SR : HokkaidOH! 2013/14

[gaijin]

For a dude that posts consistent stoke the hate is lame! Keep it up mike its 17C here in Tirol and we hit maybe 50% of our average this year so for the rest of us keep the deep snow and food coming!

I think some of the (very mild) hate was quite contrary to classic maggot etiquette. These posts have been left alone year after year for so long it must be some sort of record. This forum is generally pretty dirty requiring a pretty thick skin.

I just think those of us who are chiming into this thread recently see so much more opportunity for those that are definitely already smiling.


Keep it up, Mikepow! There will always be more fun to be had. That's skiing. It gets more and more fun every day every year. Ask Glen Plake when his best day skiing was. (Everybody should know this answer.)

[Mike Pow]

DAY 105 : WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2014

5 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


A beautiful morning with clear blue skies and no wind as Ian and I drove past the Kiroro Snow World turn off (always a hard thing to do), and continued on Rt 393 down to the town of Asarigawa Onsen and Asari Snow Resort.

This was the first visit for both of us and we couldn't have picked a better day for a reconnaisance.

The cons

A long walk from the car park up a flight of stairs to the lifts
No covered lifts or foot rests. No big deal on a sunny March day. Might be different on a stormy January day
Confusingly the runs are distinguished by the colour of the lift not the difficulty level


The pros

Great small resort that skis very big
Deserted
Unbelievable views of Otaru and the ocean
Snow
Wide variety of pitch and terrain


The south facing slopes had a sun crust but the north facing slopes had 10 cm of new snow on top of a dry light base.

Blue Course - set up for race training





Red courses and terrain park





Ian at the base area with Asari dam in the background





The mirrored ski center





Ian at the top of the Purple course looking down to Otaru city and Otaru bay









Strange Town

[Mike Pow]

DAY 106 : THURSDAY 13 MARCH 2014

1 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


Another sunny start to the day at Kiroro Snow World, and after a lap in 'Walk in the Woods' to check snow conditions on the NW facing aspect I took the gondola to the top of the mountain, put on my skins, and started the easy tour to the summit of Yoichi-dake (1,488 m).

75 mins later and I was ready to drop into the large bowl directly below the summit.

Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas.

The clouds rolled in, it started snowing, and it was like skiing inside a golf ball.

I skied the hard packed ridge line down to a different gully and skied mid-thigh powder back to the Asari No. 2 Express chair.

Great tour and great skiing.

One of these days I'll manage to ski it under blue skies.

The Giro team have been in town. This is how they roll.

Deep in the Dakes

http://www.powdermag.com/stories/dee...650#72c1d27b1a



DAY 107 : FRIDAY 14 MARCH 2014

0 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


Met up with Geoff, Jayne, Chris & Robyn at Kiroro Snow World today.

They're over on holiday from New South Wales, Australia and today was their last day on snow.

They've had a week at Furano, a week at Rusutsu, and a week at Kiroro and seen all types of snow during their visit.

We started the day laying the skis over on the Nagamine groomers. Perfect conditions underfoot for letting the skis run.

But by lunchtime the snow had started and it kept coming.

15-20 cm fell during the day and we spent the afternoon skiing boot top powder on the groomers and knee deep powder in the trees.

Fabulous day skiing.

In the evening I went to Niseko Pizza to see Niseko Photography's Aaron Jamieson's presentation of his time spent on Greenland last year.

Fantastic pictures and videos of his experiences of what is a beautiful part of the world.

[Mike Pow]

DAY 108 : SATURDAY 15 MARCH 2014

4 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


'Jarch' keeps on delivering with another 20 cm overnight at Kiroro Snow World.

Ian getting deep in 'Hangman'

[Rodneyyee]

For a dude that posts consistent stoke the hate is lame! Keep it up mike its 17C here in Tirol and we hit maybe 50% of our average this year so for the rest of us keep the deep snow and food coming!

Stoke? I mean the close ups of that old lady holding a hot dog or a pretzel and the retardo back seat sliding from one side of the run to the other is classified as stoke ? I see it as an endless advertisement to and for overly compensated mid level executives and out of shape euros to come lame it up in Japan with this hack. At least he has ONE friend who knows how to turn!!!!. And the song you played was a horrible version of a song made famous by the Replacements. It does make me happy you have no idea who they are.

[Mike Pow]

And the song you played was a horrible version of a song made famous by the Replacements. It does make me happy you have no idea who they are.

I know who The Replacements are.

I was asking which tune you were referring to?

[SuperGaper]

DAY 105 : WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2014

5 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


A beautiful morning with clear blue skies and no wind as Ian and I drove past the Kiroro Snow World turn off (always a hard thing to do), and continued on Rt 393 down to the town of Asarigawa Onsen and Asari Snow Resort.

This was the first visit for both of us and we couldn't have picked a better day for a reconnaisance.

