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International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2023 Hokkaido Trip Report
- Thread starter Mattadvproject
- Start date
Thread Starter
TS
Jan 7th - Back on skis and Fun-rano Time!
I had my skis and all my gear and it was time to send it! And send it we did. We stayed in Furano and I took the guys around my favorite stashes around the mountain. It was mostly blue skies in the morning and the trees were caked in white gold. It was a stunning day! We started at the Furano ropeway and bought full day tickets for 6,000 JPY ($45!) and headed up to the top using the double chair. The forecast had called for 3cm's but it was more like 30! We did a fast lap to warm up in the trees near the chair and then headed up for another run.
This time we hit up the sidecountry area out of the gate that I like to call the Diamond. It's a big steep, open face. The snow had been skied the day before but had a nice soft, fresh cover (not enough to fill in the tracks but enough to go fast and get a few faceshots). We had some nice deep turns in the trees before hitting the traverse line out above the creek and around the dam wall.
For our next run we headed back up to the top and then over to the Premium Zone. We put our skins on and were up in about 10-minutes. We stayed away from the cornice as the lemmings bootpacked directly underneath it (that happens a lot). Then we had probably the best run down along a ridge and then to a large hidden, open face. There were a couple of tracks but the snow was thigh deep and I had a lot of faceshots on my run (my POV footage was a bust as the first faceshot covered the lens and I missed the wipe).
We had some fun a a few more tree sections down to the gondola on the Kitanomine side and then headed back to the top for a couple of laps out the gate. Both laps were quality with more faceshots and we put in a more efficient traverse line out on the second lap so getting out was a breeze for the group. That took us until 2pm and we had a nice late lunch in the cafeteria (Udon noodles with beef for 1,180 JPY or just under $10).
We took the gondola up and then skied a little rugged line near the gondola to get us back to the connecting Link chair which closes at 3:20pm. We made it by 3:15pm and then skied some fun trees back down to the carpark. All in all, it had been a great day and I was so happy to have all my gear finally and start skiing and guiding the group. We had found some memorable snow and the guys were really stoked.
We finished off the day with dinner at the sushi train restaurant, again within easy walking distance (10 minutes) from our hotel. They don't have the train and random dishes running due to COVID concerns, so you just order what you want by filling out an order form and you can even write it in English using the English menus. Super easy. I had 10 nice plates and with 2 beers, that was about 3,000 JPY or $22. Tomorrow we'll hit the road and try somewhere new for the guys.....
Hope you enjoyed the adventure for today! More to come.....
- Matt
I had my skis and all my gear and it was time to send it! And send it we did. We stayed in Furano and I took the guys around my favorite stashes around the mountain. It was mostly blue skies in the morning and the trees were caked in white gold. It was a stunning day! We started at the Furano ropeway and bought full day tickets for 6,000 JPY ($45!) and headed up to the top using the double chair. The forecast had called for 3cm's but it was more like 30! We did a fast lap to warm up in the trees near the chair and then headed up for another run.
This time we hit up the sidecountry area out of the gate that I like to call the Diamond. It's a big steep, open face. The snow had been skied the day before but had a nice soft, fresh cover (not enough to fill in the tracks but enough to go fast and get a few faceshots). We had some nice deep turns in the trees before hitting the traverse line out above the creek and around the dam wall.
For our next run we headed back up to the top and then over to the Premium Zone. We put our skins on and were up in about 10-minutes. We stayed away from the cornice as the lemmings bootpacked directly underneath it (that happens a lot). Then we had probably the best run down along a ridge and then to a large hidden, open face. There were a couple of tracks but the snow was thigh deep and I had a lot of faceshots on my run (my POV footage was a bust as the first faceshot covered the lens and I missed the wipe).
We had some fun a a few more tree sections down to the gondola on the Kitanomine side and then headed back to the top for a couple of laps out the gate. Both laps were quality with more faceshots and we put in a more efficient traverse line out on the second lap so getting out was a breeze for the group. That took us until 2pm and we had a nice late lunch in the cafeteria (Udon noodles with beef for 1,180 JPY or just under $10).
