 Poster: A snowHead
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hey SHs
HELP - saved up holidays saved up money, and planning 3 weeks to Japan early Jan, but now getting cold feet - WHAT you all yell? Maybe a bit background ?
I am going for the pow - no, surely not?! Female skier travelling alone, going for the skiing rather than nightlife
Pretty confident on Whistler double blacks, but only had a few days of hit and miss experience in more than knee deep pow, so figured I need lessons to get my head round getting in deep
Aiming for side / slackcountry /maybe backcountry after getting my head round the pow
haven't got a huge budget
soooo
1. not convinced about the totally relaxed approach of turf out for flights half way round the world etc etc then rely on complete chance of bumping into friendly people with the same aspiration of what they want to ski and are happy for a new buddy - so was thinking powder ski camp or multi day tour, but these seem ridiculously expensive, like nearly a couple of grand at BD Tours with only half the days guided- any ideas? Probably would benefit from some instruction but from where?
2. where to stay? - not huge budget but doesn't need to be absolute cheapest, but I like my sleep which means not sharing with strange snorey blokes or in party-central hostel, although hostel is fine - is Niseko where to base myself? does it matter what village?
Any advice would be magic[/list]
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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might be better to do a European based trip with ski fresh tracks, mountaintracks etc where other similar skiers will be looking for tuition as part of their holiday. see also www.backcountryadventures.co.uk.
I wouldn't recommend Hokkaido for a relative beginner offpiste as you will get the most out of it if you are confident in the trees and can skin.
depending on cost you could do a week in Europe and then 2 in Japan.
don't get me wrong: Japan is fantastic and could work for you but it is riskier than the above
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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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I think in your case (other than a bumper Euro trip) I'd consider hoping on a plane going in the other direction to the US/Canada.
As a piste skier you may find yourself disappointed in Japan and possibly wondering why you spent all that money. Japan is all about powder and trees if you want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs it doesn't really have that.
I visited a mate who's instructed over there for a few years and the amount of snow was unreal but despite the reputation it isn't guaranteed.
Don't want to put you off if it's something you want to do.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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| Grizwald wrote: |
| As a piste skier you may find yourself disappointed in Japan and possibly wondering why you spent all that money. Japan is all about powder and trees if you want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs it doesn't really have that. |
I think you totally misunderstood the OP. Not all UK skiers are "piste skier" who "want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs":
| bitoffluff wrote: |
I am going for the pow - no, surely not?!
...
Aiming for side / slackcountry /maybe backcountry after getting my head round the pow
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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bitoffluff, I think I'd aim to become confident in deep powder and trees before spending a lot on a holiday in Japan.
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I went on a three week ski trip a couple of years ago...
I went to Chamonix,
Ski companions were a mix of - Randoms who I met in the hostel (can be awesome, but requires luck)
- Joining in with a Ski Club of Great Britain Leader (good reliable back up if other plans fail).
- Friends who flew out for a week.
A further option would be to do a course with BASS Chamonix or Off Piste Performance while you are out there. As well as being a way of getting the best out of your holiday, this is also another avenue for meeting skiing partners.
I stayed in the Chamonaird Volant hostel. It's not the most hygenic of places, but it's not awful, and if you avoid the biggest dorm you do stand a chance of getting a good nights sleep. Can't guarantee that people wont snore, but there are always ear plugs!
Final bit of advice, be bold. One of the best weeks skiing of my life came from politely approaching a stranger who I noticed was looking at off piste courses on her lap top.
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| chrisJersey wrote: |
might be better to do a European based trip with ski fresh tracks, mountaintracks etc where other similar skiers will be looking for tuition as part of their holiday. see also www.backcountryadventures.co.uk.
I wouldn't recommend Hokkaido for a relative beginner offpiste as you will get the most out of it if you are confident in the trees and can skin.
depending on cost you could do a week in Europe and then 2 in Japan.
don't get me wrong: Japan is fantastic and could work for you but it is riskier than the above |
Wouldn't describe myself exactly as an offpiste novice, my main thing is ski mountaineering, so skinning is no problem. The reason Japan is the aim is I can ski week after week offpiste in Europe (as I have) and so rare come across deep pow to practice in I could be waiting forever to improve before I go to Japan - bit of a catch 22
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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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| Grizwald wrote: |
I think in your case (other than a bumper Euro trip) I'd consider hoping on a plane going in the other direction to the US/Canada.
As a piste skier you may find yourself disappointed in Japan and possibly wondering why you spent all that money. Japan is all about powder and trees if you want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs it doesn't really have that.
I visited a mate who's instructed over there for a few years and the amount of snow was unreal but despite the reputation it isn't guaranteed.
