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Absolute Madness

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:09:31 +0000

Well its been an amazing couple of days,the people in village are saying there has been at least 150 cm ,they are all out shoveling hard.I will try and post some pics when they come to hand,as they say no friends on a powder day and its just been too good to muck around with a camera.Andy has returned back to Australia so I will be trying to keep you all updated on conditions here in town.Cheers for now Rob

Nozawa Onsen Snow Report

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:57:43 +0000

Yesterday and todays snow report. Very cold and windy but today is beautifully fine.

Warning from me: I stupidly got myself into serious trouble yesterday going under a rope. I thought I was going into an area that I knew really well, but I made one very bad decision and ended up way out of bounds at the top of a cliff with no way down.

At the top of the cliff the slope was very steep and snow very unstable. I could easily have fallen and died. From the top of the cliff it took me 4 hours to climb out up very steep slopes through waist to neck deep powder and I only made it out to the edge of the ski area completely exhausted just on darkness. On the way back up I thought I would never make it out and probably die of hypothermia.

When I got out I realised how lucky I was to be alive and felt extremely grateful for my life and everyone in it. I also felt terribly stupid for risking it all so lightly. On top of that, I realised the trouble I had caused for the resort and those waiting for me not knowing whether I was just lost or had fallen and injured myself or even gotten buried in an avalanche. I’m extremely sorry that my stupid action caused so much unnecessary work and worry.

Please let my stupidity be a lesson for you, if you are in the snow this season follow the rules and stay safe. Have a great day and take a moment to think about how great it is to be alive!

Nozawa Onsen welcomes in the new year

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:58:47 +0000

Happy new year! Last night was a great night in the village with lots of people heading up to the slopes to watch the fireworks and then move on to the shrine for Hatsumoude (first prayer of the new year). I watched the fireworks from Resort Inn Toemu and they were pretty impressive as usual! I didn’t go to the shrine at midnight but did pop by on the way back from the onsen this morning and said a little prayer for plentiful powder for the rest of the season.

Here is a little video, really just a mish mash of what I had on my phone from the last couple of days:

The forecast is looking pretty good for a couple more dumps over the next few days. A clear night with some snow tomorrow morning is forecast, and then perhaps a good dump over Wednesday night. It has been a busy weekend at the Resort, but things should quieten down a bit from tomorrow.

We have had a great bunch of people in at the lodge and I will miss everyone who is leaving tomorrow! Thanks a lot for helping us kick off the season in a great way. We will be quiet for a few days and then things will pick up in the lead in to Fire Festival.

Rachel, Yuka and Andy at dinner

Nabe party at Resort Inn Toemu

Nozawa Onsen clears a little…

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:27:55 +0000

Well the huge storm of 2011, as it will come to be known, has just about drawn to a close. It has been a doozy! Yesterday was a cracker of a day on the mountain. Not nearly as busy as this time last year, great snow, and good visibility. The trees on Yamabiko are pretty much filled in and ready to go.

It has been a wild few days and anyone who had a chance to get up the mountain would have had an absolute blast.

The new years season is typically a busy time of year in Nozawa, probably the second busiest time on the resort (after the long weekend in February). This year has been nothing like it, with yesterday being little busier than your average weekend. According to taisho at Hamacho sushi, Japanese are staying in and saving money. It is probably too early to tell what the tsunami has had on foreign visitor numbers, but apparently Singaporean and SE asian visitor numbers are already noticeably down. Anything you add to the local economy with your Japan ski trip is a valuable contribution – think of it as guilt free powder snow!

Huge snowstorm continues

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:47:07 +0000

It was another day of massive snow in Nozawa Onsen. We had perhaps another 50cm or so to wade through on the driveway this morning, evidence of the massive front that has hit and delivered on the warning of 90cm of snow in 24 hours (and then some!)

Driving out of the village was a hairy trip, graders working both ways up and down between Nozawa and Togari station could barely keep up with the carnage, and in places the snow was ankle deep with plenty of fresh on the sides. Massive banks have formed and it now looks inevitable that the roof at Resort Inn Toemu will need to be cleared, a massive and snowboard time stealing task. Such is life in a mountain village which happens to get hit by huge storms pretty regularly!

Here is some action from today, really it’s just more stupid piles of snow:

Another day, another 50cm

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 01:08:08 +0000

Hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday! This is yesterdays report, can pretty much assure you that todays will look much the same apart from the lack of blue skies. It’s still snowing hard. There is a heavy snow warning in place at the moment, with 90cm expected between 6pm last night and 6pm today. Fantastic conditions for those who like it steep and deep, stuck/buried/digging will be words of the day for those new to the joys of powder snow.

Really amazing conditions, brush is getting buried at a fantastic rate and the town looks picture perfect with pillows and marshmellows everywhere. Nozawa Onsen is not a bad place to be.

Santa comes to Nozawa Onsen

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:30:31 +0000

Today we woke up to a huge drift of snow on the driveway, which was quite unexpected with only light snow falling throughout the day. It was cloudy in the village but as we took the gondola up in the morning a bluebird was unveiled, and conditions were nothing short than fantastic. Here is a short video from today on the mountain. Have a happy and safe Christmas!

Nozawa Onsen Snow Report – 23 December

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:02:27 +0000

Last night snow was falling lightly from early in the evening, it must have picked up somewhat overnight as we awoke to around 10cm of fresh snow. It continued to fall consistently throughout the day and we are expecting more over the next few days – with a big fall over the weekend.

Crowds were light for the emperors birthday, a public holiday in Japan. Foreigners were also few and far between, it will be interesting to see how the numbers finish up as the season develops.

A little bit chopped up but I managed the first bottomless turns of the season down Grand Prix.

Interesting options at the new Nagasaka Gondola terminal restaurant

Nozawa Onsen Snow Report

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:59:03 +0000

Today was a day of preparation for us with guests beginning to trickle into the village (unfortunately no sliding yet), and it seemed to be the same for many villagers as well. The relatively fine weather was a blessing for most and a lot of roof shovelling and driveway clearing took place. Some moderate snow is expected overnight and then the weekend is looking ominous for a big dump. They call it a “Kurisumasu Kanpa”, a big low system that seems to roll through every year like clockwork at around Christmas . From Saturday evening strong norwesters and heavy snow are expected to blow through and by the end of it all we should have a resort that is open and ready to rip from top to bottom.

Back in Nozawa Onsen

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:19:21 +0000

Having no snow tyres for the drive up to Nozawa Onsen, today was one of the very few days that I have ever hoped for no snow. After several days of consistently heavy snow today dawned fine and it made for a very nice drive up. After a few years of very lean Decembers as well as a warm December forecast at the beginning of the month it was a fantastic site to see snow banked up all the way into the village. The rice paddy opposite the entrance to Toemu even has a decent pillow forming on it – a very good showing for this time of year.

After a slightly worrying start we have great coverage for this time of year

Tomorrow should also be fine, with more snow expected to come in later in the evening and stick around for quite a while. If you are ever lucky enough to score powder in December, it sticks to the contours of the terrain and makes for really fun riding – with little competition for fresh tracks.

From Saturday we will see crowds slowly increase in the lead up to new years. A lot of local resorts have had good snow and unlike the past few lean seasons, hopefully this year the masses won’t be forced to pile into Nozawa and the other big resorts.