We took the gondola up and then skied a little rugged line near the gondola to get us back to the connecting Link chair which closes at 3:20pm. We made it by 3:15pm and then skied some fun trees back down to the carpark. All in all, it had been a great day and I was so happy to have all my gear finally and start skiing and guiding the group. We had found some memorable snow and the guys were really stoked.
We finished off the day with dinner at the sushi train restaurant, again within easy walking distance (10 minutes) from our hotel. They don't have the train and random dishes running due to COVID concerns, so you just order what you want by filling out an order form and you can even write it in English using the English menus. Super easy. I had 10 nice plates and with 2 beers, that was about 3,000 JPY or $22. Tomorrow we'll hit the road and try somewhere new for the guys.....
Hope you enjoyed the adventure for today! More to come.....
- Matt
Looks fantastic and great shots!
Have you found the forecasting sites to be accurate? I am tentatively booking to fly out tomorrow (thanks points) but a tad nervous as there isn’t much significant snow in the forecast for the next week. Big trip and would likely be solo for most of the skiing so trying to figure out if it is worth it.
Have you found the forecasting sites to be accurate? I am tentatively booking to fly out tomorrow (thanks points) but a tad nervous as there isn’t much significant snow in the forecast for the next week. Big trip and would likely be solo for most of the skiing so trying to figure out if it is worth it.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2017
- Posts
- 787
Over in Niseko it’s been two mainly firm (firm got Niseko) ski days. Yesterday was still, largely cloudless with beautiful blue skies. It was photos of Yotei and hike the peak day. We skipped the hike and instead started at Hano, snails for mid morning break at Hirafu, coffee late morning at Higashiyama, lunch there too and then back to Hirafu to finish the day. There was some skiing involved!! Indeed we had a 12 and 14 year old in tow who loved some of the easier runs tucked in the corner of lower Higashiyama (no no not those flat road ones).
Thread Starter
TS
Where are you headed? I mean a trip to Japan doesn't have to be about the skiing, if you have good conditions, then that's just a bonus in my mind.....
Thread Starter
TS
Jan 8th - Bluebird Powder Day at Kamui Ski Links
We'd had a great time at Furano the previous day but the group decided they wanted to hit the road and try somewhere new. It hadn't snowed overnight and the sun was forecast to come out and Kamui but conditions looked better in general than at Tomamu and Sahoro. We knew that Saturday had been a very busy so it would be interesting to see how much powder was left over.
It takes about an hour to get to Kamui from Furano and it's a lovely drive. We arrived around 9:30am and the carpark was half full. When we got inside to buy our tickets the line was heading up the cafeteria steps. I'd never seen it that busy before, but given Kamui is onlu 20km's from Hokkaido's 2nd largest city (Asahikawa) then it wasn't so surprising I guess. We paid 3,800 JPY (plus a 500 JPY deposit for the recharge card) for a full day ticket, so about $32. Not bad.
Our first lap we went out to the backcountry bowls. There was only a couple of tracks and we had a awesome run in the boot-top deep powder. With the sun shining through the snow-covered trees, it was a beautiful scene. We were having so much fun we got to low and had to put the skins on to regain the traverse line. The extra turns were worth it. Then came the long traverse back to the double chair. That tooks us up higher and then we did a short lap through the same area, easily finding the traverse line out.
We skied some trees on our way back to the gondola and skied a few runs in the bowl. It was getting a little tracked up but still great skiing. We had a quick stop for lunch but the cafeteria was full so we bought some steamed buns (I had a pizza bun and a curry filled bun, plus a piece of fried chicken) for 500 JPY ($3.50 and absolute bargain) and ate them in the locker room!
We had another lap in the bowls before finishing off in the trees near the chairlifts. To my surprise, they were untouched and we had probably the second best run of the day, for our last run. It was a great way to end it. We had dinner at the Yuiga Doxon curry restaurant. It was super cold in there but the food was tasty and a little different. I had the bacon and sausage Doria and that was great.
Not sure where we will go tomorrow. On the 10th we will head to Otaru and a big storm is due to hit, so our timing should be perfect. Here's the pics from the day....
