Resort Skiing - Gifu - Jan 2004 - Dec 2005

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

20th December 2005

Part III got to school after having a great backcountry run just an hour earlier and was thinking about the 2 classes that I had to teach in the morning. This week is parent/student/teacher interviews so the afternoons are off. I'd take the afternoon off to go skiing but I always had 4th period class. While talking to the teacher I would be working with today he said that I didn't have to come to class. I had the day off. Plan started forming in my mind. I didn't want to take a full day off but I had a half day waiting to be used. So after wasting a load of time on the internet until 10:30am and right after an early lunch I drove quickly home and was geared up and on the road just after 11.I somehow managed to get behind every grandpa and gramma on the road and even though the road was mostly clear they were still driving only 30 km\h. I wouldn't really care if I like them had nowhere to go but there was skiing to be had and Nagareha was advertising 60cm of new snow Monday morning and as the big snow storm raged most of Monday there would be a lot more. Going over the pass there was a lot of snow. It really looks like late January. Huge snow banks and houses with metres of snow on top of them. But the temperature read only 0 or -1. Nagareha has some of the best trees in Japan I think but it's biggest flaw other than the Patrol is that it faces mostly south.I rolled into the lot at 12 swearing like a pirate when I saw that the double chair wasn't running. The double is needed if you want to quickly access the best tree runs. But the lift ticket of 2000 yen calmed me down and I sat down for my first ride. Going up I saw a lone Telemarker skiing in the trees next to the quad. If I had competition for the trees then GAME ON!!First run I ducked into the trees right next to the quad. They are low angle but fun. The snow was really heavy with a little crust on top. But the fat skis kept me on top and as long as I didn't let them go too fast I could have a good time. Getting back to the top there was a patroller standing there looking at me. Already busted??? I skied away from him onto what we call Lone Pine. A steep open run with 1 Lone Pine on it. It had been mostly skied out except for a ridgline in the middle. Getting to the bottom another patroller was standing there and boarded the chair right after me. What's going on? When I got to the top the other patroller was there and he was blocking the beginner's run. My fears of being busted so quick were over. I skied one more legit run and then once again at the top of the quad decided to hike to the top of the mountain to get some good runs. 15 very sweaty minutes later I was clicked in at the top of oldgrowth. I made some fun heavy turns down to the exit where I had an untouched low angle pow run to the bottom. Very fun but I had to be carful of the crust. 2 snowborders saw me come off the run. Next run was telegraph which was good as usual and then up to the top where I saw that the 2 snowboarders had followed my tracks. I got to the top and saw them stopped next to a groomer packing the run. Idiots. They would have been fine if they had followed my tracks into the trees. I traversed a little left this time and found a very steep chute. It was plus 50 degrees. I'm really surprised that I had never seen this before as we always track this area right out. I made a couple more tree runs before the rumbling in my stomach and aching in my legs made me call it a day. It was 3:30 anyways and there wasn't much left.A pretty good day at Nagareha. Even though the snow wasn't so good any day at Nagareha where I don't get caught is a good day.I went home and quickly passed out on my couch getting more than 12 hours of sleep.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

20th March 2005

After skiing Nagareha and getting caught earlier in the week the original plan of getting all the Hida Jets together for a ski day at Nagareha after partying was changed to a ski day at Hounoki.Most everybody bailed on the skiing but the usuals turned out. Chris, Bill, Dan and Risa. It was Dan's first time skiing a different hill other than Hirayu. There was a little new snow however everything was icy on the main runs. I had decided to bring the 1080's out and it was wierd skiing on skinnies as I have more than 25 days this year on my fatties. But I managed. We found some fun untracked snow and made a worthwhile attemp on the day. It was only an attempt however as the temperature dropped near the end and everything started to freeze up. But before leaving the hill Chris had a big fall tumbling over a cliff and landing on his head. It looked good. And I got back into the bumps after spending the last few years trying to avoid them. I had a few nice lines and it fealt good to spot a line and get a few nice knee thrashing turns in.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

