***Official Skiing Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[The Dude]

i like evo.com.

Any input on brands?

 

[Drunken knight]

i like evo.com.

Any input on brands?

I wouldn’t get hung up on brand. I Demod a lot of skis. There were brands I was sure I would love, and ones I would not care for. Actual experience dispelled some biases

 

[DA RAIDERS]

i like evo.com.

Any input on brands?

I wouldn’t get hung up on brand. I Demod a lot of skis. There were brands I was sure I would love, and ones I would not care for. Actual experience dispelled some biases

This

 

[massraider]

i like evo.com.

Any input on brands?

Does he have a cool jacket, and some fresh goggles?

 

[The Dude]

i like evo.com.

Any input on brands?

I wouldn’t get hung up on brand. I Demod a lot of skis. There were brands I was sure I would love, and ones I would not care for. Actual experience dispelled some biases

This

I don't mean to imply I am getting hung up on brand - just looking for a quality brand at more reasonable price for boards, clothing, etc.

 

[The Dude]

Does he have a cool jacket, and some fresh goggles?

Got some reasonable goggles off Amazon. Do you have thoughts on a clothing brand that is priced well?

 

[Drunken knight]

i like evo.com.

Any input on brands?

I wouldn’t get hung up on brand. I Demod a lot of skis. There were brands I was sure I would love, and ones I would not care for. Actual experience dispelled some biases

This

I don't mean to imply I am getting hung up on brand - just looking for a quality brand at more reasonable price for boards, clothing, etc.

There are a lot of good brands… I am going to miss quite a few:

rossignol
Volkswagen
Atomic
Elan
Nordica
K2
Salomon
Fischer
Kneissl
Head

They all have different lines for different types of skiing.

I am a skier, not boarder… different list for boards

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Does he have a cool jacket, and some fresh goggles?

Got some reasonable goggles off Amazon. Do you have thoughts on a clothing brand that is priced well?

Any craptastic stuff from amazon will work for this initial foray. Get some hand warmers.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Does he have a cool jacket, and some fresh goggles

Got some reasonable goggles off Amazon. Do you have thoughts on a clothing brand that is priced well?

It probably doesn't matter, as long as it is warm and water resistant. While they're not very fashion forward, Eddie Bauer and Colombia make decent stuff that isn't too pricey.

Steepandcheap.com also has a lot of heavily discounted stuff.

 

[The_Man]

My kid goes to college in Vermont, was looking at going snowboarding with him for a day next month. Saturday lift ticket at Sugarbush = $189

Just not worth it, especially for the relatively limited number of runs I would take since I haven’t gone in a few years and am pretty far out of form

 

[DA RAIDERS]

So much snow that the 395 is closed. As is the mountain. NUTS!

 

[Drunken knight]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

 

[Dickies]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

Enjoy the trip and safe travels. Hopefully highway 80 cooperates with you and be sure to carry chains. Should be some good snow up there this weekend.

My MIL lives in Truckee (Tahoe Donner) so we find ourselves up there a lot.

 

[Drunken knight]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

Enjoy the trip and safe travels. Hopefully highway 80 cooperates with you and be sure to carry chains. Should be some good snow up there this weekend.

My MIL lives in Truckee (Tahoe Donner) so we find ourselves up there a lot.

… winter tires. I don’t want to get out and deal with chains ever again

 

[Dickies]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

Enjoy the trip and safe travels. Hopefully highway 80 cooperates with you and be sure to carry chains. Should be some good snow up there this weekend.

My MIL lives in Truckee (Tahoe Donner) so we find ourselves up there a lot.

… winter tires. I don’t want to get out and deal with chains ever again

Yea, we have winter tires also, but the wife's family who live in Truckee all recommend carrying chains anyways because you never know what's going to happen. Thankfully we've never actually needed them.

 

[Drunken knight]

I lived in breckenridge for 10 years with a low rwd car. Never needed chains

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

Enjoy the trip and safe travels. Hopefully highway 80 cooperates with you and be sure to carry chains. Should be some good snow up there this weekend.

My MIL lives in Truckee (Tahoe Donner) so we find ourselves up there a lot.

… winter tires. I don’t want to get out and deal with chains ever again

. Chp will want you to have them. R2 will be in affect for sure. It’s got nothing to do with your abilities. It’s gonna dump! Have fun.

 

[Drunken knight]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

Enjoy the trip and safe travels. Hopefully highway 80 cooperates with you and be sure to carry chains. Should be some good snow up there this weekend.

My MIL lives in Truckee (Tahoe Donner) so we find ourselves up there a lot.

… winter tires. I don’t want to get out and deal with chains ever again

. Chp will want you to have them. R2 will be in affect for sure. It’s got nothing to do with your abilities. It’s gonna dump! Have fun.

We have awd/ 4x4 with winters

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Tahoe in less than two weeks

Just skied Sugar Bowl last week

Love sugar bowl.

Staying near donner… North Star. @northern exposure

Hope the abnb doesn’t cancel on us.

Not my favorite mountain to ski, but the mountain biking in the summer is legit.

Family friendly and we like grabbing drinks and a bite at the ritz.

On our way up… actually, house is in truckee

Enjoy the trip and safe travels. Hopefully highway 80 cooperates with you and be sure to carry chains. Should be some good snow up there this weekend.

My MIL lives in Truckee (Tahoe Donner) so we find ourselves up there a lot.