- Matt
We'd had a great time at Furano the previous day but the group decided they wanted to hit the road and try somewhere new. It hadn't snowed overnight and the sun was forecast to come out and Kamui but conditions looked better in general than at Tomamu and Sahoro. We knew that Saturday had been a very busy so it would be interesting to see how much powder was left over.
It takes about an hour to get to Kamui from Furano and it's a lovely drive. We arrived around 9:30am and the carpark was half full. When we got inside to buy our tickets the line was heading up the cafeteria steps. I'd never seen it that busy before, but given Kamui is onlu 20km's from Hokkaido's 2nd largest city (Asahikawa) then it wasn't so surprising I guess. We paid 3,800 JPY (plus a 500 JPY deposit for the recharge card) for a full day ticket, so about $32. Not bad.
Our first lap we went out to the backcountry bowls. There was only a couple of tracks and we had a awesome run in the boot-top deep powder. With the sun shining through the snow-covered trees, it was a beautiful scene. We were having so much fun we got to low and had to put the skins on to regain the traverse line. The extra turns were worth it. Then came the long traverse back to the double chair. That tooks us up higher and then we did a short lap through the same area, easily finding the traverse line out.
We skied some trees on our way back to the gondola and skied a few runs in the bowl. It was getting a little tracked up but still great skiing. We had a quick stop for lunch but the cafeteria was full so we bought some steamed buns (I had a pizza bun and a curry filled bun, plus a piece of fried chicken) for 500 JPY ($3.50 and absolute bargain) and ate them in the locker room!
We had another lap in the bowls before finishing off in the trees near the chairlifts. To my surprise, they were untouched and we had probably the second best run of the day, for our last run. It was a great way to end it. We had dinner at the Yuiga Doxon curry restaurant. It was super cold in there but the food was tasty and a little different. I had the bacon and sausage Doria and that was great.
Not sure where we will go tomorrow. On the 10th we will head to Otaru and a big storm is due to hit, so our timing should be perfect. Here's the pics from the day....
- Matt
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I need to get back to Kamui; it's been quite a while since I skied there.
Thread Starter
TS
It's a great place! Just don't recommend going there on a sunny day on the weekend, it's very busy! The 4 person gondola gets crowded and there can be big lines for tickets (you can purchase a lift ticket online so you can skip that queue at least....
Oh, I'd definitely avoid weekends, been there done that 
Thread Starter
TS
I saw the first one in Furano in the Premium Zone where it normally is. It's roped off with signage. There is another one normally out the gate at the top of the Kitanomine zone. Those are the usual suspects.....
Thread Starter
TS
9th Jan - Last day in Furano
There hadn't been any fresh snow for a few days and after a busy weekends, all the local resorts were bound to be getting tracked. Furano being so big still has a lot of areas that don't get hit and as we were there already, the guys decided they wanted to take their last day at Furano. We had an aggressive start, with an immediate hike up to the Premium Zone from the Kitanomine zone. I tried skinning it for the first time and it gets pretty steep, the 10 degree riser on the Shift binding was definitely getting stretched in places. It took about 15 minutes to get to the top. Living at 8,300ft in Granby definitely is making these hikes easier. That used to be a struggle.....
We skied a great line down to the left of the line we had taken a few days previously. There was still a lot of fresh snow to be found. We skied some more trees on the way to the gondola and then headed out to the gate at the looker's right side. We did a much longer traverse and had more great snow. I saw some Sika deer (Hokkaido native deer, we had seen a ton of them on the side of the road on the way back from Kamui) in the distance and enjoyed several faceshots in their honor. Thanks deer friends!
Then we headed over to the Link lift (a 2 person chair that links, as the name suggests, Furano to Kitanomine and closes at 3:20pm) and skied a line under the lift. We headed back up and then skied next to the lift before taking a long sidecountry line down into a drainage before taking a long traverse and adventure ski back to the resort. That was a fun mix of pow, traversing along a creek, sidestepping and then creek dodging. Definitely a worthy adventure ski!
We had a nice lunch and then around 2pm, headed back up the gondola and had a fun ski through some trees on the edge of the Premium Zone. We were done by about 3pm. The guys wanted to hit up the sushi train and that place really fills up early, you need to be there by 5pm if you don't want to wait. I polished off 10 plates and a beer for 2,600 JPY or about $20. A very fair price.