15th March 2005

The cold front from the weekend stuck around a few extra days so I took Tuesday off from work and headed out to HidaNagarha.There was about 20-30 cm's fresh snow over top of a nice hard layer. I think the firm snow was from the rain event last week. But the snow was really dry and very fast. It was cool.My first run I ducked right into the Old Growth line and had a great run. I skied this area a few more times and wanting something different decided to ski a line I have always wanted. Normally I wouldn't ski this area as you have to ski under the chair for a bit and it is very visable but I hadn't seen any patrollers out so took my chance. The run was so good I had to do it a few more times. I also ducked into the Adventure Area for the pillow line however it had already started to melt out and turned into an annoying Billy Goat line. But the run out was really nice.A few hours into the day I was going up the quad chair when at the top I saw 2 patrollers getting onto the double chair. I rushed to follow them and was a few chairs back. It was comical watching them point out all my ski tracks. When we got to top it was obvious they were waiting for me to go so I skied past them with a nice Konichiwa and a nod. They followed. I didn't hold back and booted down the run. When I was far enough ahead I ducked into the trees and had an amazing high speed powder run. Everything just worked. I made it to the exit before the fuzz and skied GS style to the bottom. Take that fuckers. At the top of the mountain on the next run there were 2 more patrollers. I skied over to the back bowl chair waiting to see if they would leave. They didn't and were joined by the 2 patrollers who tried to follow me before. I knew my day was done unless I skied groomers which is no fun at all so I went back to the top of the double. On my approach over 2 of the patrollers started skiing down the ridge. When I past the 2 remaining patrollers they started to follow. If this was going to be the game I would make it a bit annoying for them. So I started to snowplow down the run. It was fun at first but quickly became annoying for me as well. There was a chance for me to make it into the trees unnoticed to I took it hoping to traverse past the exit where they would all be waiting and end up far below them. It almost worked but they saw me traversing in the trees and called me out. No point in running now. So I skied down to them. They were not very happy. They tried to tell me that Fat Skis are not permitted at the hill. If they don't allow Fat Skis then they should ban snowboards as well. In the powder it is pretty much the same tool. They threatened to confiscate my skis if I was caught again. Also bullshit. They arn't the police. I tried to tell them that I wasn't the only person skiing/riding in the trees but they wouldn't have any of that. I guess I am an easy target for them.That was the end of my day. I skied a bit more than 3 hours. I had used a free pass and ended up selling it in the parking lot for a 1000 yen. So I made a bit of cash.I had a really good day up until getting caught. Some of the lines I skied I have been wanting to get since I first saw them last year. Good times and is much better sitting at my desk.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

5th February 2005

Last week Japan experienced a huge winter storm. It started snowing heavily on monday and didn't stop till friday. Some places in northern Gifu received more than 2 metres of snow. With this in mind a large group of Hida Jets set out to Nagareha ski hill. The group was Bill, Jenny, Chris, Helen, Amy, Mike and Myself.My first run was down Lone Pine. The middle of the run was icy however off to the sides it was bottomless. I met up with Kamioka JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) Nagashima Sensei on the second run and skied with him all morning. I had never met him before but new he was skiing on Volkl Sanouks this year. So seeing a guy on Sanouks I went over and started talking to him. We went into the trees right away. He is an amazing skier. Especially for how old he is. Probably in his mid 40's. He took a big fall and just laughed it off. Coming out of old growth there was a 2 metre drop onto the cat track. I went off it slowly and to the side while Nagashima Sensei went straight off with speed.He didn't know it was quite a drop. So he fell off the 2 metre drop onto the packed cat track right onto his face. He broke his pole strap which was pretty funny. But he got up and we went for some more runs. He has been skiing at this ski hill his entire life and I was able to show him some new runs which was pretty cool. He had never skied Hairpin or the steepest part of oldgrowth. He had to leave at lunch so I went and did a few runs by myself down the Telegraph cut before meeting up with the group for lunch. After lunch I took Bill and Chris into the trees. They had a really good time. Trying to get over the rope into Reverse Old Growth Chris caught his snowboard on the rope and did a crazy fall as you would expect when you catch a rope and are leaning forward. The last 2 runs the clouds rolled in so I took advantage of it and skied a line I had been eyeing for a while under the quad chair. It was pretty good and had lots of pillows to jump off.What an amazing deep snow day.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

29th January 2005

We knew the rain from the day before was going to eventually turn to snow so we had a lazy morning getting on the hill by 12:00. Bill, Helen, Jenny and Chris were also skiing at the hill. The first few runs were alright however there was only about 20 cm's over top of a nice frozen rain crust. As the day went on however the snow started to pile up and the runs got better and better. We pretty much lapped up the old growth lines. It was really odd though as there were many Japanese people skiing in these trees. We also didn't see any patrol. I wonder if the old growth trees are alright to ski in. Most of it isn't roped off. We had some good runs and I even got the occasional face shot. On the way home though I got into a little trouble on the road...