… winter tires. I don’t want to get out and deal with chains ever again

. Chp will want you to have them. R2 will be in affect for sure. It’s got nothing to do with your abilities. It’s gonna dump! Have fun.

We have awd/ 4x4 with winters

I get it. Chp is still gonna want you to have them. Be prepared to say they’re in the trunk.

One mine broke on my last trip. 2wd no winters. I’ve driven I’m the snow a lot. Limped along with 1 chain on.

 

[Drunken knight]

• Requirement 2 (R2): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels.
  NOTE: (Four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas.)

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Yep. It’s the bit at the end.

It’s protection against all the CA idiots.*

*I was born in CA.

 

[Drunken knight]

Just hit the summit and check point. Snowing. Waved us right through

 

[Dickies]

• Requirement 2 (R2): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels.
  NOTE: (Four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas.)

99% chance you won't need them, and in my experience they never check for them, but per the bolded you're still supposed to have them. When travelling over Donner Summit in bad weather, my motto is always "better safe than sorry"

 

[DA RAIDERS]

• Requirement 2 (R2): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels.
  NOTE: (Four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas.)

99% chance you won't need them, and in my experience they never check for them, but per the bolded you're still supposed to have them. When travelling over Donner Summit in bad weather, my motto is always "better safe than sorry"

yep. it's just what they do in CA. they're over the top about chains. i've only seen r3 once.

where was the checkpoint? applegate? or higher up? my dad lived in applegate. i got around a complete closure of i80 once, by saying i lived there. drove down the frontage road and got lucky. a plow was headed up the hill. me and 2 other cars and a chp allowed the plow all the way to squaw. good times.

 

[Drunken knight]

Wonderful day!!! Snow felt great, but hard to see. Back at the bar watching my 9ers

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Skied Snowbasin Monday/Tuesday of this week. It was the perfect combination of fresh snow but annoying enough conditions to keep the crowds away.

Monday was a blizzard. Massive winds, terrible visibility, and dumping snow. The 3 main lifts on the mountain were all closed due to wind holds, so only about 30% of the mountain was open and it took 3 lifts to get to the top instead of 1. Because of the wind holds no one was there. So we did laps on middle bowl lift all day. Couldn't see anything but it was literally free refills. Could literally ski the same line over and over again as it was filled back in every time with the dumping snow. Visibility sucked, I actually got vertigo at one point because my body couldn't figure out where the horizon was and I got instantly dizzy and nauseated. Had to sit down so my body could figure out where the ground was and then I was fine. Both guys I was skiing with said the same thing happened to them at one point. Had never happened to me before.

Tuesday was perfect. It kept snowing all night, and finished about 8am Tuesday morning. Avalanche conditions were bad so everything except the beginner area of the mountain was shut down at opening. Again, this kept the crowds away. I think most people headed down to the Cottonwoods in Salt Lake because they finished their Avy control early enough to get most stuff open by 9am while Snowbasin didn't. By about 10:30am most people that had decided to roll the dice at Snowbasin gave up and left. At around 11am they opened the top of the mountain.

So there were were. 14" during the day the day before. Another 12" or so overnight. And there were only like 100 people on the mountain. Again, only a small part of the upper mountain open, but there were so few crowds it didn't matter. We could ski freshies, ride the lift back up, and ski freshies again literally right next to our tracks from the last run.

It wasn't the best snow, wetter than usual for Utah (more like Northwest snow). But still so freaking fun. My quads were shot by the end. I'm built for that Utah blower pow.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

If any of you Truckee guys have a place you like to rent on occasion or an in to a place that is rentable for a family of four (2BR ideal), please send me a DM. We are routine Epic pass holders, mostly Northstar peeps, though we'd like to hit up Kirkwood a few times. Wife and I snowboard so Heavenly is a bit of a PITA. We usually stay in the Northstar complex to shuttle in and out, but we're flexible. Many thanks.

 

[Drunken knight]

If any of you Truckee guys have a place you like to rent on occasion or an in to a place that is rentable for a family of four (2BR ideal), please send me a DM. We are routine Epic pass holders, mostly Northstar peeps, though we'd like to hit up Kirkwood a few times. Wife and I snowboard so Heavenly is a bit of a PITA. We usually stay in the Northstar complex to shuttle in and out, but we're flexible. Many thanks.

We usually go up with another family.. our search is often: 4-5 bedrooms, pet friendly, hot tub… northern Lake Tahoe.

This one is 10 min to north star and on the shuttle route. Nice home, but no hot tub.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed, without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost fell turning a corner, I reclaimed my bag, ran to the train, and continued the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. Of note, they required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm ups on groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, in ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” studding the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

Also noteworthy: the lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

 

[massraider]

I had no idea they had powder in Japan.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I had no idea they had powder in Japan.

The snow comes from Siberian winds picking up moisture while crossing the Sea of Japan. It’s supposed to be among the best powder skiing on the planet, and you’ll get no objection from me. Think Alta snow with much better apres ski options.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

having been, would you rent skis next time? i've thought that if i ever went overseas to ski, i would bring my boots and nothing else.

side bar: just booked yuki yama in PC and my buddy is joining us! he's my kid's godfather. so stoked!! first week in march.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

anyone have an epic pass? looking for some buddy passes for PC. my friend boards so DV is out. but i think he's going to give skiing a go. he last skied 30ish years ago. what could go wrong?