The cons

A long walk from the car park up a flight of stairs to the lifts
No covered lifts or foot rests. No big deal on a sunny March day. Might be different on a stormy January day
Confusingly the runs are distinguished by the colour of the lift not the difficulty level


The pros

Great small resort that skis very big
Deserted
Unbelievable views of Otaru and the ocean
Snow
Wide variety of pitch and terrain


The south facing slopes had a sun crust but the north facing slopes had 10 cm of new snow on top of a dry light base.

Blue Course - set up for race training





Red courses and terrain park





Ian at the base area with Asari dam in the background





The mirrored ski center





Ian at the top of the Purple course looking down to Otaru city and Otaru bay









Strange Town

Sweet, never thought I would see skiing to The Jam. Keep up the good work, my friend just got back from sking with the RMU
crew and had a great time. Legs were always cold from the waist deep powder.

[Mike Pow]

Cheers.

Great to hear your friend got the goods.

Here's another Jam classic from last season

Ian MacKenzie in red, yours truly in blue.

[DasBlunt]

Mike, everyone is jealous.

The only constructive critique is to get a a few different lady ski models, men get sick of just one.


BFD eating at a buffet in Japan?

[LightRanger]

Stoke? I mean the close ups of that old lady holding a hot dog or a pretzel and the retardo back seat sliding from one side of the run to the other is classified as stoke ? I see it as an endless advertisement to and for overly compensated mid level executives and out of shape euros to come lame it up in Japan with this hack. At least he has ONE friend who knows how to turn!!!!. And the song you played was a horrible version of a song made famous by the Replacements. It does make me happy you have no idea who they are.

You're a fucking stokeless asshat.

Mike, keep up the good work. Always dig the Wales thread too.

[BFD]

Mike, everyone is jealous.

The only constructive critique is to get a a few different lady ski models, men get sick of just one.


BFD eating at a buffet in Japan?

us and 200 Japanese people. Niseko isn't really Japan. As the Aussie described it ,Bali with snow.

[telepariah]

Tabehodai -- or Viking style. We used to go to this place called Cowboy that was all you can eat in an hour after skiing the backcountry around Sapporo Kokusai and environs. It was a feeding frenzy. The sad thing was the families who obviously ate there a lot because their kids were round--seriously round.

This thread makes me miss Hokkaido more than ever. Need to get back when I can ski, not deal with death in the family like last winter.

[Mike Pow]

Cheers DasBlunt, LightRanger, and telepariah.

[Mike Pow]

UPDATE : SATURDAY 15 MARCH 2014


At the suggestion of gaijin who feels that :

1. my students and I are missing out on a whole load of fun because we're skiing the Hokkaido powder on mid-fat shaped all mountain skis, and

2. I'm doing my students a diservice by recommending they ski on an all-mountain ski not a powder ski even though I've never skied on one,


I spent Saturday skiing Kiroro Snow World alternating between the 185 cm Line Mr. Pollard's Opus powder skis (144-118-141; r 17m) and my own Coreupt The Caspers Justin Dorey twin-tip skis (112-79-105; r 20m).

http://lineskis.com/skis/mr-pollards-opus

http://buy-ski.glisshop.co.uk/alpine...rey-21573.html


We'd had around 20-30 cm of new snow overnight on top of a thin sun crust, with various densities of powder from the week's storms beneath the crust.

The Line skis were heavier than mine (a combination of more ski and a heavier binding) and I was pleasantly surprised how capable they were pivotting, edging and carving on the groomed runs.

After a couple of laps warming up on the groomed runs and the powder on the fringes, Ian & I headed into 'Walk in the Woods' and 'Hangman' to ski the powder.

Adopting a pole planting style of skiing the Lines were very lively and responsive, popping in and out of the powder.

The platform developed quickly under the skis and they were easy to turn, both pivotting and edging.

With more ski on the snow than in the snow at the start of the turn, the acceleration in the fall line for the Line skis was markedly faster than the Coreupts, and it gave me a greater appreciation of what my students feel when I ask them to let both skis run in the fall line on and off the piste.

The Line skis were good fun, but the fun I'm looking for is from a more immersive powder experience and for me the narrower platform of the Coreupt skis allowed me to get deeper into the powder.

In addition, my students and I spend a significant amount of the day on groomed terrain so an all-mountain profile is more appropriate for our needs.

A very worthwhile exercise, and I'm glad gaijin suggested it. Thanks.

And thanks to Ian for getting the footage.

Test Pattern





DAY 109 : SUNDAY 16 MARCH 2014

5 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


Another great day at Kiroro Snow World, this time with Damien who is over from Hong Kong for his second visit of the season.

There was still plenty of powder in the trees, albeit a little heavier after the tempertures rose overnight.

We spent the day skiing the groomed runs, with Damien getting more relaxed and confident each run.

Great first day.



DAY 110 : MONDAY 17 MARCH 2014

1 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ


Happy St Patrick's Day

Light snowfall overnight, sunshine and warmer temperatures this morning.