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Hirayu Ski Hill

29th January 2005

Headed out to Hirayu with Matt and met up with Dan later on.Was a good day. It hadn't snowed in over a week but we headed into the trees and found decent powder but it was very very fast and almost like sugar. A couple times skiing down the chutes we would scrape the snow right to the ground. A wierd feeling to stop and be standing on rocks or sasa. Odd that there wasn't really a base. But we skied some good runs. I had a big big spill right under the chair. I usually drop off a little ledge near the top of the hill. This time it was really big. You have to time it right so as to not hit the chair coming down. But I dropped off it and landed fine except a huge jump suddenly appeared and threw me into the backseat and into the air. While flying through the air I was really hoping my skis would come off on impact as I had just upped the din to 11. But when I hit they both popped off and I left a giant hole in the packed run. I must have flown about 5 or 6 metres horizontally. A really good fall. I was pretty happy about it.My favorite run was the camera line as usual. The snow was so smooth and the trees are fairly open. Our last run we ducked into new territory and skied all the way out to the toll booth. So that run is now named Toll Booth. The terrain off this side of the mountain was quite amazing. Really open and pretty steep. At the bottom we popped out on a groomed cross country track that after a short uphill skate got us back to the parking lot. I really want to explore this area more.We ended the day at 12:00 just as it started to rain. But we were really tired and sore anyways.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

10th January 2005

I normally leave the location of this resort a secret however Matt and I got caught skiing a closed area and I am feeling annoyed at the resort.We had skied this hill last Monday as well and it was still pretty bushy. We had got a few turns in the adventure run area but they were nothing compaired to what we got to ski at the end of our vacation.Our first run was down lone pine which was skied out and icy but after that we headed into Reverse Old Growth. Matt and I ducked into the trees quickly while Matt's friend Jamie for some reason took a very long time. This was his first Japanese ski trip since he was a child so I don't think he knew about the Japanese position on skiing trees. So while he was shuffling in a patroler came out of nowhere and gave him a rather stern lecture and a warning. Matt and I skied away when we heard her yelling at him. She knew we were in there but she didn't know who we were. But we kept skiing the trees for a while. The lower part of Old growth was beautiful. Not a bush in site. Tracking out those runs Matt and I decided to head into the Adventure area. As usual we waited near the top till nobody was watching and they ducked in. It was amazing. Way cleaner than just a week ago. Most of the sasa was gone and many of the bushes had vanished under the snow. We skied an amazing run to the bottom where things started to go wrong. We had to ski through an open meadow that was very visable to people standing around below. Some knob saw us and our tracks and was pointing at us so we skied into some bushes to hide. Eventually a ski intructer showed up and she eventually spotted us. We knew we were caught so got up. There was still a chance for a few more turns before getting out of the trees so I went first. I caught my tip right away and rolled over forwards. I couldn't get up forever. I must have looked like a real tard. I felt like an idiot. But after we got out the instructor got on the radio and within minutes there were a few more instructors and 6 patrol men and women. Matt who speaks very good Japanese acted like he didn't understand while I just acted normal. They made us go to the ski patrol shack where they tried to tell us in bad english that we were skiing in a closed run. They gave us a stern warning and then sent us away. We felt pretty shitty after that so headed off to the back bowls for some annoying tracked out powder. I didn't like it so headed back over to the front side to hit a few more tree runs. Hairpin was was pretty good. I also skied Reverse Old Growth a few more times before calling it a day. It really sucks for this to happen. We had thought the patrol was really relaxed here however certainly proved us wrong. A bad way to end a great vacation.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Hoonoki Ski Hill

8th January 2005

Last week the temperatures warmed up quite a bit and rain even fell at most of the resorts. Matt and I had noticed that Hoonoki was above the freezing line and was getting a bit of snow. So on Saturday Jenny, Chris, Matt and I headed up to the hill. We left pretty early to get first chair however when we got there the first parking lot was completly full with the 2nd almost over flowing. There was a pretty big GS race happening but that didn't really concern us as they would all be running gates while we skied the fresh snow.We had seen a closed run off the double chair which is pretty steep and it was untracked. We expected it to be icy under the new snow however after we ducked the rope we realized that it was deep soft powder. It was an amazing run and we were able to hit it 5 or 6 times before a few other people started ducking the rope. It was quite amazing. I finished up the day hitting the run under the quad chair. There were loads of jumps on the side with nice powder landings if you landed in the right place. All in all it was an amazing unexpected powder day.Jan 9 - Matt's friend Jamie came out from Tokyo and we hit up Hoonoki again. It had proven to be good the day before and we knew where we could find a bit of fresh snow. We hit up the same runs as the day before and they were not disapointing. I had to call it quits on the run under the chair because I was really pushing my luck on the final air. I did have a few spills though which were fun. Finshed up the day skiing the powder under the double chair. A great day skiing leftovers which were still very plentiful.

