Hanazano Powder Day!

As good as it gets with the boys in Japan...

Japan Days

Before the snow flies...

Japan Fun 2

Thought everyone you could use a little Japan break from work.

Cheers

Faceshot - Version 2

Antiquing

As they say, all good things must come to an end.  It was another amazing trip to what easily has become my favorite ski resort away from home.  It's not only because of the snow but because of the locals, the food, the volcano, terrain, etc... The trip started out strong with a surprise snow storm that left up to a foot of the fresh stuff on the highest slopes.  It was a great intro to the resort for the new guys.  We didn't get anything new for a few days and although it had us worried, we found plenty to do/eat/drink.  The last day of skiing was by far the best and as good or better than any single day we experienced the last time we were here.  I think we posted a comment during the previous trip stating that if we only could ski one good day out there it would have been worth the journey.  Well that pretty much sums up our last day.  The video shows some of the highlights.  Can you guess what movie soundtrack it comes from?

Thanks for following along.  It was a lot of fun again.

Snow Report

The official (as measured on my ski pole) snowfall numbers:

condo at the base of the mountain: 6"

mountain average: 11"

upper Hanazono bowl where we did 4 laps and where the photos below were taken: 14"

A truly amazing day with some great guys. Saturday was a wonderful way to wrap up our trip.

Niseko Haiku

 

Choking Down the Run
The Storm Has Finally Come
King Chair Number One

Fun Clip - after some noodles

Powder Day

Well, it might be better late than never. We woke up to the snow still flying and are getting geared up to do some powder run laps. We're guessing 6" of new snow, but it might be more up on the mountain. I'm sure we'll have video of good turns to post later on today.

Snow, Finally

So, after 5 days of no snow, here it comes-FINALLY. The forecast only called for 2 inches, but we'll see what ends up happening in the morning. The video shows the snowfall and pans up to the resort. We're about a 500' walk to the gondola, and then the skiing starts.