Training Log Archive: revy

Last day in Japan - only 20cm overnight today:(

Actually had a few breaks in the clouds and could see the volcano a few times. They were short lived thought and spent most of the day touring in foggy conditions with occasional snow. Our last destination was probably our best - Mt Shiribetsu. The main peak is now used for helie-skiing but the west peak is a popular touring destination. Our first run was through nicely spaced trees but the wind had moved the snow to other aspects so not super deep. Second run was excellent into a gulley feature and onto the apron of the gully. Third run was around the uptrack (the ridge between the drainages is broad and an easy climb). Last run I took us down the SW side - had to dodge a few glide cracks. In the fog I missed the opening I was aiming for but still found some good skiing. Nice day to end the trip.

C • Cool trip! 3

Another day, another 40cm of snow. Unfortunately today's snow was a little heavier again and came with some wind so the skiing was a bit harder. Drove out to Niimi Onsen which was unfortunately closed. Checked out a few zones I had scoped on the aerial photos. Some nice terrain but shortish runs. Wind was howling and generally not very pleasant out there so didn't stay out for long.

More snow... another 40cm overnight and snowing heavily though the day. The objective today was Chisenpurri however the wind was once again howling above treeline so we skipped the last hundred meters and backtracked to Nitonpurri. This zone was excellent with 250-350m runs of moderate pitch. The snow was also excellent with a foot of soft snow over a supportive lower layer. Skied four runs - if the snow is good you should take advantage:) The post-ski onsen at Goshiki Onsen was very nice.

Big powder dump in Niseko... some of the group went to the ski hill while the rest wanted to tour. We drove to Yotei (more white knuckle driving) and headed up from the south side. The track was in so we went at a pretty stready pace. Near treeline the wind started blowing rather fierce and the temperature was miserable so we ripped skins and headed down. The snow was soft but not very steep. Most volcanoes aren't that steep on the lower slopes... the upper slopes would be better but they are usually poor snow conditions. I wonder if other approaches have better terrain? Overall I am not sure I would head back unless for a summit attempt.

A bit of a short day with various challenges... we left Sapporo with Niseko as our next destination however had a planned stop in Kiroro. The weather was horrible and the drive was pretty challenging with low visibility. Upon arrival I realized that our plan to avoid the official resort backcountry gates would not work as our planned approach had signs saying we were entering private property and to use the resort gates... after our previous police encounter we were not keen to push our luck (and found our afterwards that sometimes the resort would put wheel locks on cars). Given the poor weather and the wrench in our plans deciding what to do next seemed challenging. In the end James, Courtney, Atsuko and I went touring off the resort (a helpful staff person told us how to avoid having to buy a lift ticket but still make it up to the official gate). The rest of the crew went resort skiing. Weather was very cold and windy with continued snow. Trailbreaking was tedious... unforunately the snow was upside down and the upper layers were a little slabby. The terrain was manageable in terms of risk so found some nice terrain to ski. Steeper was better but didn't want to push things to hard. The girls left after one run while James and I went up for another lap. The skiing was challenging due to the deep snow and required bigger/faster turns than usual. Still got some good turns in - not sure it was worth the frozen face when walking into the wind;) Fun day despite the challenges.

Great skate ski at Takino Snow Park in Sapporo with Courtney, Atsuko and James. Very nice to do a different activity and skate skiing is so rhythmic and somehow soothing. Interesting to see how high the sasa grass is (lower snowpack here). The trails were very nice with some longer steady climb initially and then rolling terrain for the latter half.

Tokachidake area - this region is popular for touring (no lifts) and the potential for some great alpine tours exists. Unfortunately the weather was again cloudy (though we got some partial views of the big peaks) and shortly after leaving the parking lot the snow started...

Parking lot was full which was a shock after a couple quiet days - kind of like Rogers Pass though like Rogers Pass once we left the parking lot everyone dissipated in various directions. It may have helped I took us beyond the usual ski zone on Furanodake to the next shoulder. Found lots of untracked snow - fun skiing in open trees. Snow was deep but could feel a hard layer underneath at times. Finished with a nice soak in the onsen nearby.