Hakuba, Japan 2012 Season

[_Aaron_]

Pales, when you come back just dont rub it in to much that I turned down this trip.

[llyon]

Its a Marshmallow World in Hakuba.

Jan 11

[SimB]

Looks like you're having a good time, see you in AK boys!

[Loon]

FKNA Lee your killing it. Thanks for the stoke

[pales]

High pressure today. It's nice to show up to an empty parking lot at 755 when the lifts open at 8 and it snowed 41cm the previous night. We were behind about 15 people in line, 12 of whom had carving skis and were excited for the fresh corduroy.



The wind was strong and kept us from touring as high as we would have liked. It didn't stop us from having a great day. Though the wind hurt our faces as we hiked, not much of it had hit the snow where we skied. Soft turns and double clouds were had today.





We still found lots of snow that wasn't wind affected.







The views made the good snow seem like a bonus. It's hard to have a bad day when you get to go on adventures in your own back yard.




Lee didn't give me photo credit at Unofficial Japan, so don't click on this link today.

Also Aaron, open invite next winter.

[neck beard]

Windy on Happo? Never!

You two need to get yourselves over to the Goryu cirques, south side of the ridge.

[llyon]

You two need to get yourselves over to the Goryu cirques, south side of the ridge.

Indeed we do. With my schedule and my season pass, I always seem to end up back at Happo.

[llyon]

A quick video from today. Great skiing, but a shit show in the backcountry, with some... less experienced skiers out there.



Unofficial

[neck beard]

Indeed we do. With my schedule and my season pass, I always seem to end up back at Happo.

The way you are attacking those spines n pillows n ridges ^ you really should get yourself along the Goryu ridge. Really really should. Trust me. I go there, but all that texture is just wasted on my style of limp.

[Alkasquawlik]

llyon- thanks for putting in that traverse track to the Qbert pillows. Skied the one right next to yours at the end of your edit. Nice line there. Fun day out there for sure. Didn't recognize you until I saw this from today. Thanks for sharing.

[Mike Pow]

Top notch llyon

[llyon]

Hohes - beautiful. That stuff is officially on the list.
Alka - cool little spot eh? Hope you guys are enjoying our back yard.

[ZekeWolf]

Hi guys any update? Hows the snow conditions?

[neck beard]

Good snow! Stable into the alpine, but still looking out for areas of windslab from previous wind, however the last flakes to fall fell silently and are sitting fluffy on terrain that is often much much chalkier.

Llyon probably have scored something good yesterday....

...or he was stuck inside changing beds and cleaning toilets ;0

[fattwins]

Lee has a lucky schedule cause our other staff wants to work most mornings.
Goryu might be the goal tomorrow with a day off. Wondering how badly they got hit though.

[neck beard]

Hit by what?

[ZekeWolf]

Hit by what?

what´s the amount of alltidute meter you need to tour(hiking or by Skin) in Hakuba area to get some epic rides. I know the question is a little bit akward but just to know and prepare mentally. Just want to know if its noramlly a 45 mins hike or more like 2-3 hours. Been injuried during the fall so just a little bit worried about my fitness..

[StuntCok]

Both. There is sick lines within an hour of the lift and others much farther away.

Sent from my IS11CA using TGR Forums

[Mani_UT]

First day in Happo today. Very fun although due to a dramatic lack of skiing this year my feet forgot how to fit in my dynafit. Much Pain. Ouch.
Bummer the last upper lift was close. That added 20' to the hikes! Has it been closed all year?
I only skied on the skier,s right ridges. I did not feel too comfortable hitting the left big faces solo. Was anyone riding there today?
I would not mind meeting some mags to see more lines in the next few days!
Loving it do far and stoked on the lodge too. The wife is happy, I am happy
What is the forecast for the coming days? I cannot quite figure it out.

