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Thanks Benny, very helpful and looks like you guys had awesome conditions. Was that this winter? Definitely like the vibe and program the Whitecap crew run out of the lodge here so that is a plus. I get the sentiment about why go with guides and just figure it out yourself. Yes, we are capable of doing that re: terrain scouting/management and snow safety, but we are choosing to go guided because we are time limited. We have 7-8 days to ski so not a lot of time to figure out the lay of the land and explore things. If this was 10-15 years ago when we had unlimited free time to research and could have spent 3-4 weeks in Japan then absolutely would've rented a van and done it ourselves. These days, lucky to pull off a ski trip once every 5 years. Maybe when my kids are older we will do that style of adventure trip.Quote:
Originally Posted by bennymac
There's clearly a market here and sounds like problems resulting. Hopefully the Japanese sort out a working visa system to force foreign guides into working under a Japanese system so the locals control and benefit the most from tourist dollars.
Yeah we were there the first week of Feb (2 weeks ago). Definitely we lucked out re:snow given the variability/unpredictability - it rained in Hakuba valley the week before we got there - and it turned very warm immediately after we left (sunny and well above freezing)
Local mags/more experienced mags can weigh in on how typical this is - but it felt like you couldn’t trust a forecast beyond 2-3 days - hearing that it rained all through the valley 5-6 days before we were due to arrive might have scared off a group that had the option to cancel and jump to Hokkaido. Sounds like some Whitecap trips end up spending their time visiting castles and whiskey distilleries instead of skiing - although I suspect that it’s very rare it gets that bad.
Next year I hear forecasters predicting a La Niña winter with lots of snow for western North America - no idea how that plays out in the Nagano area.
We spent 3 days total in transit, 2 days in Tokyo, and 7 full days of skiing. Door to door was gone 12 days. Being away from spouses, kids, pets, jobs - the decision to go with a guided inclusive package with an operation we trusted was a no brainer. The benefits are obvious - and obviously those benefits come at a financial cost.
The whole “fuck that - you can do it for cheaper” idea, while true, can be applied to anything. You can ski on 20 year old boots for cheaper than a new pair if you want to save money too. It also ignores the reality that not everyone can or wants to spend 3-4 weeks away while figuring it out and living in a rented RV with 5 other dudes. To each their own.
Gramboh - if you decide to go with Whitecap for your trip feel free to reach out before booking flights/hotels etc - can give you some beneficial beta if you want
Also not me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_CSUqIxHhs
Lol.. gonna throw your skis away after a skin in what was admittedly the best conditions of any volcano previously skied along with so few rocks hit.
Do us a favor, Bolton... stop posting the shitty shit. The Influencers. Start posting all the cool kids who are appreciating their trips more than trying to sell their lifestyle.
This thread is starting to kill me.
I couls not stand a Single Minute of that.Quote:
Originally Posted by boltonoutlaw
Unsubscribe to thread and eabod. You're too far up your own ass and your sarcasm meter is broken.Quote:
Originally Posted by gaijin
But he's, like a local and he can cook japanese stuff and he's like..I mean he's the real Deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by boltonoutlaw
I agree with the foreigner... Fuck influencers and the guided mobs making Hokkaido crowded. I'm glad I spent big chunks of 2 winters there before it blew up.
That is a rather weird statement. It translates to: "I'm part of the problem, but I'm cool".Quote:
Originally Posted by climberevan
So I'm a "local" in some places in the northern alps like Engelberg and still don't mind Swedes and team USA showing up, because I'll still know where to ski what and have fun. Granted it's a few hours shorter than 20 years ago but that's part of the game. And I am a fucking snow snob who "hates" everyone skiing in "my areas" ;)
Sweet... :cool:
get off my fuckin’ lawn!
I disagree. I wasn't complaining about independent travellers who rent sketchy wagons and live in them for 5 weeks while skiing alone at random spots they found by looking at topo maps. I was complaining about "influencers" and guided groups....Quote:
Originally Posted by subtle plague
At Niseko. These winds are tough.
I'm headed to Japan tomorrow until next weekend on the off chance that anyone is around!
First flakes of new storm are falling at Kutchan
We ended up deciding on Hokkaido for 2025 and will do Hakuba next time (probably be 5 years at this rate haha), appreciate the insights though. Similar itinerary to you, gone for 12 days with 8 days of skiing and 4 travel days with a bit of time in Tokyo (have been before so just one night). Looking forward to it already, the stoke for pow is sky high after the storm that just hit Whistler.Quote:
Originally Posted by bennymac
Awesome. You can’t lose - you just win in a different way. Enjoy that pile of snow you just got - it’s well deserved for the patience W/B and Baker skiers have had to have this winter.
