imagine the off piste will need a top up unless the cold dries it out.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Snowing and really windy in Niseko at the moment. None of the upper lifts open. Annapuri gondola running very slowly, the Niseko Village one opened late. Got some untracked turns over at Annapuri but the snow was heavy and very wind-affected.
MagSeven, great pics of the ice festival. What are your plans in Niseko? Fancy meeting up for a ski?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yep, definitely up for that on Sunday. Will drop you a message nearer the time!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| thebongolian wrote: |
some nice runs in the slackcountry down to some huge steaming ponds of onsen water at the bottom of deep holes in the snow
|
..and I thought you'd have learnt your lesson after last time!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ChrisWo wrote: |
| thebongolian wrote: |
some nice runs in the slackcountry down to some huge steaming ponds of onsen water at the bottom of deep holes in the snow
|
..and I thought you'd have learnt your lesson after last time! |
This time there was a bridge.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Night skiing was a lot of fun tonight with the snow coming down heavily. I ended up rather white:
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
Great to read and see everyone having such a magic time on Fantasy Island
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mike Pow wrote: |
| Great to read and see everyone having such a magic time on Fantasy Island |
You betcha!
Had to walk up to the local hill yesterday as my car was well and truly snowed in. Was worth it though, ticked off day 50 for this winter, riding knee deep snow and hitting jumps into powder. Temperatures have really dropped, and should stay low. Hopefully snow will continue on and off through the weekend.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
I land in Sapporo two weeks from today with first day o the slopes at Hirafu on the following Saturday. Can't wait. Absolutely gagging for it...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Hit Rusutsu today. A nice covering of light, boot-deep snow. Deeper in places. Spent the day lapping the lifts on Isola getting lots of fun powder jumps along the way. Still plenty of untracked so may go back tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Great pics
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Last pic especially nice. Glad to hear Rusutsu finally delivered for you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
So the last few days have had a mix of everything in Niseko. The end of the last week and the weekend brought strong winds and quite a lot of new snow - which the wind blew all over the place. The upper lifts were shut and on Sunday when I met up with MagSeven (good to meet you) I think everything was shut by 2pm.
Yesterday things calmed down and the sun came out but the wind had only left a thin layer of fresh and some horribly scoured spots. That said Strawberry Fields was great first thing and there were some nice turns out of gate 5 later on. It then started snowing again in the evening.
Today all the mountain was open including the peak for the first time in over a week. However last night's snow had only provided a thin covering. And then it got warm and heavy. There were still some good turns to be had on high north-facing slopes.
Winds are forecast to pick up again tonight bringing more snow too. However if the forecast is right the wind will keep much of the mountain shut tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Head to Rusutsu tomorrow.
It was very enjoyable today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
thebongolian, hey love the Snowman pic above, is it OK to pinch it for our FB and Whitedot Skis ?? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
livetoski, no problem glad you like it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thebongolian, where have you been skiing if the peak gates have been shut for so long?? Looks like we timed it right for our short trip 
We only went into Strawberry twice and were disappointed by the snow in there, guess it gets hammered as so easy to get to!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
kitenski,had a day in Rusutsu otherwise mostly been getting out early and finishing early too to try and get the good stuff before the crowds. There's quite a lot around Hanozono if you poke around some of which is good and some of which involves a long walk out as I discovered a few days ago...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thebongolian, cheers! Have you been into the Annpuri bowls at all? We only went in there once....
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
kitenski, only once. I reckon they're one of the riskiest bits of the mountain avalanche wise so I'm wary of hitting them when there's lots of fresh. But lots of other do so you have to get there quickly to get decent skiing. Generally I just go to the north face or towards Goshiki instead as they're usually safer and fewer people go there
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
thebongolian, was good riding with you on Sunday, thanks! Enjoyed it, though a shame about the wind. Hope you enjoy your last couple of weeks here! Driving home on Sunday in the blizzard was challenging to say the least. North of Sapporo the visibility was terrible, so we were crawling along at under 5 km/h for a long long time!