 

[Drunken knight]

anyone have an epic pass? looking for some buddy passes for PC. my friend boards so DV is out. but i think he's going to give skiing a go. he last skied 30ish years ago. what could go wrong?

not since i lived out there.

but when i purchased my day pass at Northstar, it linked to it. same for my daughter... they sent a new card, but with her photo form 13 years ago

 

[Terminalxylem]

Getting ready for the flight back home, after a 3-day weekend in Rusutsu. It‘s a lesser known resort (to Westerners), about an hour from Niseko.

Initially, our hotel suggested we take a shuttle service between resorts, at 12,000 yen (~$90) apiece. That seemed kinda pricey to me, so I looked at the details: the fare included round-trip transportation + lift tickets, neither of which we needed. But there wasn’t a one-way, ticketless option, at least with this company. With a little internet sleuthing, I discovered a local bus line. The fare was only 1400 yen, so we decided to chance public transportation.

As a reminder, we were in the midst of a 2+ foot blizzard. Waiting outside any length of time in that weather wasn’t fun, but we needed to board early, to ensure our bulky baggage could make the trip. Compounding the problem, everything in Japan is kinda undersized, at least by American standards. Luckily, the bus wasn’t very full, so we had time to shoehorn our snow-covered bags and sit in the back, causing minimal obstruction for the handful of other passengers. We also had to figure out a transfer in an area where English translation wasn’t readily available. Miraculously, we ended up on the correct route.

I‘ve never driven a bus through a blizzard, but our driver was up for the challenge. You could feel the wheels slipping frequently though, including a couple times he needed to back up and rock the tires over mounds of snow. I tried not to look too closely when when appeared to be careening towards another driver, or snow drift. To his credit, we arrived at our hotel only a few minutes late.

The hotel was a multi building complex, which included a convention center and amusement park, replete with a carousel, “dancing” water fountain and bizarre “Oktoberfest” restaurant, from which an endless track of polka emanated. There were also a ton of teenage kids in uniforms, presumably participating in a ski competition. It felt kinda chaotic, like an alpine themed Disneyworld. While friendly, the front desk staff weren’t nearly as proficient with English as the crew in Niseko. As a result, we wandered around for about 45 minutes before we found our room and ski locker.

Even though we were frazzled, we made it out to ski for a couple hours. The snow was decent, though a little crustier than Niseko. The mountain seemed small as well. Oh well, the resort included two bigger peaks across the street, accessible by gondola. We’d check them out tomorrow.

But they also had night skiing !!!!!! Annnnnnd just like every night skiing locale the US, the slopes were empty. Seriously, who the he!! wants to lap a few groomers in frigid nighttime temperatures? IDGI

The next morning we tried a Japanese “set” menu breakfast. There was no translation for its contents; I didn’t recognize at least half of the included foods. Mostly salty, fishy, slimy stuff. Probably a lot more authentic than prior meals, and not nearly as tasty. At least it was included with the stay.

After nearly continuous overnight snowfall, everything was blanketed with over a foot of fresh powder. And the two other peaks are much bigger than West Mountain, which we skied the first day. A couple gondola rides later, we were at the summit of isola, the largest of the three.

Rusutsu is known for tree skiing. It’s easy to see why. Like Niseko, the in-bounds only includes cleared, open areas, even though the slopes are covered in glades between named trails. But unlike Niseko, the off-piste always funnels perfectly to the lifts. So it’s easy to explore the mountains.

And explore we did. Tree run, after run, after run. Perfectly spaced, with an occasional partially fallen, snow-laden tree arch, to break up the monotony of alpine bliss. And like Niseko, the snow kept replenishing, so tracks were nearly always fresh. After day 1, there was no crust, just unending deep, fluffy goodness. Even though it was cold and visibility was limited, the skiing was as good as any I’ve experienced. Just awesome…I‘m campaigning to come back later this season.

So to recap:

1. Both resorts have awesome snow, and plenty of it. Bring powder skis.
2. Groomed runs are limited. Regardless of the mountain, off-piste is the place to be.
3. Niseko‘s side country is a bit more complicated, requiring some hiking.
4. The trees in Rusutsu are unrivaled.
5. Niseko is a pretty modern, western-friendly ski town. Rusutsu seems geared towards Japanese families (though this may be changing, as Vail is partnering with them).

Thinking more about downsides, I’ll add:

1. January is cold. It was below 20 degrees most days, and single digits a few. Fortunately there wasn’t much wind, but definitely not bluebird conditions.
2. Japanese people are short. I’m a little under 6 feet, but almost hit the top of my head on some door frames. Seats and furniture are several inches below what you’d expect. The non-detachable lifts punished my calves. And legroom on public transportation is limited.
3. They don’t speak English everywhere.
4. More authentic Japanese food isn’t for everyone. You really need to like raw seafood and umami flavors.
5. Japanese are polite to a fault. Even when lift lines developed, they’d board groups of one or two people per chair or gondola. I’ve encountered Coloradans who would lose their sh!t at that inefficient seating.
6. They still follow NPIs for covid - hand hygiene, masking, distancing were expected most indoor places.
7. The best skiing is technically out-of-bounds. You have to be confident skiing on non-maintained slopes. While avalanche risk was low (I checked before venturing too far), if you became lost or injured, rescue is your responsibility.

Tl;dr Snow is all that really matters. Both Niseko and Rusutsu have a lot. Accordingly, Japan is now my favorite ski destination.