Tomorrow we head to Otaru and will hopefully be skiing Sapporo Teine on the way. 5 more nights to come!
- Matt
There hadn't been any fresh snow for a few days and after a busy weekends, all the local resorts were bound to be getting tracked. Furano being so big still has a lot of areas that don't get hit and as we were there already, the guys decided they wanted to take their last day at Furano. We had an aggressive start, with an immediate hike up to the Premium Zone from the Kitanomine zone. I tried skinning it for the first time and it gets pretty steep, the 10 degree riser on the Shift binding was definitely getting stretched in places. It took about 15 minutes to get to the top. Living at 8,300ft in Granby definitely is making these hikes easier. That used to be a struggle.....
We skied a great line down to the left of the line we had taken a few days previously. There was still a lot of fresh snow to be found. We skied some more trees on the way to the gondola and then headed out to the gate at the looker's right side. We did a much longer traverse and had more great snow. I saw some Sika deer (Hokkaido native deer, we had seen a ton of them on the side of the road on the way back from Kamui) in the distance and enjoyed several faceshots in their honor. Thanks deer friends!
Then we headed over to the Link lift (a 2 person chair that links, as the name suggests, Furano to Kitanomine and closes at 3:20pm) and skied a line under the lift. We headed back up and then skied next to the lift before taking a long sidecountry line down into a drainage before taking a long traverse and adventure ski back to the resort. That was a fun mix of pow, traversing along a creek, sidestepping and then creek dodging. Definitely a worthy adventure ski!
We had a nice lunch and then around 2pm, headed back up the gondola and had a fun ski through some trees on the edge of the Premium Zone. We were done by about 3pm. The guys wanted to hit up the sushi train and that place really fills up early, you need to be there by 5pm if you don't want to wait. I polished off 10 plates and a beer for 2,600 JPY or about $20. A very fair price.
Tomorrow we head to Otaru and will hopefully be skiing Sapporo Teine on the way. 5 more nights to come!
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
10th Jan - Heading to Otaru and trying to ski Sapporo Teine
We left Furano around 8am and headed south to Otaru. On the way, we were scheduled to stop at the Sapporo Teine ski area. The forecast was for moderate snowfalls with about 7cm's of new snow. We took the toll road expressway and when we hit Sapporo it started dumping. It was snowing so hard that the freeway was shut and we had to take a side road. The snow got harder and harder and it was difficult to see. Heading up the road to the resort the road got narrower and a few times I was forced into the snowbank as the plow coming down the hill wasn't going to stop and I had no room to get over more. Exciting stuff.
We aimed for the upper lot which in hindsight, was a bad move. When we got to the lot, there was about 3ft of snow and a lot of cars were buried. There was a bus getting dug out and they waved their arms to tell us to stop. Too late..... I tried to turn around but we got caught in the snow. It wasn't much and the guys tried to push us but we were still spinning the wheels. Then we got the shovels out and started to clear tracks to a more cleared section but as we did that, a plow came and moved the snow for us. Then we could get out after a little push from the guys.
We went back down to the lower lot and Teine Olympia area and parked there. Then we walked across and a couple of American guys tried to sell us their full day tickets. That seemed odd..... there had to be a reason. Then an Aussie came over and said they had closed the upper mountain so it was just the lower stuff open and that's all greens and blues (plus very little vertical). We had some lunch to think about it and surprisingly the guys did want to ski so we bought a 4 hour ticket (one guest is over 60 and he could buy a 2 hour ticket) and then we went for some laps.
The snow was very deep, about thigh deep in places, but without any pitch, you basically came to a stop. We got our 2 hours in and then tried to continue our drive to Otaru. Unfortunately the expressway was still closed and the main road was jammed solid. We move a couple of hundred meters in about 30 minutes. This was not good! We were sitting there so I decided to get the map out and try and find another way. We ended up taking a bunch of backstreets and eventually we bypassed most of the snarl. It was crazy driving though, there was tons of snow down the side streets and a real fight not to get stuck. We came out at the last stop and had to wait about 20 minutes but then the traffic started to move and we were free!
