Results 51 to 75 of 103
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11-01-2018, 07:48 AM #51
Idris for president!
Brandine: Now Cletus, if I catch you with pig lipstick on your collar one more time you ain't gonna be allowed to sleep in the barn no more!
Cletus: Duly noted.
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11-01-2018, 08:12 AM #52Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Posts
- 12,675
Following.
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11-01-2018, 03:18 PM #53
Quite a few pics today but not much substance.
First up Kiyoko (my long suffering wife) enjoying some quiet turns on one of our runs
Ryuta my co worker and co guide and the only person I've ski with so far that I trust in Japan, he skis in the weirdest style. No poles and flop (rather than lean) into the turn. Ex national freestyle champion, now backcountry guide.
A bit of downtown Naeba in midi wnter
Not that there is much too the place, here is more of it
Where we lived for the winter, the signpost is 2.5 m (8ft) above the grass
This is what the roads look like at 300m absl (1000 ft above sea level)
Some times we would resort to the train instead
Climbing Tairapyoyama
This is the view uphill of us at that point
Looking back at our ski areas
Kiyoko having fun on the way back down
Out at Kagura, although it doesn't really look it. If they don't continually plow the lift line your skis drag in the snow.
Back at the cat area, the cat trying to look stylish, it has changed it's image since this pic
Up at the top of the area I found a little bit of the left infrastructure, there used to be 3 chairlifts here.
We skinned up one of the opposing hills to get some views of the area, problem, they are always covered in trees
At dusk the place looks kinda nice, especially when you know you are the only one up there, I took the snowmobile for a spin, 4km of separation form all the J-pop and bullshit that Naeba has to offer.
The first winter, I left the Cat and the snowmobile parked in the woods, didn't last. Nice walk out on a nice evening, but in after a fresh dump gets old very quick.
Knowledge is Powder
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11-01-2018, 04:42 PM #54
I want to ski this line with the cool steps:
Well maybe I'm the faggot America
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda
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11-02-2018, 09:24 AM #55Mike Pow
- Join Date
- Apr 2005
- Location
- Between a rock and a soft place. Aberdare and The Brecon Beacons, Wales
- Posts
- 3,216
Great work 👍
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11-02-2018, 03:34 PM #56Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
- Posts
- 22
I can't see pix, just abcd.jpg, what gives?
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11-02-2018, 06:42 PM #57
Ya gotta sqint a bit..... it’ll come into focus eventually......
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11-02-2018, 10:13 PM #58
this thread sucks
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11-03-2018, 03:19 PM #59
So strange to try and wrap my head around the elevation VS terrain character and all the snow.
Again, thanks.
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11-04-2018, 01:39 PM #60
unbelievable story thus far. This is real red meat while waiting ski season!
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11-04-2018, 02:35 PM #61
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11-06-2018, 08:42 AM #62
Elevation in the area 2000m (6600ft) to 400m (1300ft). Biggest practical skiable vert 1200m (4000ft).
Angle a lot of 20-30 degree stuff in bounds of our little area, a bit steeper if you search. Up to 45 degree on the ski too stuff.
Terrain character, mostly (and this is true of most of Japan) newly formed mountains, typical water eroded steep valleys, ridges, spines and waiting at the bottom of everything a river or sawa (sawa is like a gultch, but always v sided with water in the bottom).
Snow in central Japan is like Whistler, maybe slightly more inland BC but can be heavy.Knowledge is Powder
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11-06-2018, 02:29 PM #63Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2018
- Posts
- 5
Keep following
Awesome place and works.
Can’t wait to plan a trip to Japow.
THX ^^
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11-06-2018, 09:53 PM #64
Skiing Japan is high on my to-do list. Seeing your cat adventures bumps it up even higher. It would also be great to make some turns with you again Idris.
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11-08-2018, 03:16 PM #65
I went to visit Hokkaido, but as I've been a bunch of times to visit the same place/research I will talk about that after season 2. But now more of season one. just one teaser.
On visiting a certain Cat skiing operation in the afternoon, I got offered a free run with their head guide (who has skied the same area for 35+ years) but I had no gear. So Jeans and borrowed late 80's early 90's rear entries and BBR's non stop summit to sea
Around Yuzawa (the nearest proper Town) there is some great looking sidecountry.
The town's side streets are stereotypical funky Japan
Nearby is Tenjindaira
During a lull in Cat skiing we drove up north to look at another Cat for sale an pickup a Snowmobile. Our Japanese work buddies thought that the 1800km (1150miles) was impossible in 3 days and thought I was insane when I told them the driving alone was only a day's worth (ok a long day).
Up the Sea of Japan Coast
Lake Towada the deepest lake in Japan
The cat in question an '86 Hagglunds, a bit of a pig in deep snow, but a great people hauler. He only wanted about $20K usd. But it needed more than that in Parts form what I could find in 20 min of driving it and probably 200 man hours of work before I could trust it.