 

[massraider]

The next morning we tried a Japanese “set” menu breakfast. There was no translation for its contents; I didn’t recognize at least half of the included foods. Mostly salty, fishy, slimy stuff

They're aliens. Not fooling me for a second.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Getting ready for the flight back home, after a 3-day weekend in Rusutsu. It‘s a lesser known resort (to Westerners), about an hour from Niseko.

Initially, our hotel suggested we take a shuttle service between resorts, at 12,000 yen (~$90) apiece. That seemed kinda pricey to me, so I looked at the details: the fare included round-trip transportation + lift tickets, neither of which we needed. But there wasn’t a one-way, ticketless option, at least with this company. With a little internet sleuthing, I discovered a local bus line. The fare was only 1400 yen, so we decided to chance public transportation.

As a reminder, we were in the midst of a 2+ foot blizzard. Waiting outside any length of time in that weather wasn’t fun, but we needed to board early, to ensure our bulky baggage could make the trip. Compounding the problem, everything in Japan is kinda undersized, at least by American standards. Luckily, the bus wasn’t very full, so we had time to shoehorn our snow-covered bags and sit in the back, causing minimal obstruction for the handful of other passengers. We also had to figure out a transfer in an area where English translation wasn’t readily available. Miraculously, we ended up on the correct route.

I‘ve never driven a bus through a blizzard, but our driver was up for the challenge. You could feel the wheels slipping frequently though, including a couple times he needed to back up and rock the tires over mounds of snow. I tried not to look too closely when when appeared to be careening towards another driver, or snow drift. To his credit, we arrived at our hotel only a few minutes late.

The hotel was a multi building complex, which included a convention center and amusement park, replete with a carousel, “dancing” water fountain and bizarre “Oktoberfest” restaurant, from which an endlesstrack of polka emanated. There were also a ton of teenage kids in uniforms, presumably competing in a ski competition. It felt kinda chaotic, like an alpine themed Disneyworld. While friendly, the front desk staff weren’t nearly as proficient with English as the crew in Niseko. As a result, we wandered around for about 45 minutes before we found our room and ski locker.

Even though we were frazzled, we made it out to ski for a couple hours. The snow was decent, though a little crustier than Niseko. The mountain seemed small as well. Oh well, the resort included two bigger peaks across the street, accessible by gondola. We’d check them out tomorrow.

But they also had night skiing !!!!!! Annnnnnd just like every night skiing locale the US, the slopes were empty. Seriously, who the he!! wants to lap a few groomers in frigid nighttime temperatures? IDGI

The next morning we tried a Japanese “set” menu breakfast. There was no translation for its contents; I didn’t recognize at least half of the included foods. Mostly salty, fishy, slimy stuff. Probably a lot more authentic than prior meals, and not nearly as tasty. At least it was included with the stay.

After nearly continuous overnight snowfall, everything was blanketed with over a foot of fresh powder. And the two other peaks are much bigger than West Mountain, which we skied the first day. A couple gondola rides later, we were at the summit of isola, the largest of the three.

Rusutsu is known for tree skiing. It’s easy to see why. Like Niseko, the in-bounds area only includes cleared, open areas, even though the slopes are covered in perfectly spaced glades between named trails. But unlike Niseko, the off-piste always funnels perfectly to the lifts. So it’s easy to explore the mountains.

And explore we did. Tree run, after run, after run. Perfectly spaced, with an occasional partially fallen, snow-laden tree arch, to break up the monotony of alpine bliss. And like Niseko, the snow kept replenishing, so tracks were nearly always fresh. After day 1, there was no crust, just unending deep, fluffy goodness. Even though it was cold and visibility was limited, the skiing was as good as any I’ve experienced. Just awesome…I‘m campaigning to come back later this season.

So to recap:

1. Both resorts have awesome snow, and plenty of it. Bring powder skis.
2. Groomed runs are limited. Regardless of the mountain, off-piste is the place to be.
3.Niseko‘s side country is a bit more complicated, requiring some hiking.
4. The trees in Rusutsu are unrivaled.
5. Niseko is a pretty modern, western-friendly ski town. Rusutsu seems geared toward Japanese families (though this may be changing, as Vail is partnering with them).

Thinking more about downsides, I’ll add:

1. January is cold. It was below 20 degrees most days, and single digits a few. Fortunately there wasn’t much wind, but definitely not bluebird conditions.
2. Japanese people are short. I’m a little under 6 feet, but almost hit the top of my head on some door frames. Seats and furniture are several inches below what you’d expect. The non-detachable lifts punished my calves. And legroom on public transportation is limited.
3. They don’t speak English everywhere.
4. More authentic Japanese food isn’t for everyone. You really need to like raw seafood and umami flavors.
5. Japanese are polite to a fault. Even when lift lines developed, they’d board groups of one or two people per chair or gondola. I’ve encountered Coloradans who would lose their sh!t at the inefficient seating.
6. They still follow NPIs for covid - hand hygiene, masking, distancing were expected most indoor places.
7. The best skiing is technically out-of-bounds. You have to be confident skiing on non-maintained slopes. While avalanche risk was low (I checked before venturing too far), if you became lost or injured, rescue is your responsibility.

Tl;dr Snow is all that really matters. Both Niseko and Rusutsu have a lot. Accordingly, Japan is now my favorite ski destination.

Sounds amazing! How much was the flight from HI? I might have to visit the in-laws and press on to Japan. Which island are you on again?