*****
Just wrapped up an 11 day trip to Hokkaido and then scored big last Saturday in Hakuba.
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This upcoming weekend looks even deeper, the March pow has been a pleasant surprise after the warm storms we've had all winter.
In sadder news, lots of accidents in the BC from this past storm cycle. I skied w/ Stu at Myoko Suginohara for a couple laps 2 years ago during the COVID shutdown; there weren't many people venturing into the side country on a deep day and we shared some good turns as he described how he'd bought some $15K abandoned home in Myoko and was planning to fix it up. We never crossed paths again.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/japan-a...ount-mitahara/
Another slide occurred just north of Hakuba on Saturday; 2 helicopters were circling as clouds rolled in but it sounds like they were able to locate and evacuate everyone w/ no fatalities.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...ano-avalanche/
Monday: Niseko Moiwa
Tuesday: Rusutsu
Wednesday: Iwanai
For those that have used Yamato for ski transport, do you know the minimum number of days to ship skis from Tokyo to Hokkaido? The Yamato website is showing 3 days, if I enter a Friday it shows Monday delivery. We land at NRT 4:25pm on a Friday, and are flying up to CTS from HND the next day on Saturday and taking a train to Otaru for our first night. Would assume Friday afternoon to Saturday night is way too short a timeline and we will be lugging gear NRT > hotel > HND.
Yea Friday to Saturday is less than 3 days. You wouldn’t even be able to get your gear to Hakuba in that short of time from Tokyo. You could always bring your boots and ship the rest. Might be cheaper to rent skis than pay for airline baggage. Definitely less of a headache than lugging skis through Tokyo 2x. Other option would be black cat your skis from Narita to Haneda and fly with it the next dayQuote:
Originally Posted by gramboh
It could be a bit of extra train time, but you could go from NRT straight to HND and stay in a hotel at HND. Avoid dealing with skis through Tokyo twice - and it's easy enough to get to Tokyo from HND for evening activities.
Thanks guys. This might be the call. My buddy was looking at a hotel on a train line that leaves NRT and also connects to HND so we were gonna go check in/drop gear then have dinner/drinks, then next day one train from hotel to HND. Gotta do a bit more research on that as I haven't been in Tokyo since 2016.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinned
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/f6...z-itAzIM0nEXaM
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/soci...240311-173904/
Edit: Adding this link for confirmation of victim identity. RIP https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/japan-...l0j6APazIDC16s
I've done it twice in Jan 2023 and 2024. Received my gear within 2 days on both occasions. No snow or bad weather on either occasion though which can affect transport.Quote:
Originally Posted by gramboh
*Edit..
Nevermind. I posted about the snow layers weeks ago. Our snowpack is fucked. Even when a certified avi-dork chimes in, he gets heckled.
Just go home. Our snow is killing people this year.
Stop pretending like you need to tour Japan's wild snow this year.
Go to Bali.
maybe i can slip this past the gatekeepers who decide who is allowed in the backcountry, and who can guide in japan, or who is allowed to post in this thread just some non-influential meadow-skipping last week at iwanai enjoy or block me i don't care it is uploaded in hd check your settings it loads sd dunno why
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k2p9Vamcsk
I can't keep track of all the avie articles posted here and NOT posted here - but to me there seems to be a crazy amount of deaths in the past weeks, mostly by guided groups. One article says in one accident, they are looking to see if it's professional negligence. I hope this cycle is extremely unprecedented over there, it's depressing to hear about so many accidents.
Nuking. Warm. Wet. Heavy. Upside down.
Forming a blanket that folds itself on my car’s windshield.
On top of colder snow. On top of an ice layer.
She seems nice.
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Attachment 490793
This has been far and away the best March I've seen over my time in Japan (season 6 now) and it just keeps delivering. I'm running out of days I can skip out on work and family obligations but if this forecast holds I may just have to see how much I can get away with.
It was frustrating to miss out on the usual storms this February but it's so nice that they're showing up now; last weekend I was still skiing thigh deep untracked pow inbounds at 2pm. Most of the tourists have left but the snow has been fantastic.
