 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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rob@rar, that looks orgasmic!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Welcome to Hokkadio rob@rar! How long are you here for?
Niseko is looking better than us up in central Hokkaido. Friday was Kamui Ski Links, and although the pistes were in tip top condition, the off piste was pretty crusty, with only a dusting ontop. There were a few decent spots to be found, but nothing to write home about. They'd built up the kicker (the 'park' consists of one jump!) to a decent size though, so had fun on that!
Yesterday we went to Furano. It was pretty nice, they had had 20cm or so a the day before, so conditions were good on piste. The patrol nazis were out in force though, so we only ducked a couple of ropes and were rewarded with nice soft pow.
Today was a day off skiing. I played snow rugby with the rugby club here. Knee deep snow. Sooooo tiring!
Will post pics from Furano in a bit.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Hmmmm, wonder how long I would last in deep powder in a forest with no sun before the blood wagon got a call.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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so jealous
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Great to see you're having a ball rob@rar.
As of Sunday 13 February 2011
Niseko Hirafu village level measurements
February snowfall SO FAR - 1.05 m
Season snowfall SO FAR - 10.07 m
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Hmmmm, wonder how long I would last in deep powder in a forest with no sun before the blood wagon got a call. |
Exactly what I was thinking. It would also be super-easy to get lost, if the photo of piste signs (I assume that's what they were) that Rob posted on facebook are anything to go by. Take care, Rob.
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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.
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Mike Pow, 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Looks great 
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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.
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Are you flipping the camera between forward and down rob?
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kitenski, three or four separate runs edited together. Some runs camera faces forward, other runs it faces down.
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You know it makes sense.
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rob@rar, you in the same area as Wozza's lot?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Gsyfreerider wrote: |
| rob@rar, you in the same area as Wozza's lot? |
Bumped in to Warren yesterday and was in one of the Annupuri bowls with one of his groups (I played tail end charlie for a little while to collect kit for some of his fallers).
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Poster: A snowHead
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rob@rar, is it everything you expected so far?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mostly I think. There's been a bit less snow in the last week than usual, so conditions are good but not epic. It's nice to try something different from my usual skiing, and I'm already planning next year's trip 
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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?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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anarchicsaltire, I think they were out of bounds markers, but not sure. There was a bit of powder on piste, as well as lots in the areas where you have to go through gates to reach.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| MagSeven wrote: |
| Hopefully you'll get some more snow down there during your trip Rob! |
Thanks It's been snowing all day, light to moderate, so tomorrow should be great, and I'm here until next weekend to enjoy it.
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rob@rar, great vid, I did those same runs with Mosha last year so I'm feeling pretty jealous watching your footage. Surprised to see you not carrying avi gear?
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| Surprised to see you not carrying avi gear? |
It's very low angle stuff, with no steeper exposure above me. If the top gates open tomorrow I'll stick my pack and bleep on but didn't think it was worth bothering with today.
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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.
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think I know what I am asking for as a Xmas & Birthday present!!! You planning a trip for Jan or Feb next season Rob???
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| kitenski wrote: |
| You planning a trip for Jan or Feb next season Rob??? |
Yes, it will be either late January or early February (in time to be back for half-term). Want to avoid the crowds/prices of the Chinese New Year holiday and find decent accommodation at a sensible price. I have a couple of meetings with accommodation agents later this week, but probably won't have firm info until the end of this season as prices for next year aren't available yet.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Looks crap- my commiserations
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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.
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that looks amazing, i always watch vids of people in deep powder and wonder how often you hit things like tree stumps or rocks and go over the handle bars, does it happen much? 
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I'm going January 2012, counting the days down already!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| notverygoodatskiing wrote: |
| t... wonder how often you hit things like tree stumps or rocks and go over the handle bars, does it happen much? |
The deeper the snow the less chance of hitting stuff, but yes it does happen from time to time. The crunch of skis on a submerged rock is never pleasant! Happily the snowpack here in Niseko is getting close to 4m deep so the most you're likely to hit is the tops of bushes.
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Poster: A snowHead
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rob@rar, another mesmerising video. I love the music you choose for them all - not necessarily for itself, but because it just goes so well with what you're filming.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Rob@Rar
I hear everyone rave about Niseko on the forums is it really as good as it looks?
Are the tree runs in your video open to all or are they off limits.
As I am planning to go next year hopefully.
By the way the video's are ace, really get lost in the movement especially with the soundtrack. really good work.
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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?