 

[Terminalxylem]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

having been, would you rent skis next time? i've thought that if i ever went overseas to ski, i would bring my boots and nothing else.

side bar: just booked yuki yama in PC and my buddy is joining us! he's my kid's godfather. so stoked!! first week in march.

Good question. If the conditions we experienced are typical (seems like it), I’d prefer to ski 120+ underfoot. Also would be great not to lug my ski bag.

I’ll be in Park City the second week in March. And I have an Epic Pass, but promised the buddy passes to my friend and her two daughters. Having seldom used them, I don‘t know how many we have though. Any idea?

Yuki Yama is great. Last time we were star-struck by a celebrity seated a couple tables over… William Katt, the greatest American hero himself!

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

having been, would you rent skis next time? i've thought that if i ever went overseas to ski, i would bring my boots and nothing else.

side bar: just booked yuki yama in PC and my buddy is joining us! he's my kid's godfather. so stoked!! first week in march.

Good question. If the conditions we experienced are typical (seems like it), I’d prefer to ski 120+ underfoot. Also would be great not to lug my ski bag.

I’ll be in Park City the second week in March. And I have an Epic Pass, but promised the buddy passes to my friend and her two daughters. Having seldom used them, I don‘t know how many we have though. Any idea?

YukI Yama is great. Last time we were stars-struck by a celebrity seated a couple tables over… William Katt, the greatest American hero himself!

What are your PC dates? We are there 3/4-3/12

loved that show

 

[Terminalxylem]

Getting ready for the flight back home, after a 3-day weekend in Rusutsu. It‘s a lesser known resort (to Westerners), about an hour from Niseko.

Initially, our hotel suggested we take a shuttle service between resorts, at 12,000 yen (~$90) apiece. That seemed kinda pricey to me, so I looked at the details: the fare included round-trip transportation + lift tickets, neither of which we needed. But there wasn’t a one-way, ticketless option, at least with this company. With a little internet sleuthing, I discovered a local bus line. The fare was only 1400 yen, so we decided to chance public transportation.

As a reminder, we were in the midst of a 2+ foot blizzard. Waiting outside any length of time in that weather wasn’t fun, but we needed to board early, to ensure our bulky baggage could make the trip. Compounding the problem, everything in Japan is kinda undersized, at least by American standards. Luckily, the bus wasn’t very full, so we had time to shoehorn our snow-covered bags and sit in the back, causing minimal obstruction for the handful of other passengers. We also had to figure out a transfer in an area where English translation wasn’t readily available. Miraculously, we ended up on the correct route.

I‘ve never driven a bus through a blizzard, but our driver was up for the challenge. You could feel the wheels slipping frequently though, including a couple times he needed to back up and rock the tires over mounds of snow. I tried not to look too closely when when appeared to be careening towards another driver, or snow drift. To his credit, we arrived at our hotel only a few minutes late.

The hotel was a multi building complex, which included a convention center and amusement park, replete with a carousel, “dancing” water fountain and bizarre “Oktoberfest” restaurant, from which an endlesstrack of polka emanated. There were also a ton of teenage kids in uniforms, presumably competing in a ski competition. It felt kinda chaotic, like an alpine themed Disneyworld. While friendly, the front desk staff weren’t nearly as proficient with English as the crew in Niseko. As a result, we wandered around for about 45 minutes before we found our room and ski locker.

Even though we were frazzled, we made it out to ski for a couple hours. The snow was decent, though a little crustier than Niseko. The mountain seemed small as well. Oh well, the resort included two bigger peaks across the street, accessible by gondola. We’d check them out tomorrow.

But they also had night skiing !!!!!! Annnnnnd just like every night skiing locale the US, the slopes were empty. Seriously, who the he!! wants to lap a few groomers in frigid nighttime temperatures? IDGI

The next morning we tried a Japanese “set” menu breakfast. There was no translation for its contents; I didn’t recognize at least half of the included foods. Mostly salty, fishy, slimy stuff. Probably a lot more authentic than prior meals, and not nearly as tasty. At least it was included with the stay.

After nearly continuous overnight snowfall, everything was blanketed with over a foot of fresh powder. And the two other peaks are much bigger than West Mountain, which we skied the first day. A couple gondola rides later, we were at the summit of isola, the largest of the three.

Rusutsu is known for tree skiing. It’s easy to see why. Like Niseko, the in-bounds area only includes cleared, open areas, even though the slopes are covered in perfectly spaced glades between named trails. But unlike Niseko, the off-piste always funnels perfectly to the lifts. So it’s easy to explore the mountains.

And explore we did. Tree run, after run, after run. Perfectly spaced, with an occasional partially fallen, snow-laden tree arch, to break up the monotony of alpine bliss. And like Niseko, the snow kept replenishing, so tracks were nearly always fresh. After day 1, there was no crust, just unending deep, fluffy goodness. Even though it was cold and visibility was limited, the skiing was as good as any I’ve experienced. Just awesome…I‘m campaigning to come back later this season.

So to recap:

1. Both resorts have awesome snow, and plenty of it. Bring powder skis.
2. Groomed runs are limited. Regardless of the mountain, off-piste is the place to be.
3.Niseko‘s side country is a bit more complicated, requiring some hiking.
4. The trees in Rusutsu are unrivaled.
5. Niseko is a pretty modern, western-friendly ski town. Rusutsu seems geared toward Japanese families (though this may be changing, as Vail is partnering with them).