Huzzah! The traffic on the other side of the road was not moving at all and there were several trucks blocking the road that had gotten stuck or crashed. What a mess! Thankfully we were through and mad it to our hotel. What would normally take 45 minutes (Teine to Otaru) took over 2 hours. We heard from an Australian guy the next day that he had been stuck for 7 hours and he had friends that we stuck until the early hours of the morning. Our little shortcuts had saved us a lot of time!
We checked into the hotel and then later on, headed down the road to the canal district. It's only 750m away or about a 10 minute walk. We had some beers and food at the Otaru brewery and then had a little scenic tour of the canal district and checked out some sites on the way back to the hotel. It had been a long day and the drive really strenuous, but I was happy to be back in Otaru for 5 nights and the second half of the first session.....
This was a completely setup "marketing" photo, ie. have the person ski as fast as possible into the deep powder (which was thigh deep) and then get a big faceshot. This was on a green run so you couldn't even turn, but the initial explosion into the powder made for a cool shot, but I wouldn't call this skiing.... just milking it for the camera!
A big Weiss beer at the Otaru brewery. Much needed after a stressful day....
The Otaru canal lit up at night.
- Matt
We left Furano around 8am and headed south to Otaru. On the way, we were scheduled to stop at the Sapporo Teine ski area. The forecast was for moderate snowfalls with about 7cm's of new snow. We took the toll road expressway and when we hit Sapporo it started dumping. It was snowing so hard that the freeway was shut and we had to take a side road. The snow got harder and harder and it was difficult to see. Heading up the road to the resort the road got narrower and a few times I was forced into the snowbank as the plow coming down the hill wasn't going to stop and I had no room to get over more. Exciting stuff.
We aimed for the upper lot which in hindsight, was a bad move. When we got to the lot, there was about 3ft of snow and a lot of cars were buried. There was a bus getting dug out and they waved their arms to tell us to stop. Too late..... I tried to turn around but we got caught in the snow. It wasn't much and the guys tried to push us but we were still spinning the wheels. Then we got the shovels out and started to clear tracks to a more cleared section but as we did that, a plow came and moved the snow for us. Then we could get out after a little push from the guys.
We went back down to the lower lot and Teine Olympia area and parked there. Then we walked across and a couple of American guys tried to sell us their full day tickets. That seemed odd..... there had to be a reason. Then an Aussie came over and said they had closed the upper mountain so it was just the lower stuff open and that's all greens and blues (plus very little vertical). We had some lunch to think about it and surprisingly the guys did want to ski so we bought a 4 hour ticket (one guest is over 60 and he could buy a 2 hour ticket) and then we went for some laps.
The snow was very deep, about thigh deep in places, but without any pitch, you basically came to a stop. We got our 2 hours in and then tried to continue our drive to Otaru. Unfortunately the expressway was still closed and the main road was jammed solid. We move a couple of hundred meters in about 30 minutes. This was not good! We were sitting there so I decided to get the map out and try and find another way. We ended up taking a bunch of backstreets and eventually we bypassed most of the snarl. It was crazy driving though, there was tons of snow down the side streets and a real fight not to get stuck. We came out at the last stop and had to wait about 20 minutes but then the traffic started to move and we were free!
Huzzah! The traffic on the other side of the road was not moving at all and there were several trucks blocking the road that had gotten stuck or crashed. What a mess! Thankfully we were through and mad it to our hotel. What would normally take 45 minutes (Teine to Otaru) took over 2 hours. We heard from an Australian guy the next day that he had been stuck for 7 hours and he had friends that we stuck until the early hours of the morning. Our little shortcuts had saved us a lot of time!
We checked into the hotel and then later on, headed down the road to the canal district. It's only 750m away or about a 10 minute walk. We had some beers and food at the Otaru brewery and then had a little scenic tour of the canal district and checked out some sites on the way back to the hotel. It had been a long day and the drive really strenuous, but I was happy to be back in Otaru for 5 nights and the second half of the first session.....