Don't want to put you off if it's something you want to do. |
Looks like I didn't explain myself - I wasn't going for on piste, that'd be a bit daft - I have had enough of that to fill a lifetime, I didnt think US / Canada was any more guaranteed pow than Japan 
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bitoffluff, I'm pretty sure if you're reasonable in most off piste conditions you'll pick up skiing deeper snow quite quickly.
What are you skiing on?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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bitoffluff, I too am going on my own, a bit later in the season though.
Place to stay: after a LOT of looking at guides, webs, blogs, etc I have booked at the lodge called Niseko Club, belonging to the Australian Alpine Club. You do not have to be a member!
I have got a single use of a double room which is costing AU$105 per night including big breakfast and en-suite.
It was the only en-suite place I could find at anywhere near that price, almost all the other lodges are bathrooms down the hall.
Pay for 8 nights, the 9th is free, so that reduces the price by quite a bit.
I have heard from several sources that the nature of the place is extremely social and very inclusive...easy to make ski buddies.
As to powder camps etc allow me to shamelessly plug my son, aka The Lad:
Pro Powder is the ski school, I think their name tells you all you need to know about their focus.
Stefan is the one to ask for, obviously (!!) I am biased, but he is a very good instructor and will get you where you want to be.
http://pro-powder.com/ski-camps/
The link is for their powder camps which are small group lessons 2,3 or 4 day, focusing on....powder.
Of course other instructors are available (and some may pass by on here before long).
Send me a PM if you want more info or to chat in person.
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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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| abc wrote: |
| Grizwald wrote: |
| As a piste skier you may find yourself disappointed in Japan and possibly wondering why you spent all that money. Japan is all about powder and trees if you want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs it doesn't really have that. |
I think you totally misunderstood the OP. Not all UK skiers are "piste skier" who "want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs":
| bitoffluff wrote: |
I am going for the pow - no, surely not?!
...
Aiming for side / slackcountry /maybe backcountry after getting my head round the pow
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I don't think I have. The Japanese also don't have the same attitude to off piste-which I didn't mention previously. I do realise not all UK are 'are piste only' only skiers (I live in the UK).
My point was if you're a predominantly piste skier, having gone to the expense of travelling to Japan could leave you disappointed. I'd probably advise the OP to do at least a week in Europe doing some piste to powder type coaching. All just my opinion of course.
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Super light snow and (by the sounds of it) mostly pretty mellow slopes.
Hard to think of a better combination to learn to ski pow!
Get some fat skis and you should be fine.
When are you going? I'm going mid Jan - early Feb, my itinerary is mostly pretty filled up, but I'll have 4-5 days free in Niseko to ski. First time there so can't say I can show you about, but if you're there at the same time happy to give you some pointers technique-wise at some point. I'm also going alone, but have a week's roadtrip booked with BD Tours (the PowerTrip) too.
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You know it makes sense.
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Really don't worry about it! I have no idea why anyone would say get lessons on how to ski powder in Europe rather than Japan, you can start on the pistes, then move onto the marked powder trails and then I am sure by the end of the trip you will be loving the backcountry. In Europe, powder is much rarer and harder to access.
Where to stay - I would recommend Hirafu or Izumikyo (just outside Hirafu, where the AAC mentioned earlier is located), highest concentration of westerners/potential ski buddies. I have not personally stayed in any of the hostels (this will be my sixth season working in Hirafu), but friends have liked Shizenkan and Owashi, possibly a bit of a party vibe in both, but that really depends a bit on luck. aceniseko.com used to be staff accom for us and is in an awesome location, you can ski down to the lifts, no idea on the crowd that will stay there as it's their first year as a lodge.
Instruction/guiding, there's tonnes of different schools and guide operations in Niseko/Hirafu now, I'm honestly not sure of how much they all cost. I work for NBS (nisekobase.com), and probably we are amongst the more expensive schools, but I would say we are amongst the best as well. If you just want guiding, not instruction, skijapan does pretty reasonable day guiding where you can meet people and ski about a bit.
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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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Does sound like there'll be a lot of SHs out there this year. I'm off out to teach for NVSS but have got myself a pair of ridiculously large Moment skis for tooling about in the pow during downtime. I'm sure there'll be enough powderhounds out there for you to pick up freebie lessons and tag along with groups.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| jimmer wrote: |
| I have no idea why anyone would say get lessons on how to ski powder in Europe rather than Japan, you can start on the pistes, then move onto the marked powder trails and then I am sure by the end of the trip you will be loving the backcountry. In Europe, powder is much rarer and harder to access. |
+1
It's the same to say learn to ski tree in Europe. Would you suggest to get proficient French/Spanish/Japanese in UK? It maybe cheaper but it's... inferior learning opportunity!