Resort Skiing – Gifu – Nagareha Ski Hill

3rd January 2005

Back in Gifu we wanted to find the powder that had fallen a few days before. We headed north to one of our stash hills meeting up with my friends Hiro and Kyoko. We got first chair and were a little disapointed to see that all the snow had been skied out on the runs and the trees looked a little sad. But we tried anyways and found some good snow in the Adventure Run area. A little bushy with some good sasa to bash through but we got some good turns. Hero and Kyoko were reluctant to venture into the trees with us so they went off on their own. We met up with them later for Ramen at Hiro's house. It is quite amazing to see the hills the way they are. I didn't realize how tall the bushes where. We must have been skiing on an incredible base last year as they were all covered by snow.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Washigatake

20th November 2004

The season has startedGot my first day at Washigatake in west hida. After adding up all the seasons I think this is the 2nd earliest I have started with the earliest being Big White in October in 2002.But I made the drive out by myself and skied for a few hours. I won't be doing this very much as it was pretty expensive. They didn't offer a discount for the very limited skiing. I had to pay 1000 for parking and 3300 for the skiing. OUCH!!!!. But I did get a 500 off lunch coupon. Oh goody. So I was forced to ski for longer than I would have normally under these less than good conditions. I did 4 hours which is pretty good I think. In mid winter it would be 3 hours and 45 minutes more than I would have done on the 1 run but I made the most of it and had a good time. I used my new setup of touring ski and backcountry binding and was really surprised at how light they are together. They even act as real skis and bindings which is even better. But I think that's all I can say about that day.Sunday I met up with my Japanese friends Kyoko and Hiro who I had met in the spring while backcountry skiing on Norikura. We had lunch and then went to Hirayu Onsen for an onsen. What made it even better was that it was snowing at Hirayu. They took me to an onsen I didn't even know was there. It was really nice and much better than the super busy one I usually go to. Only problem is that it closes in the winter but I think I might be able to ski into it. I wonder if they keep the pools full when it is closed. After the onsen we went out to Kamioka for dinner at Hiro's parents house and then back to Takayama where they dropped me off before going home to Nagoya. Fun time. We discussed the future season and our plans. I think we will be skiing together more than a few times.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

March 21, 2004

So we tried to go skiing on Saturday afternoon however many factors were against us. Matt and I had had a big night out friday night so were both nursing pretty good hangovers but we eventually got to the hill out east and it was frigidly cold and snowing lightly. The snow was rock hard and was not going to get any softer. So we retreated, played a few video games and then called it a day.Resort Skiing – Gifu Nagareha

Sunday March 21I officially turned 40 today. Pretty good as that was my goal at the start of the season. So with my Canada trip and some backcountry still to come I should be able to get into the late 40's before the snow is all gone. Sunday promised better weather so Matt finally picked me up after sleeping in late just after 11:00. I spent 45 minutes petting a dog while sitting on a curb, but we were on the hill north of town in beautiful sunshine just after 12:00. The snow was amazing. Almost perfect corn. Didn't sink in to much and it was super fast. We skiied some great runs in the Adventure and Attempted Suicide areas getting great turns. The patrol was on us all afternoon and every run we thought they would be waiting for us up top but they never said a thing. We were pretty blatent about skiing the off piste but it was the last day for the resort so what could they do. On one of our last run we went all the way to the top and all the patrol were there getting a picture taken. I nodded a few times at them but they just stared us down. Not very nice at all. They were totally onto us but never did catch us. It was lots of fun and many times the adrenaline was flowing. But we finished up the day with pizza and ice cream. This is most likely the last lift served skiing for me in Japan for the season. I leave for Canada on the 24th for two weekends and then when I come back it will be backcountry skiing if there is any snow left. That will be lots of fun.