This was a completely setup "marketing" photo, ie. have the person ski as fast as possible into the deep powder (which was thigh deep) and then get a big faceshot. This was on a green run so you couldn't even turn, but the initial explosion into the powder made for a cool shot, but I wouldn't call this skiing.... just milking it for the camera!
A big Weiss beer at the Otaru brewery. Much needed after a stressful day....
The Otaru canal lit up at night.
- Matt
I love Otaru, used to do really cheap 3-day packages hitting Sapporo Kokusai by bus.
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2015
- Posts
- 24,967
Used to be night skiing on some cruising terrrain up at the top; not sure when they shut that down.
Thread Starter
TS
11th Jan - Mt. Notgonnatellyou
Our preferred option for skiing was shut (2nd day in a row), so we decided to keep it local and ski Mt. Notgonnatellyou, about 10 minutes from our hotel. We were there by about 8:45am and there was quite a few cars already in the car park which was a little bit of a surprise, but when you think about it, with other resorts still closed after snowmaggedon, then people were just keen to get somewhere to ski. We wouldn't have all the powder to ourselves but I was sure we could still find some good stuff.
They were a little delayed on opening but we were on the tram by about 9:15am and were second cabin up. We skied the main run next to the ropeway and it had tracks on it, but it's steep and wide-open and the GS powder turns were really fun. I think the guys were surprised by the terrain and the quality of the skiing, even with only a 300m vertical! This was going to be a good day. We headed back to the ropeway and headed up for more. I dropped into some trees for some untouched pow and the guys skied another open run.
Eventually we started hitting the trees. The lines under the ropeway and to the right were surprisingly already tracked. People were ducking ropes everywhere so we had to resort to plan b. I have a sneaky stash on the skier's left side of the mountain and no one was hitting it. I've never seen anyone skiing it before and we had it to ourselves and did many laps. That was a great zone and we had a ton of fun.
We had a lovely lunch in the restaurant at the top of the ropeway with amazing views of the city and the ocean. Then we checked out the ski museum and the goblin mask museum, all unique and cool things to do. I think the guys appreciated how different of an experience this was. We had a few more laps and we done by about 3pm. We headed back to the hotel and around 5:30pm went out for a wonder.
I wanted to try and find a new place to eat and we had heard of a little alleyway where there were lots of little eateries with seating for 6 people or so. We found a couple of nice places, the first one we had some nice fried food and then the second one, a noodle house. The gentleman serving us the noodles was a keen snowboarder and with the help of a friendly local lady who spoke good English, we had a lovely conversation with him. Hopefully we'll be back there tonight....
- Matt
Our preferred option for skiing was shut (2nd day in a row), so we decided to keep it local and ski Mt. Notgonnatellyou, about 10 minutes from our hotel. We were there by about 8:45am and there was quite a few cars already in the car park which was a little bit of a surprise, but when you think about it, with other resorts still closed after snowmaggedon, then people were just keen to get somewhere to ski. We wouldn't have all the powder to ourselves but I was sure we could still find some good stuff.
They were a little delayed on opening but we were on the tram by about 9:15am and were second cabin up. We skied the main run next to the ropeway and it had tracks on it, but it's steep and wide-open and the GS powder turns were really fun. I think the guys were surprised by the terrain and the quality of the skiing, even with only a 300m vertical! This was going to be a good day. We headed back to the ropeway and headed up for more. I dropped into some trees for some untouched pow and the guys skied another open run.
Eventually we started hitting the trees. The lines under the ropeway and to the right were surprisingly already tracked. People were ducking ropes everywhere so we had to resort to plan b. I have a sneaky stash on the skier's left side of the mountain and no one was hitting it. I've never seen anyone skiing it before and we had it to ourselves and did many laps. That was a great zone and we had a ton of fun.
We had a lovely lunch in the restaurant at the top of the ropeway with amazing views of the city and the ocean. Then we checked out the ski museum and the goblin mask museum, all unique and cool things to do. I think the guys appreciated how different of an experience this was. We had a few more laps and we done by about 3pm. We headed back to the hotel and around 5:30pm went out for a wonder.
