35 replies to this topic

[Metabo Oyaji]

It may not get as much attention as the Hokkers, Hakkers and Nozzles of the world, but one thing Fukushima is getting is... snow!

Gran Deco got 22 cm today, and has announced it is (partially) opening Wednesday, Dec. 1st. Minowa has also announced it will "pre-open" that day.

Nekoma got 15 cm, and is currently planning to open Saturday, Dec. 4th.

ALTS and Inawashiro have pretty pictures to show, but are not opening yet.

Go Fukushima!

[Gary]

Hope it keeps up - I wanna do a few days in Fukushima myself this season!

[TubbyBeaverinho]

webcam is looking good. I liked Gran Deco, a little short but a lot of fun and not so busy

[SKI]

Me too.

[nashiman]

Don't really know much about that area yet but there looks to be some good places.

On the list!

[Metabo Oyaji]

From Yamanashi, it would not be an easy trip crossing Tokyo to go north. But hey, you have Nagano in your backyard!

[nashiman]

Yes I was just looking at that.

Shucks. Never mind, I suppose I'll have to make do with Nagano....

[thursday]

you'd do fine. It's bottomless there.

[Metabo Oyaji]

Looked grim going into the weekend with the big rain on Friday, but a Friday night dump let Gran Deco re-open the #1 quad on Saturday. Cold and windy, but a decent, if thin, layer of fresh snow made for some good, fast runs:




Sunday warmed up above freezing, bringing spring skiing conditions -- and huge crowds. One of the employees said it had not been that crowded since the ski boom years. The gondola and #2 quad opened, which took some of the load off, but all the good skiing was off the #1 quad, so the lines there never shrank. The conditions off the #2 quad were distinctly Welsh-looking (I think I spotted MikePow there ), and the upper Akadeko Course was completely worn out by the end of the day.
Upper Akadeko Course (#2 quad):

Lower Center Course (#1 quad):


Got two days of good thigh-burning action in, which will probably have to hold me until the new year.

The Center Course was apparently still hanging in there by a hair on Monday, but could desperately use the next round of snow fall.

Minowa was also open that weekend, though didn't visit.

[Jynxx]

Good to see you have been out there.
Indeed that´s fresh snow, and looks ok. Thanks for the pics !
Crowded !

[cucumber-farmer]

Good to get out there I'm sure, stubbly or not!

[nashiman]

You been out again since then Metabo-san?

[TubbyBeaverinho]

Gran Deco seems to be faring up well on the web cams

[Metabo Oyaji]

Haven't been out since then, but planning to hit Adatara Kogen tomorrow, which will be a new place for me.

You been out yet, nashiman?

Plan then to head back to the area in two weeks. Haven't decided where to go yet. The webcam does look good, Tubby, though I may also try somewhere new.

[Gary]

Was hoping to go to Urabandai Nekoma this weekend. Anybody been there? Powder? Trees? Did Alts last year, which was pretty nice, I heard Nekoma is smaller, but caters more to advanced riders.

[Metabo Oyaji]

I went to Nekoma a couple of years ago, but it was in the middle of a late-season blizzard, windy and icy, and with a kid who had not at that point yet graduated much beyond the Family Gelaende, so did not get as much out of it as we could have. It does have a reputation for good quality powder, and I plan to give it another shot at some point. Don't know about the tree skiing there.

Interesting that it has a season about two months longer than ALTS, on the opposite side of the same ridge. Funny the way micro-climates work.

[Gary]

Thanks for the info - looks like its locked in for this Sunday! (Weather permitting - potential for some stormy weather this weekend.....)

[Metabo Oyaji]

How was Nekoma, Gary?
Any pics?

[Gary]

I really enjoyed Nekoma! It took a little longer to get there than we hoped, and they closed all the lifts at 4, so we didnt really get to ski as much as we wanted, but what we did was really good! It snowed pretty much the entire day so we had a boot-knee deep everywhere. Very few people there, particularly on the upper slopes and by the end of the day, we had entire slopes to ourselves! Especially liked the lack of ropes and plenty of opportunities to ski in fairly well spaced trees on slopes with a decent angle. Nice food, good local beer and a very nice onsen nearby! Hope to go again before the seasons out.
Pics: It was poor visibility and quite windy, so didnt really take any pics. I made one attempt while waiting for my friends stuck in the powder: this was the result, so I gave up and decided to wait for a sunny day!

Maybe I should just leave the photography to Muikabochi!

[muikabochi]

Don't say that Gary!
I'm keen to see all sorts of places that I don't know.
Is this the place that is "connected" (?) to Alts Bandai?