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Gpjersey, most of the trees in the videos/snaps are in the "allowed" area. There's so much inbounds tree skiing, and all the back-country gates that there's not really much reason to duck ropes in Niseko (well, we never found any). In fact, the only areas that are roped off (apart from around lifts/pylons) are the steep gullies in the middle of the resort that are prone to avalanches (we saw some evidence of this at the end of our trip...big cracks forming all over the place).
And yes, it really is as good as it looks. But then it's also as expensive as you fear it is 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Gpjersey, well, I'm having fun!
Apparently the weather here is unusually clear, with less snow than normal. Which I find quite funny because in the 3 days I've been here there's been about 50cm of snow, with the previous days tracks being covered up for two of the mornings. The snow first thing has been very light and creamy, although it transforms as the day goes on getting a bit heavier as it gets tracked. So I suppose all things are relative!
The tree runs I've showed in those videos are almost all from within the gated off-piste areas. Slope patrol decide when to open the gates, and ducking under ropes is not allowed (although it does happen, not sure what sanctions are applied in this resort but I have heard of liftpass confiscations in other Japanese resorts). If the short amount of time I've been here is typical the gates have been open for most of the time, but the top most gates (and lifts) were closed when the snow and wind were at their heaviest. It looks like a clear day today, so hopefully the gates will all open from start of play.
So is it really as good as it looks? Well I suppose that depends on what you want. If you like lots of steep terrain this isn't the resort for you. If you want lots of vertical and long runs on open faces this isn't the resort for you. If you want no limits placed on where or when you can ski the backcountry this isn't the place for you. If you want a massive ski domain such as the big European ones this isn't the resort for you, although I have been pleasantly surprised by how big the place feels. But if you want to maximise your chances of deep snow Niseko's snow record is among the best resorts in the world for that. If you're happy skiing relatively low angle terrain, with oodles of great tree skiing this is a good place. My perception is that the powder skiing feels relative safe compared to how I perceive European off-piste - the gates system, low angle terrain, lots of trees, etc. So in short, if it's lots of snow you want then I think this is a great place to visit I suppose the real test is whether I'll come back: I will, and I'm making contact this week with accommodation providers with a view to arranging a trip next season
Apart from the skiing there's lots of things I'm enjoying. The food is great, and reasonably priced so I'm spending much less on the hill than usual. If my accommodation is typical it's very spacious and comfortable. Customer service feels top notch (although that might be a case that it's 'just' an extremely polite and helpful culture rather than something which is put on for customers). There haven't been any lift queues other than at the main gondolas out of the villages, and those have never been more than five minutes long. I'm staying in Annupuri which is one of three or four village centres which serve the ski domain. It's a very quiet part of the resort, but has a nice choice of restaurants and very convenient access to the skiing. The main village Hirafu, is larger and busier so you have a choice of what kind of village to stay in. I arranged the trip myself rather than using a package, and while it's a long journey everything was fairly straightforward, and the transfer to the resort (including domestic flight from Tokyo and scheduled coach transfer to Niseko) was fairly painless.
Glad you like the videos
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 14-02-11 23:10; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| spyderjon wrote: |
| Surprised to see you not carrying avi gear? |
It's very low angle stuff, with no steeper exposure above me. If the top gates open tomorrow I'll stick my pack and bleep on but didn't think it was worth bothering with today. |
Watch out for cracks opening up even when the snowpack is stable. One did on me last year on a red equivalent gradient & I just got over it but fell & a ski went down it. When I looked in it was about 3m deep down to the bamboo grass & I could on just reach the tip of 196cm ski which was standing upright on it's tail. Wouldn't have wanted to have fallen in.
BTW, you skiing on the Jimi's?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If Carlsberg made ski resorts................... Nice reminder of what is out there!
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| BTW, you skiing on the Jimi's? |
Yes, and I'm enjoying them in the snow. On the snow they're not so good.
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One thing which I'm not enjoying is the jetlag. I'm a bit of a lightweight when it comes to time zones, and completely zonked out at 5pm yesterday. I lay down on the sofa in my room and then suddenly it was midnight!
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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.
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| Quote: |
But if you want to maximise your chances of deep snow Niseko's snow record is among the best resorts in the world for that. If you're happy skiing relatively low angle terrain, with oodles of great tree skiing this is a good place. My perception is that the powder skiing feels relative safe compared to how I perceive European off-piste - the gates system, low angle terrain, lots of trees, etc. So in short, if it's lots of snow you want then I think this is a great place to visit
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Sounds like a perfect place to learn how to ski powder...said the person who professed not to want to go to Japan. 
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| Hurtle wrote: |
| Sounds like a perfect place to learn how to ski powder |
That is definitely my impression of the place. Very high likelihood of great snow and plenty of unthreatening terrain to start with, then steeper stuff to progress to.
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