I wanted to try and find a new place to eat and we had heard of a little alleyway where there were lots of little eateries with seating for 6 people or so. We found a couple of nice places, the first one we had some nice fried food and then the second one, a noodle house. The gentleman serving us the noodles was a keen snowboarder and with the help of a friendly local lady who spoke good English, we had a lovely conversation with him. Hopefully we'll be back there tonight....
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
12th Jan - Another Favorite Secret Spot
Finally the place that we had been hoping to get to was open. It was forecast to be bluebird and very warm (+3 degrees celsius) and that would have a major negative impact on the pow pow. So, I suggested to the guys that we should look at doing some ski touring out to a ridge in the sidecountry where's it's quieter and has a favorable aspect. They were up for it so we took the drive to resort x and made our way to the gondola. There were plenty of Westerners with fat skis on in the queue so I knew we'd have some competition.
When we got to the top of the gondola we headed over to the gate and took the short walk to a high spot where we would ski down to an open meadow where we could transition into touring mode. There was already a skin track in so I didn't have to break trail. The skin was beautiful, with birch and fir trees caked in snow looking like the famous snow monsters of the main island. Up high the winds were ripping so we decided to give the open steep slopes above a wide birth.
The skin track deviated to the right so we would have to do a cut to the left. After an easy, low-angle climb for about 30 minutes we came to our transition point and prepared for our line to the ridge. We were the first ones out there so we would have the line to ourselves. Subarashi! It was slow going getting across the flatter section at the start but then we hit the steeper part of the ridge and enjoyed a few really nice turns. Then it was time to drop left down the steeper face and into some open trees. The line was just as awesome as I'd remembered it! The snow was a little settled from the temps and wind, but still really nice. It was untouched and we had it all to ourselves. The guys enjoyed the line a lot. We skied it all the way down to the creek bed and then we had a decision to make.
Normally after you have crossed the creek you then need to do a steep bootpack up the other side regain height to make it up to the main traverse lines back towards the resort. There was also a lower traverse which I had never done before and it was awfully exposed with a steep traverse towards an open section of the creek. I decided we should take the climb out that I was familiar with but it was really hard going. It's extremely steep and I was sinking up to my waist. It was extremely difficult to kick steps in. There were a couple of Japanese snowboarders near the creek too and they seemed lost. They saw us climbing up out of the drainage and they decided to climb out as well. They were a lot lighter than me and weren't sinking as deeply into the snow so they made a trail ahead of me. I could use their steps and the going was then a lot easier.
It took about 30 minutes to make the climb out when normally it takes about 10 minutes. With the warm temps, it was a sweat-fest and very tiring. We climbed up higher and it flattened out and it was easier to make it to the regular traverse line. Getting back to the resort was relatively easy after that. We had a nice lunch and then talked about a plan. One of the guys was keen to do it again but was open to rolling the dice on taking the lower traverse and skipping the climb out. In the meantime, I had bumped into an old friend (Ella) from NZ who I used to teach skiing with in Telluride. We chatted and she said her husband was also out skiing (he was also a good friend and ex-instructor from Telluride). It was lovely to catch up.
We headed up for another lap and as we started our skin, I looked over and saw someone else just behind us. As they got closer I could see that it was my good friend and Ella's husband Julien! Amazing! What a coincidence. We chatted and caught up and then he joined us for a lap. We made a more efficient skin track and made it more quickly to the transition point. We skied a similar line down which was still skiing really nicely as it was shaded and very north-facing. Julien had to leave us at the bottom but said that the lower traverse was good to go. It was much easier apart from one nasty spot at the start that was a small off-camber drop into a turn with an exposed creek section underneath and then a branch to quickly duck underneath. A little hairy but we made it.
That was our adventure skiing fun for the day. I had a lovely soft-served icecream back at the lodge and then we headed back to Otaru. We had a lovely dinner at a Yakitori-style restaurant right across from the hotel and then had an early night. It had been a big day, very tiring but a lot of fun!