Resort Skiing – Gifu - Dynaland

March 13, 2004

Saturday morning I got up at the early hour of 8. I just couldn't sleep anymore. Could have been the construction guys outside my window taking the scaffolding down finally. I have a deck again. Yippee.But 11:00 Matt picked me up and we were off to Dynaland for the afternoon. We got there and it was packed. A half day ticket is super expensive so we waited beside the microchip handin and got some discounted tickets for 2000 yen. Pretty nice when you get 1000 back at the end of the day. So we skiied 4 hours for 1000 yen. The sky was blue and the snow was pretty nice. Super smooth and silky feeling. Perfect corn in most places. We just skiied in the trees for the afternoon getting some nice spring turns. We even saw this Kamoshika numerous times eating the bark off trees. They are so funny looking. Such small legs surounded by a huge ball of? I guess it's wool. Way fluffier than a Mountain Goat or a sheep.But anyways my overall impression of Dynaland is not so good. It was way smaller than I thought it would be and so busy. They should really join up with Takasu as some of the runs are side by side up near the top. That would create a monster of a resort and would be much better. But there looked to be some okay skiing in deep snow but nothing compared to the other hills I frequent in Hida Gifu. But it was a fun very cheap day.Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

Sunday March 14Woke up again earlier than I wanted and just lounged around for 2 hours before Matt picked me up at 11 and we headed north to our normal haunt. We again scored some cheap tickets and this time skiied for 1500 each. The snow was a bit mushier at this resort but we did find some pretty good runs and some very bad runs. Some of them would start out really nice but then just turn to really mushy mank which is very difficult to ski in. But we had fun and were exausted after almost 4 hours. Headed home and had pizza at Country Kitchen and ice cream at Baskin Robins. So good after a good day skiing.So spring is now here for sure. I have been saying it for the last month but that is it for winter in Japan. The snow is going to vanish so quickly. But we should be able to get some backcountry in when I return from Canada. So I will get my goal of 40 days easily by next week. I have 39 so far.Overall a good spring weekend. I love skiing corn snow. Not as nice as powder but still really fun. Smooth corn just feels so soft beneeth the skiis. Also spring is the best time to get goggle tan. So two great days of blue sky, warm temps and skiing. I love it.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Hirayu

March 7, 2004

Saturday morning dawned and Matt and I headed out east in a full on blizzard. For much of the drive we couldn't see more than a car lengths ahead of us. That and the gorbie drivers from the southern areas like Nagoya and Gifu made quite an interesting drive. But we finally made it to the resort.The wind was blowing hard and it was super cold. Probably -15 with windchill if not colder. Looking up the slope it was easy to see the consequences of the rain last weekend. A sheet of ice down most of the slope. But there was about 20 cm's that had settled in the shelter of the trees. So we headed in right away and found variable conditions. If you found an open glade it was great however the tighter trees proved to be difficult with the icy layer beneat and an abundance of huge death cookies just waiting to take you out. So it was a day of defensive powder skiing. Fun but really tiring. We finished the day off with Rotten Ronnies, video games and ice cream at Baskin Robins and I was in bed early at 8:30. Good day.Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

Sunday March 7thAgain got up early however this time went north. The weather wasn't as bad on this drive however it was snowing very hard for most of the day. We found the conditions to be better as there was more snow however the icy layer was still present in most places. The avy danger was a bit higher though as everything was sliding on its own. Where yesturday it was only sliding when we were on it. But the slides were small. Only some of the newest snow. We quickly found some areas where there wasn't any death crust in Outer Oldgrowth and Illegal. Both of these runs were amazing with in places going from knee to thigh deep. Very fun. The snow just kept getting deeper and deeper. Probably 5-10cm's an hour were falling. Would have been better in the afternoon but we skiied till 1:00 and then called it as our day was done. Finished with pizza. Mmmmmmmm. Country Kitchen. Mmmmmmmmmm.Overall a good weekend. My back is feeling better although it still hurts a bit. Just wiplash I think and no cracked ribs like I was previously thinking. This is probably the last weekend for fresh powder as it looks like the temperatures are going up. But pretty cool to ski deep powder in March.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

