**Edit Jan 2020... I'm glad we didn't go this season.. Worst snowfall in many years!! There will always be nice dumps in Feb, but that no base thing, its a concern.
**Edit Oct 2020.. Covid hey.....
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The 4 resort view from the uppermost chairlifted part of Happo One, Sonei Happoike Hut. about 1100m higher than the valley for the altitude nerds, and 1900m overall above sea level.
One of the many pictures from 2016, THE YEAR WINTER FORGOT TO ARRIVE IN HAKUBA!
This was our 3rd, and longest trip to date, almost 6 weeks,
Spring-like conditions the entire time, there were cows under the Sakka Lifts for a while there! It was really something....
We've come far enough in the snow game to know the luck of the draw with weather and conditions.... we battled our depression with adventures, saki, onsens, ate a whole lot of great food, tourist-ed hard through the surrounds, courtesy of the Penke Panke staff and van (cheap sushi place in Omachi - Kappa Sushi, major highlight), and I mentioned food yes? ohhh man the food....
The horrible, terrible conditions that year, expanded our horizons enormously, and can't be anything but a good thing, no matter how much you wanted piles of fresh snow on that long trip... in 2017, we literally dug the car out from under 2 feet of snow a lot. I'm glad we went back..!
Happo: Well, it was a picture of Happo powder (and skiers), at my home hill in Australia that got it all moving. For the first 3 trips, we stayed about 100m from the Sakka Lifts on purpose. It is huge, accessible, great vertical, and you've gotta be on it really early to get the worthy stuff. Happo taught me a lot about riding, and was my partners first ever snow experience....
Happo was our first big mountain experience, we came from 400m vertical to this thing that loomed up covered in chairlifts.
First day on the boards was 2 Jan 2013, we ran over to buy tickets and there was just noone there.. We thought we'd hit the jackpot, 10 to 20cm or so of fresh snow, and it was all ours. Japan served it out really nice that first week. We've since discovered that it was in fact very early season, and if you go then, you risk a lot of possibilities with variable conditions. ie 2016, cows at sakka in mid january.....
At the end of our trip in 2013, 26th and 27th Jan, it dumped and dumped and dumped, and all that punishment we'd taken learning how to ride our short boards in powder paid off and at that stage, those 2 days sealed the deal as far as being addicted to snowboarding went. Life changing days..
Iwatake - I have a deep love affair with Iwatake.. Its a lower altitude area..Easy to get to, Easy gondola which goes to the top of the area, and a damn good fun main run from the gondola top station and restaurant to the base. For us coming from an aussie resort, it was just so good. The panoramic view you have on a good day is stunning.
I learnt how to ride a snowboard fast here, by racing, or trying to keep up with friends down Iwatake runs. I found letting myself go and riding your speed out rather than washing off speed intentionally a very hard barrier to cross.. Pretty funny looking back.. We first experienced tree riding here, which was also great, But its way better elsewhere. Go on weekdays only and you'll always have whatever you want from the day. Everyone we take, regardless of skill level, enjoys themselves here.
On a powder day in Feb 2017, we arrived a little late after collecting a friend from Echoland, it was snowing heavily so slow driving but the crowds were spread out through the valley. Opening late that morning while the staff cleared lift stations, we were maybe 10 gondola loads back from the front of the line, and we arrive at the top to a semi circle of people stuck up to their waists in fresh stuff. The joy of riding past them on my powder board, and riding down for my first and only ever true first tracks for an entire top to bottom run... That was me done.. What else is there? Nahhhh it was rad all day.. Great day... Seriously, get the correct gear.. You'll be pleased.
Tsugaike Kogen: I have no idea why we didn't go to Tsugaike the first 2 times we went to this area... Enormous, crazy good access to side country, runs so long you stop half way for a burger king, it has a burger king, good tree access in their DBD area, and I've probably had the best ever snow experiences anywhere so far here due to being up the top of the hill a few times when the Gondola is turned off due to high winds but the higher chairs are still operating... bliss .. just noone there, new snow covering your tracks, exactly what you'd go there for. We've also had it extremely crowded, very quiet.. it rained once! That certainly made the double whopper with cheese taste nicer.
Hakuba Norikura. Yeahhh. Its ok... Only went one time properly, and once on the infamous 'too much snow at cortina' day, where we accidentally ended up in Norikura and had to walk back to Cortinas lift which was over yonder a bit...
On our proper day there, we saw a nice Serow (less glam name: hairy snow goat), a funny russian man, some really nice territory beyond and higher than the resort with a few tracked rides down.
To be Continued Norikura! ..... Unless we head up towards Myoko.. then seeya later Norikura!
Hakuba Cortina: First ever deep powder experience was here, around the 6th day of the 2013 trip. and it was one of those "why the fuck are we snowboarding" days. Lost my new gropo in an ill-thought out attachment attempt, found it again in the powder, still filming! And it was also the first day I saw very light, fine powder, blasting out of the way as I rode though it. That day had a bit of everything. Thankfully now we have suitable gear to handle something other than tough aussie conditions.
Cortina has been challenging, easy, hard as hell, and always rewarding. By far the place for tree runs. Snowfall is just different here, so if its due to snow, Cortina is worth it everytime. Some snow nerds say NW winds helps.
On a busy Sunday afternoon in 2018 when we escaped the crowds here, we had a slight car accident in Norikura Village, where a local chap in a huge American 4x4, slid down a hill and crashed into us, at a very very slow pace and us being stuck, couldn't move out of the way. He re-manoeuvred and with a snatch strap, helped us out, and we moved somewhere a bit less hairy.. It was a 3 hour wait for the Police, which is standard for Japanese incidents, and it was all done with, flat batteries in cameras and phones, no pens, no lights, no food or drink, BUT, I did have my driving folder with International Licence, Passport, etc in it. No matter what happens in a Japanese accident, without good language skills, you are simply not going to come off better than the local. I wish I'd had a phone charger and multiple copies of my passport and International licence, as all of this happening in a blizzard, it took an extra hour trying to get into a nearby hotel to use a photocopier, all at the behest of the young policemans motions and gestures. Both Policeman, and the other driver, were extremely polite, and we shared a good pat on the back when we finally left...We stopped riding at 330pm, got home at 8pm and ate like maniacs!!!!