- Matt
Finally the place that we had been hoping to get to was open. It was forecast to be bluebird and very warm (+3 degrees celsius) and that would have a major negative impact on the pow pow. So, I suggested to the guys that we should look at doing some ski touring out to a ridge in the sidecountry where's it's quieter and has a favorable aspect. They were up for it so we took the drive to resort x and made our way to the gondola. There were plenty of Westerners with fat skis on in the queue so I knew we'd have some competition.
When we got to the top of the gondola we headed over to the gate and took the short walk to a high spot where we would ski down to an open meadow where we could transition into touring mode. There was already a skin track in so I didn't have to break trail. The skin was beautiful, with birch and fir trees caked in snow looking like the famous snow monsters of the main island. Up high the winds were ripping so we decided to give the open steep slopes above a wide birth.
The skin track deviated to the right so we would have to do a cut to the left. After an easy, low-angle climb for about 30 minutes we came to our transition point and prepared for our line to the ridge. We were the first ones out there so we would have the line to ourselves. Subarashi! It was slow going getting across the flatter section at the start but then we hit the steeper part of the ridge and enjoyed a few really nice turns. Then it was time to drop left down the steeper face and into some open trees. The line was just as awesome as I'd remembered it! The snow was a little settled from the temps and wind, but still really nice. It was untouched and we had it all to ourselves. The guys enjoyed the line a lot. We skied it all the way down to the creek bed and then we had a decision to make.
Normally after you have crossed the creek you then need to do a steep bootpack up the other side regain height to make it up to the main traverse lines back towards the resort. There was also a lower traverse which I had never done before and it was awfully exposed with a steep traverse towards an open section of the creek. I decided we should take the climb out that I was familiar with but it was really hard going. It's extremely steep and I was sinking up to my waist. It was extremely difficult to kick steps in. There were a couple of Japanese snowboarders near the creek too and they seemed lost. They saw us climbing up out of the drainage and they decided to climb out as well. They were a lot lighter than me and weren't sinking as deeply into the snow so they made a trail ahead of me. I could use their steps and the going was then a lot easier.
It took about 30 minutes to make the climb out when normally it takes about 10 minutes. With the warm temps, it was a sweat-fest and very tiring. We climbed up higher and it flattened out and it was easier to make it to the regular traverse line. Getting back to the resort was relatively easy after that. We had a nice lunch and then talked about a plan. One of the guys was keen to do it again but was open to rolling the dice on taking the lower traverse and skipping the climb out. In the meantime, I had bumped into an old friend (Ella) from NZ who I used to teach skiing with in Telluride. We chatted and she said her husband was also out skiing (he was also a good friend and ex-instructor from Telluride). It was lovely to catch up.
We headed up for another lap and as we started our skin, I looked over and saw someone else just behind us. As they got closer I could see that it was my good friend and Ella's husband Julien! Amazing! What a coincidence. We chatted and caught up and then he joined us for a lap. We made a more efficient skin track and made it more quickly to the transition point. We skied a similar line down which was still skiing really nicely as it was shaded and very north-facing. Julien had to leave us at the bottom but said that the lower traverse was good to go. It was much easier apart from one nasty spot at the start that was a small off-camber drop into a turn with an exposed creek section underneath and then a branch to quickly duck underneath. A little hairy but we made it.
That was our adventure skiing fun for the day. I had a lovely soft-served icecream back at the lodge and then we headed back to Otaru. We had a lovely dinner at a Yakitori-style restaurant right across from the hotel and then had an early night. It had been a big day, very tiring but a lot of fun!
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
13th Jan - Sapporo Teine
Technique day at Sapporo Teine..... the warm temps had turned all the pow to mush so we decided to ski in areas that had already been skied a lot and work on technique.
Teine has a lot of steeps and it makes for challenging yet fun skiing. There's also a lot of infrastructure from the 1972 Winter Olympics to check out and sadly a lot of abandoned lifts at the resort. It all makes for interesting viewing......
- Matt
Technique day at Sapporo Teine..... the warm temps had turned all the pow to mush so we decided to ski in areas that had already been skied a lot and work on technique.
Teine has a lot of steeps and it makes for challenging yet fun skiing. There's also a lot of infrastructure from the 1972 Winter Olympics to check out and sadly a lot of abandoned lifts at the resort. It all makes for interesting viewing......
- Matt