Sure, you want to get some basics in first before heading over. But the OP already has that: "a few days of over the knee deep powder"! I would think that also implies there're far more days of powder that are less than knee deep! Why anyone would assume she's a piste skier and should stay in Europe to learn to ski powder???
| Grizwald wrote: |
| My point was if you're a predominantly piste skier, having gone to the expense of travelling to Japan could leave you disappointed. I'd probably advise the OP to do at least a week in Europe doing some piste to powder type coaching. All just my opinion of course. |
Did you read the OP's reply?
Your opinion maybe perfectly appropriate...for a different person than the OP!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
As a piste skier you may find yourself disappointed in Japan and possibly wondering why you spent all that money. Japan is all about powder and trees if you want steep on piste and 2000m plus runs it doesn't really have that.
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What made you decide the OP was a piste skier when she stated the opposite? Having little powder experience doesn't make one a piste skier, it's just that deeper than knee-powder is not that common in Europe where off-piste skiing is often about skiing terrain rather than powder especially of you are not skiing 80+ days a season.
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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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abc, Doh I didn't see the OP's reply, the initial post (to me) made the OP sound like an off piste novice hence my reply-if this info was in the original post I the OP would have got allot more constructive advice.
There's also some brilliant tree skiing to be had in Europe-it's not even that hard to find.
bitoffluff, Japan is worth experiencing, it's not a place you can really do on a budget-if nothing else due to the price of the flights. I would consider dropping a week leaving more cash for guides/lessons etc. My mates instructs in Rusutsu if you drop me a PM I'm sure he'd have some suggestions and could put you in touch with some of the English speaking instructors out there. I would still say that deep powder is not guaranteed in Japan.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Go. Seek out Jimmer or Mike Pow for a confidence building lesson maybe and then hook up with other snow heads or the population of Australia for skiing.
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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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Go for it yolo (sorry)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Grizwald wrote: |
| I would consider dropping a week leaving more cash for guides/lessons etc. My mates instructs in Rusutsu if you drop me a PM I'm sure he'd have some suggestions and could put you in touch with some of the English speaking instructors out there. |
| fatbob wrote: |
| Go. Seek out Jimmer or Mike Pow for a confidence building lesson maybe and then hook up with other snow heads or the population of Australia for skiing. |
Those are good suggestions.
Also if I may say so, being a female may put you at a somewhat disadvantage in finding random buddies to go out of bound. Make sure you ski together on piste for a bit before following anyone off the map...
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Plenty of useful advice above. My view is that you'll be absolutely fine in Niseko...the relatively low gradient slopes, the very forgiving terrain and the combination of in-bounds options and easy back-country access means it's an excellent place to learn. If you're looking to meet people then I'd think about trying to stay somewhere reasonably cheap - that way you'll be more likely to meet people who are out for a long period and who might be looking for others to ski with.
I know thebongolian did something similar to what you're proposing a couple of seasons ago, staying at a hostel in downtown Hirafu (try PMing him if you want more info). He met quite a few skiing buddies while staying there.
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| meh wrote: |
bitoffluff, I'm pretty sure if you're reasonable in most off piste conditions you'll pick up skiing deeper snow quite quickly.
What are you skiing on? |
Atomic Century with DH bindings, or K2 Payback with Fritschi - totally sure they would be capable although not super duper wide (first is 100mm)
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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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thanks y'all - will follow up on suggestions
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bitoffluff, PM received I've dropped my mate a message to get back to me. I'm sure he'll have some suggestions even if it's just someone to ski with in their free time. I'm sure for cash in hand if they have free time they'll give you some lessons. The Japanese don't have a hugely strict criteria for teaching so make sure you know what you're paying for.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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To agree with others above, Hokkaido IMHO is the best place to learn to ski deep powder.
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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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Hei!
Anybody have information about aceniseko hostel.I have a accomodation in annapuri but I found last minute offer in ace
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If it helps, I did my first proper powder holiday last year in Hokkaido. I'd never skied in anything anywhere near as deep as we had in Niseko and the surrounding resorts (Rusutsu, Kiroro and Chisenuppuri). Albeit approx 3 weeks off piste surely helped, but I bought some fat skis, signed up to the Mountain Tracks trip to Niseko and had the best trip (and best week) of my life, without a shadow of a doubt. Nearly 8 days of knee to waist deep powder, and I didn't feel that I struggled at all. Go for it, go to Niseko and the surrounding areas, it is fantastic. If I hadn't had the opportunity to go cat skiing in Canada this year, I'd be going back!
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You know it makes sense.
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Excellent Chrissyg.
Be interested to hear your compare and contrast between cat skiing and hokkaido.
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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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Mike Pow, I'lll happily send you a message when I get back at the end of Feb and let you know my thoughts?  I'm hoping to try cat skiing in Japan in 2015 if I enjoy (can't see why I wouldn't!) it! I've been bitten by the Japan bug, can't wait to go back out. I loved absolutely everything out there, the people, the place, the food and of course the snow!
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Poster: A snowHead
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