February 28, 2004

I had 6 or 7 guests staying at my house for this weekend. So we went out for a few drinks to show them a good time and basically what we do on Hida during the evening hours. So basically a few drinks followed by Karaoke. Good times. Bon Jovi, Santana and Ricky Martin just to name a few. Lots of fun. But Saturday morning we were on our way north. What a beautful day. From the top of the ski hill you could see forever. All of the big names were visable. Yari, Hotaka, Yakadake, Norikura and Ontake to the East, Hakusan to the West and the plains of Southern Gifu to the South. I did realize how small Japan really is when I could see my whole playground so very very close. It really seems that even though you may travel for an hour you havn't really gone anywhere. But anyways the temp was super warm so I was just skiing in a long sleeve shirt. There was a solid layer under about 5-10 cm's of heavy slush allowing us to go off the runs with relative control although both Matt and I came home with our tails between our legs.Matt's big fall came first run when he went off the side of a run into some iced up avalanche debris falling hard skinning his face pretty good and shearing the screw off part of his binding. But after about an hour he was back to normal with a bit a good bloody scratch on his face. My fall came shortly after. We had hiked up to Pagoda run and were standing on top of the cornice. It was about a two metre drop. Below about 10 metres there was a large ice chunk and I remember saying to myself that I must avoid that. So jumped off and immediatly lost my balance cartwheeling or rolling towards a tree. Realizing this I manuvered myself out of the way of that but was now heading towars the large ice chunk. Somehow I managed to land directly on my back with the ice chunk just under my bum. This hurt quite a bit as I had jack knifed my body the wrong way. I let out quite a yell something like this. AHHHHHHHHH. MY BACK. THE PAIN. WHY ME. WHY....ME. The pain was like nothing I had ever fealt before and both Erik and Matt B were thinking the worse. I just layed there for a few minutes until the pain died away enough to move. I am still fealing it pretty good. I may have done in my back for a while this time. So if your wondering if I stopped skiing you need not wonder any longer. I skiied the rest of the morning but took it easy skiing very defensivly. We did have lots of fun and skiied this one closed super smooth run above these huge crevasses look-a-likes in the snow. It was lots of fun.But the day was soon done and we headed back to Tak. Went out for some more drinks and of course Kareoke follewed by some much needed sleep.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Hirayu

February 19, 2004

Tuesday afternoon it started to snow pretty heavy so as I did not have any classes on Wednesday I took the day off. Wednesday morning I was up and away by 6:30. As I was going by myself I had to ride my bike to the bus station. So backpack with fatskis, boots and pools attached I rode my bike through the frozen streets of Takayama. My bus left promptly at 7:00 and I was on the slopes by 8:00. About 15-20 cm's had fallen and it was very dry and cold. The main run coming down under the chair looked amazingly smooth and after getting first tracks I was able to confirm this. The snow fealt like silk and was very fast. As the run is fairly steep I was able to really let the skis go and was making huge GS turns down the hill. Also as it was midweek my only competion for the 1 run run was a snowboarder and another skier on Seth Pistols. My legs were buring after every run as I was never stopping to talk to friends half way down. Just fast lap after fast lap.I did have one interesting thing happen. On the last bit of the run it flattens out and I hit a roller which threw me forward. There was another roller just after it and when I hit this one I was already to far forward. I basically did a front flip. Normally my would eject fully from my skis however I was going fast enough to get enough air that I went all the way around and landed it sitting on my tails still carrying some speed. May have to try this again sometime. ha ha ha.I skied the main run for 3 hours and then ducked into the trees for an hour before calling it a day. The trees were amazing as they usually are. A bit deeper than the main run and totally vacent of people. I skied right past the camera on one run and at the bottem the patrol was laughing at me. I wonder if they will ever try to bust me or if they are nervous to get into a conversation with me as I don't speak any Japanese. I only did the camera run once not wanting to tempt fate. My day done I had a quick onsen and then was on the road waiting for the bus. I also tried my luck in hitch hiking however the bus arrived first. Would have been nice to save 1500 yen. Back in town I quickly rode home through the now busy streets getting lots of stairs from the many tourists and a many of my students (Mato Mato Hello. I'm fine thankyou. Goodbye). I would have made a good MEC photo as I was wearing my RAD pants and was making a self propelled trip through a far off country.Home and passed out watching Dr. Strangelove. A great day and will go down as one of the best as they all seem to be doing.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Hirayu