The new toy in tow
A nice hill roadside
Back at the ranch, Kiyoko loved the new sled as it is Japanses sized. It's an ancient Yamaha 340 enforcer. But 300km form new and the really special thing was it (and only this model on only for 3 model years) is road registered as a motorcycle!
Being end of season we dragged some of the international Ski instructors out of their little resort bubble to Yuzawa for some proper food
The cat had flattened it's batteries while I was away, not having anything 24v let alone long enough jump leads. I hauled out the 2 45kg (100lbs) batteries. Hooked em up to the van in Parallel and put a brick on the gas pedal (and a screwdriver under it, to limit to 4000rpm) and left em for 5 hours.
Taking the marking post out of the cat road. Matt isn't sitting in the safest of places
As I was about to head back to Cham and no one had come up with a good place to store that cat I dug a hole in the snow in the woods and parked the cat in it. The rational being it wouldn't sink when the snow melted and if no one else too responsibility for it, I could deal with it in the Autumn (fall)
Thus ends season one, season 2 next. Or rather fixing a cat in AutumnKnowledge is Powder
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11-08-2018, 03:46 PM #66Registered User
- Join Date
- Jan 2004
- Location
- North Vancouver
- Posts
- 6,459
If you weren't already a legend Tom, you certainly are one now.
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11-08-2018, 08:43 PM #67
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11-09-2018, 02:32 PM #68
Season 2, or rather autumn and time to fix the cat.
I arrived in Japan in late October, quite a different looking and feeling place to what I had left in early April.
No one had touched the cat, it was still sitting under the tarp I had thrown over it. It turns out the woods I had parked it in were very damp, very very damp.
The moisture had got into the cabin, the drivers cab was just yucky but the passenger box was rotten. Not nice.
So box off and start working on the cat, track off etc.
To help I had dragged along a friend form Chamonix, Pedro our local mechanic, Landrover addict. Now Pedro is a miss pronunciation of Pero his Irish grand farther's name. But it suits a guy addicted to Mexican food. He is actually form PA! of a French father and Irish mom and learned his mechanics trade as a Tanker in the US forces and in car dealerships in San Diego, perfect guy to drag from Chamonix to Japan to fix a cat?
On his 3rd day in Japan I made him walk through the woods for 2 hours to experience a real Onsen (Japanese hot spring)
And took him to a real noodle house
Oil and filter change in a Cat is just like a medium commercial truck or some agricultural equipment. The track adjusters were a bit of a fight, having not been maintained in years. Some grease, a few holes drilled for said grease and a lot of hammering and we sorted them. The coolant filter was the biggest pain, it didn't want to leave it's mounting plate!
Time for a new box. No half measures this time. I got a truck cab heater, simple install, power and hot water. Pain in the ar5e that hot water, had to T into the drivers cab heating system, hardest part to get to on a cat.
Box itself we went with scaffold frame for the box and seats and skin with ply and plexi. Seats camping mat over plywood.
Mocking up the box
Of course winter turns up just when you go outside
Nearly done
All done
I built a roof rack for the drivers cab from small diameter scaffold to hold a cascade rescue sled. Added lights and rear view camera and backup lights to the rear of the cat. Painted the outside red, the inside white and put a ski rack on the back.
Both the snowmobiles gained A frames to stop the passenger falling off and to have something to tie skis to, along with tow hitches on both for rescue sled and utility trailer.Knowledge is Powder
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11-11-2018, 02:27 PM #69
Start of season we had a big (128cm/4ft6) dump of very light snow in one night. This was on a meter (3ft) base. Trying to put a track in was a bit much.
Knowledge is Powder
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11-15-2018, 03:30 PM #70
Season 2
A lot more organised, road markings
Better cat box
And of course consistent pow days
And storm days
Unlike the previous season we had a rain event or 2. This gave a base on which to stand and to ski.
From a work standpoint it made things a lot easier
Try unloading this for example
I didn't have to dig out buried people
But there was plenty of snow to have fun with.
Even just a few cm of snow can be fun when there is no one else around.
More deep snow next
But here is a group that enjoyed their day out.
Knowledge is Powder
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11-15-2018, 03:46 PM #71
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11-16-2018, 02:04 AM #72
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11-16-2018, 02:09 AM #73Knowledge is Powder
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11-16-2018, 06:48 AM #74
This is a frigging great story Good times
I need to go to Utah.
Utah?
Yeah, Utah. It's wedged in between Wyoming and Nevada. You've seen pictures of it, right?
So after 15 years we finally made it to Utah.....
Thanks BCSAR and POWMOW Ski Patrol for rescues
8, 17, 13, 18, 16, 18, 20, 19, 16, 24, 32, 35
2021/2022 (13/15)
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11-16-2018, 08:07 AM #75Mike Pow
- Join Date
- Apr 2005
- Location
- Between a rock and a soft place. Aberdare and The Brecon Beacons, Wales
- Posts
- 3,216
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