Thinking more about downsides, I’ll add:

1. January is cold. It was below 20 degrees most days, and single digits a few. Fortunately there wasn’t much wind, but definitely not bluebird conditions.
2. Japanese people are short. I’m a little under 6 feet, but almost hit the top of my head on some door frames. Seats and furniture are several inches below what you’d expect. The non-detachable lifts punished my calves. And legroom on public transportation is limited.
3. They don’t speak English everywhere.
4. More authentic Japanese food isn’t for everyone. You really need to like raw seafood and umami flavors.
5. Japanese are polite to a fault. Even when lift lines developed, they’d board groups of one or two people per chair or gondola. I’ve encountered Coloradans who would lose their sh!t at the inefficient seating.
6. They still follow NPIs for covid - hand hygiene, masking, distancing were expected most indoor places.
7. The best skiing is technically out-of-bounds. You have to be confident skiing on non-maintained slopes. While avalanche risk was low (I checked before venturing too far), if you became lost or injured, rescue is your responsibility.

Tl;dr Snow is all that really matters. Both Niseko and Rusutsu have a lot. Accordingly, Japan is now my favorite ski destination.

Sounds amazing! How much was the flight from HI? I might have to visit the in-laws and press on to Japan. Which island are you on again?

It was pretty pricey. $1300/ticket. For comparison, a non-stop to Denver or Salt Lake used to be $700-900, though fares have been around a grand lately.

ETA we’re on Oahu

 

[Terminalxylem]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

having been, would you rent skis next time? i've thought that if i ever went overseas to ski, i would bring my boots and nothing else.

side bar: just booked yuki yama in PC and my buddy is joining us! he's my kid's godfather. so stoked!! first week in march.

Good question. If the conditions we experienced are typical (seems like it), I’d prefer to ski 120+ underfoot. Also would be great not to lug my ski bag.

I’ll be in Park City the second week in March. And I have an Epic Pass, but promised the buddy passes to my friend and her two daughters. Having seldom used them, I don‘t know how many we have though. Any idea?

YukI Yama is great. Last time we were stars-struck by a celebrity seated a couple tables over… William Katt, the greatest American hero himself!

What are your PC dates? We are there 3/4-3/12

loved that show

3/9-16. Once your friend meets his untimely demise, maybe I can ditch my wife with our friend/daughters, if you need a ski buddy?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

having been, would you rent skis next time? i've thought that if i ever went overseas to ski, i would bring my boots and nothing else.

side bar: just booked yuki yama in PC and my buddy is joining us! he's my kid's godfather. so stoked!! first week in march.

Good question. If the conditions we experienced are typical (seems like it), I’d prefer to ski 120+ underfoot. Also would be great not to lug my ski bag.

I’ll be in Park City the second week in March. And I have an Epic Pass, but promised the buddy passes to my friend and her two daughters. Having seldom used them, I don‘t know how many we have though. Any idea?

YukI Yama is great. Last time we were stars-struck by a celebrity seated a couple tables over… William Katt, the greatest American hero himself!

What are your PC dates? We are there 3/4-3/12

loved that show

3/9-16. Once your friend meets his untimely demise, maybe I can ditch my wife with our friend/daughters, if you need a ski buddy?

duuuuude!! we've got to ski together on 3/10 or 3/11 i'm going to do PC one of those days, the rest of the trip will be at DV my wife and daughter will there too. wife recreational green/blues. daughters rips with me. at the very least a beverage in PC. we're staying on main st, across from yuki yama

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Getting ready for the flight back home, after a 3-day weekend in Rusutsu. It‘s a lesser known resort (to Westerners), about an hour from Niseko.

Initially, our hotel suggested we take a shuttle service between resorts, at 12,000 yen (~$90) apiece. That seemed kinda pricey to me, so I looked at the details: the fare included round-trip transportation + lift tickets, neither of which we needed. But there wasn’t a one-way, ticketless option, at least with this company. With a little internet sleuthing, I discovered a local bus line. The fare was only 1400 yen, so we decided to chance public transportation.

As a reminder, we were in the midst of a 2+ foot blizzard. Waiting outside any length of time in that weather wasn’t fun, but we needed to board early, to ensure our bulky baggage could make the trip. Compounding the problem, everything in Japan is kinda undersized, at least by American standards. Luckily, the bus wasn’t very full, so we had time to shoehorn our snow-covered bags and sit in the back, causing minimal obstruction for the handful of other passengers. We also had to figure out a transfer in an area where English translation wasn’t readily available. Miraculously, we ended up on the correct route.

I‘ve never driven a bus through a blizzard, but our driver was up for the challenge. You could feel the wheels slipping frequently though, including a couple times he needed to back up and rock the tires over mounds of snow. I tried not to look too closely when when appeared to be careening towards another driver, or snow drift. To his credit, we arrived at our hotel only a few minutes late.

The hotel was a multi building complex, which included a convention center and amusement park, replete with a carousel, “dancing” water fountain and bizarre “Oktoberfest” restaurant, from which an endlesstrack of polka emanated. There were also a ton of teenage kids in uniforms, presumably competing in a ski competition. It felt kinda chaotic, like an alpine themed Disneyworld. While friendly, the front desk staff weren’t nearly as proficient with English as the crew in Niseko. As a result, we wandered around for about 45 minutes before we found our room and ski locker.