Thanks

[neck beard]

Yes, that lift has ben shut all year. Heres a hint: unless it has been badly wind scoured, hike up the far climbers right ridge to give yourself a great view and a feel for the stability with the chance to collect visual clues, rather than humping like a chump up that steep churned shit below the closed lift - a route that offers nothing to pass the time and no chance to get a feel for conditions. Not saying you are a chump

I was on the ridge today in various places with a group of 6. I don't remember seeing a solo person, but wasn't looking back much either. Got followed by Scandis (as usual: "where does this go?"). How long you here? I'm busy for the next 5 or 6 days with work and hosting visitors.

The forecast is just a nothing period. Not a new Siberian system, not a continuation of the clear weather. Bit of warm snow, probably enough to smooth over some backcountry and hiking areas with 10cm. Starting about the 25th a new Siberian set-up will probably start to deliver big.

[llyon]

High pressure, stable snow, and low winds over the past few days have made for perfect conditions to get after some bigger lines. With this in mind, we made plans to go for Hakuba Yarigatake yesterday. Usually, lines like this are reserved for spring when snow and weather conditions become more predictable, so getting a chance at it yesterday was a real treat.




Hakuba's Big Three. Photo from Hohes, SteepDeepJapan.com
Hakuba Yari is one of Hakuba’s “Big 3″ peaks, along side Shakushi and Shirouma. It is 2903 meters (9522 feet), rising 7000 feet from the valley floor. This much vertical plus a fair few miles of approach makes this climb quite a slog.



Yari, up close. Pales photo.
The line in question. Off the summit, straight down the guts.



Sunrise over Hakuba valley. Pales photo.
Waking up early sucks, sunrises do not.



On the approach. Pales photo.
It took about 8 hours to go from the car to the summit. But with views like this, time passed quickly. We were able to skin within about 100 feet of the top.



Still on the approach. Pales photo.
We crossed out of the Daisekkei, and skinned up the snow field between Yari and Shakushi. Shakushi is incredible up close – steep, rocky spines at the top, large glide cracks beneath. It is definitely reminiscent of the Cordillera Blanca.



Last skinning shot, I promise. Pales photo.
As we approached the summit, winds increased and a high cloud ceiling began to form.



Dropping in off the summit. Pales photo.
On the summit, winds were howling and the clouds had moved in. We wasted no time in dropping in.



Turns in the middle of the face. Pales photo.
Although it was a bit disappointing that the light failed just as we reached the summit, we skied various forms of powder for the full length of the run. Our line down Yari provided nearly 5000 feet of sustained pitch. Not bad.



Still a ways to go. Pales photo.



Overall, a fun and tiring and successful day. It was the first significant summit for both Pales and I in Japan, which made this one extra sweet. Its snowing again now, so time to get back to Japow!

Also on Unofficial Japan.

[Mani_UT]

Yes, that lift has ben shut all year. Heres a hint: unless it has been badly wind scoured, hike up the far climbers right ridge to give yourself a great view.

thanks for the hint, I was only hiking to the stone marker and cutting skiers right. I need to go higher. I spent the day skiing with the lady today regardless as she wanted "powder" and I was not about to go out solo with limited visibility. I am only here for 2 more days. I'll probably hike higher up and set up a skin track possibly to just lap the top. I am also thinking about Hakuba 47 but. The map hints that out of boundary might be very limited / forbidden? Where would you go? I am really enjoying Happo one so far even with the so so conditions.

Thanks

[Mike Pow]

A real treat indeed llyon.

Sugoi.

[neck beard]

Well done.

We crossed out of the Daisekkei, and skinned up the snow field between Yari and Shakushi.

Not a criticism, but just clarifying that you appear to have Daisekkei confused with something else. By your description you didn't go near it.

By which route did you exit the range from the bottom of Yari?

Actually, I'd like to talk more with you about your route. Good stuff.

[llyon]

Sounds very likely. My knowledge of the terrain up there is limited at best. I'll trace our route on a map for you some time.