February 14, 2004

Well after finding powder last week on foundation day we were determined to find more. Heading East in Gifu Matt and I ended up at the usual haunt and it was cold and dry. Very nice. Ducked into the trees right away and were amazed. Ankle to knee deep powder over a nice soft base. We just poached lines along the whole ridge. We left the camera line to the last and were treated with an amazing final run. Very fun day. Feb 15 - We were not planning on going skiing today but the night before it had started dumping. Woke up in the morning to about 15-20 cm of fresh and it was still dumping. Very warm though about 0. Matt picked me up at 11 and we headed north this time and were on the hill by 12. Paid a discount price for tickets. Nice skiing for 1000 yen. The snow was really wet and dumping so hard and it was very warm. The snow was probably knee to thigh deep. And usually pretty soft below. The top lift was closed as well for some silly reason. But we were able find some great runs we had not yet discovered. We did that a few times but then decided to hike up the road to Old Growth and Reverse. After about a 15 minute hike we standing at the top of a beautiful untouched powder run. Very nice. We did this twice and then called it a day. The snow was super wet but untracked so it doesn't really matter. We had lots of fun. As a side note though my gortex all failed today. I got wet for the first time in a while which sucks. Not really wet I guess. Just damp.Finished the day off with Pizza and then ice cream at Baskin Robbins. (They call it 31 here) A great weekend of skiing.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

February 11, 2004

Since yesturday was Foundation Day I had the day off so of course went skiing. The night before I had had an enkei with a few teachers so was feeling it pretty good in the morning. Couldn't get enough water. But we were on our way by 11ish and hit the slopes around 12:30. The sunday before we had gone to the same resort so I had these visions in my head of all the lines we were going to ski. I was so exited. Runs like Hairpin, Reverse Oldgrowth, Oldgrowth, Pagoda and Adventure Run were all going to be amazing. Right away I realized however that Spring has most definitly arrived. The snow on most of the mountain was heavy sludge. I was hating life pretty good for the first run as it took so long to get down. Well not a long time. Just a lot of effort. But I did see another of those wierd goat/boar animals. I was about 3-4 metres from it and it just stood there watching me. Very cool. So already thinking of leaving after our first run we ducked into the trees again but this time on the very north facing slopes. Beautiful. The snow was still nice on these slopes. We found some nice steep pitches and pretty much skiied them out until 4 in the afternoon. I certainly hope this is only a warm spell. Its not even mid feb yet and I'm not nearly ready to put away the Fats. But with 31 days so far I can't complain one bit. I should be able to get 40 for sure.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Hirayu

February 8, 2004

So friday night Erik came up from Gifu for skiing and early Saturday we headed out east but staying in Gifu. Matt B, Erik and Myself. Lots of new snow at the resort we went to. There had been rain earlier in the week so there was a little rain crust in places but overall the snow was very deep. Sometimes we were going through drifts that went up to waist deep. Very cool. Realized the danger on this one run. I was checking the stability so cut really fast along this slope above where we would have ducked into the trees and the snow fractured while I was cutting across it. It was very wierd seeing the snow crack all around and start moving with me. I cut hard to the side fighting to get out of it. I quickly made it to the other side and stopping to look saw a crown about 20-30 metres long and in places about 30 cm high. The avalanche went about 150-200 metres down the slope before stopping. So we took that as a good sign to stay on the runs. Wasn't big at all maybe a class 1 but reason enough to stay on the runs. All in all it was a really good day.Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

Feb 8, 2004After watching movies and drinking a few imported beers the night before Erik, Matt B, his girlfriend and myself went north this time hoping to avoid the dangers of yesterday. We did and the snow was much safer at this resort. We were tentative about skiing the trees at first but after a few low angle runs which didn't slide at all we cut into the steeper trees always cutting the slope before jumping in. Nothing other than a bit of surface sluff. So it was very nice. The snow was super deep and seemed bottomless as it always is around here. A great day was had. After skiing went to Rotten Ronnies for lunch. Always nice as well and home. This will be a good week for school. All my 3rd graders are finished classes with me so except for friday I have no more than 2 classes a day. Wednesday is a holiday (maybe skiing if new snow) and tuesday is an all day assembly. So a lazy week for sure. Will be nice. Still have a headache from two weeks ago though. I wonder when they will go away. They arn't stopping me from doing anything but are just a little annoying.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Hirayu