Even though we were frazzled, we made it out to ski for a couple hours. The snow was decent, though a little crustier than Niseko. The mountain seemed small as well. Oh well, the resort included two bigger peaks across the street, accessible by gondola. We’d check them out tomorrow.

But they also had night skiing !!!!!! Annnnnnd just like every night skiing locale the US, the slopes were empty. Seriously, who the he!! wants to lap a few groomers in frigid nighttime temperatures? IDGI

The next morning we tried a Japanese “set” menu breakfast. There was no translation for its contents; I didn’t recognize at least half of the included foods. Mostly salty, fishy, slimy stuff. Probably a lot more authentic than prior meals, and not nearly as tasty. At least it was included with the stay.

After nearly continuous overnight snowfall, everything was blanketed with over a foot of fresh powder. And the two other peaks are much bigger than West Mountain, which we skied the first day. A couple gondola rides later, we were at the summit of isola, the largest of the three.

Rusutsu is known for tree skiing. It’s easy to see why. Like Niseko, the in-bounds area only includes cleared, open areas, even though the slopes are covered in perfectly spaced glades between named trails. But unlike Niseko, the off-piste always funnels perfectly to the lifts. So it’s easy to explore the mountains.

And explore we did. Tree run, after run, after run. Perfectly spaced, with an occasional partially fallen, snow-laden tree arch, to break up the monotony of alpine bliss. And like Niseko, the snow kept replenishing, so tracks were nearly always fresh. After day 1, there was no crust, just unending deep, fluffy goodness. Even though it was cold and visibility was limited, the skiing was as good as any I’ve experienced. Just awesome…I‘m campaigning to come back later this season.

So to recap:

1. Both resorts have awesome snow, and plenty of it. Bring powder skis.
2. Groomed runs are limited. Regardless of the mountain, off-piste is the place to be.
3.Niseko‘s side country is a bit more complicated, requiring some hiking.
4. The trees in Rusutsu are unrivaled.
5. Niseko is a pretty modern, western-friendly ski town. Rusutsu seems geared toward Japanese families (though this may be changing, as Vail is partnering with them).

Thinking more about downsides, I’ll add:

1. January is cold. It was below 20 degrees most days, and single digits a few. Fortunately there wasn’t much wind, but definitely not bluebird conditions.
2. Japanese people are short. I’m a little under 6 feet, but almost hit the top of my head on some door frames. Seats and furniture are several inches below what you’d expect. The non-detachable lifts punished my calves. And legroom on public transportation is limited.
3. They don’t speak English everywhere.
4. More authentic Japanese food isn’t for everyone. You really need to like raw seafood and umami flavors.
5. Japanese are polite to a fault. Even when lift lines developed, they’d board groups of one or two people per chair or gondola. I’ve encountered Coloradans who would lose their sh!t at the inefficient seating.
6. They still follow NPIs for covid - hand hygiene, masking, distancing were expected most indoor places.
7. The best skiing is technically out-of-bounds. You have to be confident skiing on non-maintained slopes. While avalanche risk was low (I checked before venturing too far), if you became lost or injured, rescue is your responsibility.

Tl;dr Snow is all that really matters. Both Niseko and Rusutsu have a lot. Accordingly, Japan is now my favorite ski destination.

Sounds amazing! How much was the flight from HI? I might have to visit the in-laws and press on to Japan. Which island are you on again?

It was pretty pricey. $1300/ticket. For comparison, a non-stop to Denver or Salt Lake used to be $700-900, though fares have been around a grand lately.

ETA we’re on Oahu

1200 for me out of lax. man i'd love to do it!

 

[Terminalxylem]

Just finishing up 6 days in Niseko.

The trip had a rocky start. The flight on ANA was great - two meals, conspicuously attractive flight attendants, and so empty my wife and I were each given a row to ourselves. But we mistimed the customs line, and unbeknownst to me, we only had a short layover before our connecting flight to Hokkaido (my wife purchased the tickets, and failed to share the itinerary).

We were the last to claim our luggage, which was sitting on the ground next to the carousel. The moment I grab my ski bag, two additional (cute) ANA employees appear. Speaking minimal broken English, they motion us to hurry through the domestic baggage check, waving us past the line. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough though, as the women then grabbed our bags and started running through the terminal. But my packed ski bag is exactly 50 pounds, and the maximum length allowed without incurring extra fees. The attendant probably weighed 80 pounds, and was wearing heeled shoes more suitable for a date than running. Not a good match. After she almost falls turning a corner, I reclaim my bag, my wife and I run to the train, and continue the sprint to our gate.

Unfortunately, we just missed the final call. So we needed to reschedule our flight. Luckily, there were seats on a later flight that day, and we had planned on staying a night in the Hokkaido airport hotel anyway. In the end, we only ended up arriving a couple hours late to check in.

The next morning we ate a huge, free buffet. It had traditional Japanese food like salmon, pickled vegetables and miso soup, along with Western “comfort” breakfast foods - bacon and eggs, potatoes, etc., and a bunch of salads and pastries. There were probably 30 different foods to choose from, far from the typical continental breakfasts you get stateside. They required mask wearing when not eating, and gave us a set of gloves to minimize contamination of the serving spoons/tongs.

We then caught a ~2 hour shuttle to Niseko proper. Midway there we stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom, a gourmet grocer on the side of the highway. They had hot food to order, similar to a street market, plus an odd assortment of meticulously packaged fruits/veggies, anime themed desserts and you guessed it, a ton of mushrooms, prepared in every way imaginable. With only a 15-minute break, we hurriedly grabbed some strawberries, grapes and chocolates. No idea what 90% of the mushrooms were, so we abstained from their signature item (I don’t like mushrooms anyway).