Mrs MagSeven went up to Kamui yesterday on a school trip. Had great weather, though the temperature was relatively high, so the snow was a little heavy. Heavy snow falling again today and forecast for the next few days. Will be going to Sapporo Teine at the weekend.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Great angle on the second shot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Mike Pow, +1, what an absolutely stunning photo! (A real advertising gift for Dot. and livetoski!)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Mike Pow, Pedantica, thank you!
Heavy snow started last night and with low winds that means Niseko woke to fresh, deep powder. I headed to Niseko Village and got an excellent run back down the gondola, then went up wonderland for a less deep run but still loverly. The rest of the day was spent in Mizuno no Sawa which was probably knee to thigh deep (depending on height) and yielded faceshots on demand. I did eight runs and called it a day when the legs stopped responding to commands.
I also finished another ski film with footage from the last few weeks.
http://vimeo.com/36886989
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
So how does one ski to Goshiki Onsen? From Annupuri, Moiwa, or both? I'll be arriving this weekend and staying for a week. I hope to check out Goshiki, time and conditions permitting...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Ordinary_Skiier, you can get there skiing from the top Annapuri peak - as you climb up on a clear day you'll see it over the backside as you reach the saddle between the west and main peaks. You can also get there by traversing out of gate 6 at Moiwa then following the power lines down to Goshiki. to get back you follow the power line back to the saddle between Moiwa and the main peak and ski back to Niseko Annapuri. Navigationally it's quite easy really.
MagSeven, good skiing - I'd love to have the confidence to go that big off kickers let alone spin or anything like that!
It's been windy then calm but warm in Niseko. More snow is forecast for tonight though so hopefully my last day in Niseko tomorrow will be go off with a bang
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
A warm day today. Sunny but hazy and strong winds. Just did one run off the peak where it was ridiculously windy - I was worried my skis would blow away before I could clip into them. The run took us to Goshiki as I had to go back one more time... and there were no tracks on the face... A quick soak then it was over to Moiwa where the snow was heavy and sticky so called it quits for the day. It's snowing steadily now so hopefully my last day will be good.
Joey and Nicole head for Goshiki
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wow this thread has gone quiet! Is anyone still here or planning to come out? You're here for the rest of the season right Mike Pow?
Just got back home tonight after being away from Hokkaido for a week or so - Tokyo Marathon on Feb 26th then a quick trip back to the UK. Not sure how things have been in the past week. Doesn't look like too much has fallen in central Hokkaido. But it is snowing this evening quite heavily and the forecast is for another couple of days of snow. Am really looking forward to getting back on the skis, hoping for a snowy March![/b]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've been and come home already. Got back to HK on Friday evening after an awesome week in Niseko United and a bit of Moiwa thrown. One of your Sapporo tips really hit paydirt MagSeven, so thanks for that. I don't have any skiing pics of note because frankly, I'm still fundamentally an intermediate piste skiier and just use my JesusPhone 4S to take snap-shots.
That being said, I always take pics of my meals when travelling so I'll probably do a Food Report of my trip. There seem to be a lot of foodies on this forum and apart from skiing food has always been the big attraction to Hokkaido for me. I'll leave the snow reports to you guys...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Yep still here. Leave on 4th April.
Rain to about 700m in the Niseko Resort Area as I type.
Thankfully very light. Hopefully turning to snow overnight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OK will get back on this for the rest of the season. As I said, been away for the past couple of weeks doing this in Tokyo
And then alot of this in the UK
But back in Hokkaido now. And at the moment, it seems like its park season! No new snow since Monday, and nothing too significant in the forecast. The great early season snow means the snowpack is deep so no concerns yet about lack of snow. Have been hitting our local hill after the work for sunset sessions hitting some decent jumps. Today we had a gorgeous sunny day and we hit Yubari's Mount Racey. Fun in the park soaking up the sun with mates
Looking forward to tomorrow. Our local hill has a music and freestyle festival all day, so will be barbeques, beer, music and skiing in the sun. They've made some pretty impressive features with all the snow we've had, which I'm excited/scared to hit tomorrow! (look at the chairlift to the left for a reference on the size of the thing!)
We might get a bit of snow on Wednesday or Thursday, but other than that, its gonna be pretty spring like. Heading to Niseko next weekend. St Patricks day should be fun in Paddy's, and unless we get a decent dump of snow, I reckon I'll be spending alot of time in the Hanazono park!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