Took a day off snow today, but joined Damien at Niseko Annupuri for the lunch buffet.

He reported great skiing with soft conditions on the deserted groomed runs.

I drove over to the Windsor Hotel at Lake Toya after lunch.

Great views back to the Niseko Resort Area, Mt Youtei, and Shiribetsu-dake from across the lake.

[MrPow]

Mike Pow

Please keep posting. I love your posts, photos and videos. Hoping to make it there next year.

[gaijin]

The Line skis were good fun, but the fun I'm looking for is from a more immersive powder experience and for me the narrower platform of the Coreupt skis allowed me to get deeper into the powder.

In addition, my students and I spend a significant amount of the day on groomed terrain so an all-mountain profile is more appropriate for our needs.

Wow. Did not see that coming.

FWIW, a lot of people used to immersive pow turns feel/felt the same as you at first exposure to 3D shapes. I did. It took me nearly a season to go from 82 to 105 but I'd never go back. The immersion still happens but at higher speeds and higher body angles. Those speeds take time (days to seasons) to adjust to as it's almost another sport. Completely different muscle movements.

So, bonus points for you for getting after it! The Line Opus is a perfect experiment but I do think one day might just be a tease as well as a discovery of how much there is to relearn.

Next step- buy a 3D shape and spend a season learning what you want in your next ski. It keeps going. In the mean time, keep skiing.

[SKIORFORGETIT]

mike, you should know by now how jealous I am of you from my previous posts.

these recent posts just make it harder for me not to be where you are.

you are living the life.

glad you are having a great winter.

keep on it!!!

[Mike Pow]

Thanks MrPow and SKIORFORGETIT.

Just started dumping, so hopefully more pow pics and vids soon

[SKIORFORGETIT]

Thanks MrPow and SKIORFORGETIT.

Just started dumping, so hopefully more pow pics and vids soon

oh man

it's like the gift that keeps on giving!!!

[Mike Pow]

Wow. Did not see that coming.

Full of surprises me

And you were right to call me out for making a recommendation without personal experience.

FWIW, a lot of people used to immersive pow turns feel/felt the same as you at first exposure to 3D shapes. I did. It took me nearly a season to go from 82 to 105 but I'd never go back. The immersion still happens but at higher speeds and higher body angles. Those speeds take time (days to seasons) to adjust to as it's almost another sport. Completely different muscle movements.

Agree that additional speed and higher body angles are needed to get under the snow surface in all but the lightest powder on 3D shapes.

I worked that out in the approach to the first clip I posted (Run 2).

Ironic really that a ski designed to make powder skiing easier then requires the skier to change the way they ski to get the best out of them. And from what I see around me, work harder.

So, bonus points for you for getting after it! The Line Opus is a perfect experiment but I do think one day might just be a tease as well as a discovery of how much there is to relearn.

Next step- buy a 3D shape and spend a season learning what you want in your next ski. It keeps going. In the mean time, keep skiing.

Yeah thought the Opus would be a good choice to experiment with.

I ski differently from you, and despite your 'handle' I think I ski in a different area from you which receives different snow.

The powder is plentiful on Hokkaido and my skill set and fitness enables me to ski the greatest snow I've experienced on a narrower platform with a traditional camber.

I have my next ski waiting to be mounted. A little bigger than what I'm on now but still in the all-mountain category.

Majesty Local Hero
176 cm
116-82-111
r 17.7 m

If either my skill set or fitness changes, or god forbid the Hokkaido powder gets heavier and denser then a move to a wider 3D platform may be on the cards.

[telepariah]

While I love big skis, and wouldn't take anything but my 122mm 188cm Bomb Squads to ski in Niseko, people still learning how to ski learn better if they are on 80 - 90 mm skis. If they go to 100mm + with rocker they never learn to do anything except grind it out in the back seat skidding all their turns. Problem is if you try big fat rockered skis, you'll get bored with teaching real quick.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Keep up the stoke Mike.

[telepariah]

Oh, and just to show that you can have a blast in Hokkaido on anything, here are some grainy scans of slides I shot of a friend skiing on floppy leathers and misery sticks in the 80s...

[Mike Pow]

Brilliant telepariah

[gaijin]

Oh, and just to show that you can have a blast in Hokkaido on anything, here are some grainy scans of slides I shot of a friend skiing on floppy leathers and misery sticks in the 80s...

I remember floppy leathers and misery sticks in the 80s... the delicacy of slide film. Shit was THE blast that led to now-- where I'm laughing my ass off that skiing is so damn easy at my age. I never saw that coming, honestly.

[emohawk]

Originally Posted by The Suit
"Oh for sure. Every time I walk in the garage and see that lame-ass Porsche I have to drive now, I think to myself "Better head down to the bus station and suck some dicks until I get my self respect back."

Love the quote Suit. Gonna use that!
But first I'm gonna have to buy a Porsche. And probably stop sucking dicks.