Arriving mid-day at the resort, I was anxious to sample the slopes. So we geared up and boarded the gondola. As we took our warm up runs on the groomers, I heard and felt a familiar sensation - hard packed, icy snow. On the sides of runs were bulletproof moguls, and occasionally balls of ice studded the slopes. No bueno. After graduating to the Rockies decades ago, I began to experience a little East coast skiing PTSD. So much for the vaunted “Japow“…well, at least there was snow in the forecast the next few days. It was only supposed to be a few cm, but I was hopeful when I went to bed to a gentle snowfall.

Holy cr@p, what a difference a day made. A ”few” cm ended up being 25, then 20 the following day, and a handful the next. But they weren’t using optimistic gauges, or measuring wind-loaded areas (I‘m talking to you, Brekenridge). With a five minute traverse to the gated side country, I was constantly up to my boot tops, and sometimes knee- or waist-deep, ethereal powder. And the lines would fill as soon as they were made, so I skied what felt like first tracks the next 3+ days. With spruce(?) trees holding gobs of snow, and ”pillows” blanketing the rocky slopes, it looked exactly like the Japanese ski videos. Just super, exhausting fun.

The final two days were partially sunny, which was a nice reprieve from prior ones, where visibility was often poor. But it still wasn’t tough to find untracked pow. I was much more limited by my legs, and saving some runs with wife (she prefers to stay in bounds).

So for a quick recap, the highlights:

1. Awesome, light snow, and plenty of it.
2. Great food - we had ramen, tapas, Indian food, pizza and izakaya, all excellent. Didn’t have time for the taco stand next to hotel though. The sake, shochu, cocktails and deserts were also exceptional.
3. Private Onsen with my wife - a clothing-prohibited, hot spring bath.
4. Interesting cultural experience, with shockingly courteous locals.
5. Reasonable prices (exchange rate is good) and no tipping expected.

The only downside, and this is a stretch, is the terrain. They don’t have a lot of steeps. But it doesn’t matter, as the snow conditions more than made up for any shortcomings. I use an all-mountain ski that is 109 underfoot, but after a day, my quads and abs were begging for something bigger.

The lifts are are eclectic mix of rusted, non-detachable chairs, including several single seaters, ultra modern detachable, multi seaters with heated seats/weather “bubbles”, and a handful of gondolas.

TL;DR. Japan is an incredible place to ski, and should be on every snow lovers short list. It’s arguably my favorite ski destination already, and I still have 3 more days at nearby Rusutsu, with a blizzard promising another 2 1/2 feet of snow raging as I type.

Thank you! I’ll take any more info that you might like to share.

What else would you like to know?

ETA One other highlight: on-mountain bidets, with heated seats!

having been, would you rent skis next time? i've thought that if i ever went overseas to ski, i would bring my boots and nothing else.

side bar: just booked yuki yama in PC and my buddy is joining us! he's my kid's godfather. so stoked!! first week in march.

Good question. If the conditions we experienced are typical (seems like it), I’d prefer to ski 120+ underfoot. Also would be great not to lug my ski bag.

I’ll be in Park City the second week in March. And I have an Epic Pass, but promised the buddy passes to my friend and her two daughters. Having seldom used them, I don‘t know how many we have though. Any idea?

YukI Yama is great. Last time we were stars-struck by a celebrity seated a couple tables over… William Katt, the greatest American hero himself!

What are your PC dates? We are there 3/4-3/12

loved that show

3/9-16. Once your friend meets his untimely demise, maybe I can ditch my wife with our friend/daughters, if you need a ski buddy?

duuuuude!! we've got to ski together on 3/10 or 3/11 i'm going to do PC one of those days, the rest of the trip will be at DV my wife and daughter will there too. wife recreational green/blues. daughters rips with me. at the very least a beverage in PC. we're staying on main st, across from yuki yama

As my wife loves meeting random dudes from the internet, I’m sure we can work something out. Our friend and daughters are only there part of the time, and we have Ikon as well, so wouldn’t mind a day or two at DV either.

 

[massraider]

https://www.reddit.com/r/snowboarding/comments/10m3ohm/sometimes_you_gotta_just_let_it_all_out/

Just some dude shredding some gnarly pow pow

 

[DA RAIDERS]

couple of weeks ago when i was there. this is one my favorite runs at mammoth https://www.tiktok.com/@mammothmountain/video/7185657758715383086

love love me some chair 22

eta: this is not me. but i hit that line all the time. minus the cliff drop. i did it once about 30 years ago.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

anyone have an epic pass? looking for some buddy passes for PC. my friend boards so DV is out. but i think he's going to give skiing a go. he last skied 30ish years ago. what could go wrong?

Yep, Epic pass holder here. PM me.

 

[massraider]

couple of weeks ago when i was there. this is one my favorite runs at mammoth https://www.tiktok.com/@mammothmountain/video/7185657758715383086

love love me some chair 22

eta: this is not me. but i hit that line all the time. minus the cliff drop. i did it once about 30 years ago.

Man, when he split those trees toward the end there, I yelled in excitement for him. So cool.

I was sending some vid links to my bro, who lives in LA about 18 months now, and he's getting me out to Mammoth this spring sometime. I haven't ridden west coast in about 4 years!