^Nice! I’ve found similar conditions, primarily scoring at Kiroro in Hokkaido.
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In like a lamb, out like a lion. It's happened several times in my 20yr history. But chill... April 4th 2009 I rode a slab through the forest. There have been a few others.
What happens is the forest's undergrowth gets buried and our mountains essentially become "Open Ground" for March layers. Not only is the undergrowth buried, but the rollie-pollie Mario Land features get buried and the entire forest floor gets flattened... resulting in a slide lane.
Just beware that in these seasons that High Alpine avi hazards apply to low alpine forest lines. The forest anchors are buried... and snow moves.
That said... have fun. It's rare, indeed.
Hey Gaijin, I’d be interested in more of your insights on spring conditions.
Yesterday, I had a conversation with the guide company owner who I work for, and he mentioned that spring is the “avalanche season” in Japan, and that thought hadn’t occurred to me.
North American snowpacks are skewed more toward Dec - Feb instabilities, but the fact that wet snow / storm slab avalanches happen more often in Japan during springtime is probably the distinction he’s talking about.
I also think that this year’s Feb drought and wind storms brought many more unstable layers to the Hokkaido snowpack than usual. Haven’t been to Honshu, so can’t comment on that.
Pics of some fun conditions this year for me :)
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Absolutely beautiful pics. Thanks for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by SUPERIOR
I'm gonna be a bit long-winded here, but let's get slightly into it.
I got my Avi III cert for heli guides in 2000. I've also thrown bombs for patrol. That's where you really learn about snow... working avi-control work for patrol. The Certifications are pretty on paper but what those classroom hours really do is provide a foundation to the science. You do have to learn what different snow crystals are, and how they form. Because then you begin to study the weather... and that's where things become predictable. Recipes line up, if you will. And when you work avi-control work for patrol, study the weather, and become a dork, things begin to become fairly predictable.
Which leads me to Japan... in general. Look, Japanuary is a thing. Japow is a thing. It's this light, fluffy, fairly consistent, continually falling, highly static, snow. You can go outside and have it cling to you. It's thigh deep and if you're lucky it has a drop of moisture to it. It comes from that mongolian-desert-wind sweep that picks up moisture when it hits the Japan sea. Then that freezing storm hits the Japan mountains and the clouds fail... they drop snow. It's usually fairly consistent from early January to late February.
And because it's consistent, it's predictable, it bonds, it settles. It's kind of boring.
As a skier, it's also slow as fuck. I know you all fly to JP for your Japow fix but do know it's the slowest snow in the world. We locals prefer March. When the temperature rises from your January temps of ~-17 to ~-6c and the water content increases from about 3-4% to 6-9%.
March snow is typically ankle to boot deep. And it's fast as fuck. Also, the base is filled in... meaning all of the undergrowth is buried (or should I say "shrub anchors'). Also, all the rollie-pollie features are filled in (or should I say, "terrain anchors.)
So now in March your forests have a super flat, featureless, gliding surface... topped with a moisture-heavy, slabby, new snow. Then, on top of that, the sun is coming out. So in Spring you'll see daily temperature variations that you just don't see in mid-winter.
In Spring you'll see snowballs just rolling down the hill. And then you'll see tourons just lining up to go ski that terrain... completely ignorant to the science.
And this is why I get so frustrated. I know I have more education and experience than your average joe. But when I see people lining up to ski the recipe that I know so well, I get a bit ugly. I become the old man-- "Get off my lawn."
Sorry about that. But sometimes it's just so clinically easy to read that I just want to scream.
All of that was a lot to say that in Spring in JP you have a huge variety of temperatures, wind, and layering variables stacking themselves on top of a solid winter base.
And your solid, winter base is confused... because the Spring snowfall is different, Things aren't bonding. It's like two different seasons. And then the temperature is changing each day, drastically.
Classic March 15th-- You have a frozen base. You get a warmer new layer of 20-30cm. Then temperatures rise again within 24 hours. The surface snow melts. What do you think is going to happen?
It's going to roll down hill.... in a snowball.
By the way... all avalanches are snowballs. I know they look like blankets sliding on a table, but they're actually rolling snowpacks. .
Thanks for that gaijin.
Thinking through it in NorAm terms to get this in my head. JaPow earlier season terms is about consistency. Big changes in snow amounts but smaller changes over time in other areas (temps, wind etc).
Japan from March onwards is about constant change over smaller time-frames which potentially lends itself to instabilities