January 25, 2004

Sunday arrived and after a great nights sleep I was up and ready waiting for Matt B. We were undecided as to were to go. The same hill as yesturday or a different one. One of Matt's secret stash hills. We decided to go to a hill to the East of Takayama but still in Hida. If it didn't appear to have snowed to much we were going to drive a backwards way to the hill from yesturday. But coming through the big tunnel we realized that it had snowed a lot from the night before. It was also clear and very cold. -13. Brrrr. I was not ready for that and ended up wearing all my clothes. Quickly got ready and got on the chair. This hill is quite a bit smaller than the one from yesturday but holds many steep secret stashes in the trees. For the first hour we just skiid the run under the chair doing nice wide turns in the powder. It was so dry. Even I was getting face shots on my Fats. After we tracked that we ducked into the trees. Amazing. The snow was just bottomless. I could not believe how effortless the skiing was. So much snow but so dry. It was going over my shoulders and blocking my sight. So much fun. Matt said the snow quality was similar to skiing in Utah or Colorado. Very nice. Also nice skiing powder under a blue sky. We could see many beautiful big mountains all around. Very nice.We did this amazing poach that started below the chair. It was steep and falline and oh so very deep. Probably the best run of my weekend. The trees were open and the snow fealt so good. Everything was in slow motion. Effortless. What made it even better was the camera looking down the run we took was covered in snow making our run invisable to the "police" below.Before we knew it our four hours was up and we had to go. But it was worth it. We were exausted after skiing two great days. Hit up the Onsen. Very nice. It had started to snow so it was very peaceful sitting in the steaming water.On the way home we replenished ourselves at McDonalds. Very nice after skiing food and then home to relax before a week of school. I love to Ski.

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

January 24, 2004

Saturday dawned way to early. Got up at 6:00 am much to the surprise of Erik and his "Friend" who were also sleeping in my TV room as it is the only warm room in my house. I was Genki as usual humming to myself and quickly turned on some music. Ozzy is great in the morning. They wern't to happy. But we quickly got ready and Matt picked us up on time. Was not ready or that! But we were on our way to that same hill from last week north of Takayama that will still remain nameless. Arrived at the nameless hill north of Takayama and met up with a many other Hida Jets. So in the people there were Bill, Helen, Cris, Jenny, Erik, Lessly, Tom, Matt B and Myself. We got ready quickly and Matt B, Erik and myself quickly skiid off into the trees. Let me just say this. The snow was amazing. Very deep and pretty dry. The skiing was just so perfect. We even stopped a few times to film and take pictures. It was great watching Erik and Matt B come down the hill Powder flying everywhere. Everything was in slowmotion. It was all going great till the afternoon when we got cocky and didn't really care who saw us going in and coming out of the trees. Going up the upper double I saw a line below the chair that I had been eyeing since last week. There was only one easy way into it as well. I looked over at Matt B and he knew what I was thinking. He said "don't do it". I couldn't resist though. I jumped of the chair and plopped into the snow 2 metres below. Bottomless. Quickly skiing down and out of view. Yelling to the others that I would meet them at the bottom. The run was beautiful and worth the risk. Erik and Matt B got to the top and went down the "Adventure Run". A 45 degree open treed slope. When they got to the bottom of what they said was an amazing run a patroller was waiting. They tried to outrun him but at the bottom we were just getting on the chair when he siddled up inbetween us. Erik and Matt B had been caught and I got away with the worst crime. The patroller warned them about the dangers of skiing in the trees and then went his way at the top where we again went into the trees. ha ha ha. It was great seeing my bomb hole below the chair. Just appearing out of nowhere. I wonder if the patroller knew it was one of us.Great day was finished off at the onsen and then a good loud gaijin dinner. When I got home I was so tired I just crawled into bed. The skiing was amazing. Dry Deep Powder. Good friends. But the next day would prove to be epic...

Resort Skiing – Gifu - Nagareha

Janurary 17, 2004

Amazing day out on Saturday. After over a metre of snow the week before Matt B and I headed to a place north of Takayama (not going to say to keep people away) early Saturday morning. Normally 2 or 3 days after a big storm a mountain would be skiied out. Not in this case. First run we ducked a rope to find very deep but wet snow. Every run we did was untracked. Very nice. We even found some pretty steep stuff in open trees. Some of it was over 45 degrees which was pretty cool. I still can't believe that we skiied untracked snow our whole day there. We even skiied this line in full view of the hill down this telegragh cut. It was steep and wide. Very nice. No whistles at all for our whole time there.I will be going back to this hill for sure. The trees were just amazing. Skiied some old growth forests as well. Old cedars spaced perfectly with no undergrowth. Very nice after skiing in the Sasa for 3 weeks in Hokkaido.By far one of my best days. I could almost say it may have been better than Niseko. But not sure about that. I don't think I could ski this hill for 3 weeks straight. Not that big but fun nonetheless.