Japan Powder Camps

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It was a pretty cold day today.  Some weather was obviously on its way.  We had a guide (Takaya Maeda) and two ski patrol (Yoshimi Saito and Yoshio Takahashi) provided by Furano again to lead us into the normally non-accessible terrain. After a transceiver check, we headed over to the lift.  The lift was closed due to the wind. However, amazingly the patrol and lift guys turned it on for us to get up to the top of the mountain and turned it off again to stop anyone else getting on it.  This was the kind of treatment that made the group feel really special.  A big thank you once again to the resort and the patrol!

 
Today really hit home to everyone at how lucky we are to be given this exclusive permission and how amazing it was to feel like we were setting history! It was very special. Kind of link Heli Skiing without the Helicopter cost!!  We headed off under the barriers again into the off limits, off piste terrain.  The patrol stood extremely professional and scanned the area for any potential hazards.  One of the patrol was on a pair of Volkl Kuro which got great respect from the group!

 
The traverse in was very exposed to the wind and it was cold with the wind chill.  The group were pretty quiet for the 10 minute traverse not knowing what to expect, mostly expecting a wind crust and some technically difficult skiing. However, it was totally the opposite.  Once into the trees and on the descent, the snow was powder soft. Jon said ‘that he had ‘never been so pleased to see loads of trees to get out of the Siberian wind’.  We were no longer exposed but protected by the trees, and the fun began again!

 
A quick stop for lunch and then back out again.  Warren and the guide studied the map and this time decided to ski a different side of the mountain where not even Warren and myself had skied before.  It was a nice little area and good one to finish on.  More trees and deep deep powder.  What a way for the last coaching day of the trip to end!

 
Everyone was very sad that the Academy days had come to an end.  It had been a fantastic trip with the best group of people, and certainly everyone will be keeping in touch and planning ski trips together again.  Some are already planning to come to Japan with us again next year!
 
At the end of the skiing, we all headed off to the Ningle Terrace which was a few hundred metres from the hotel. The terrace is a walkway in the woods hosting about 10 tiny chalet style craft shops.  It was beautiful.  It looked like a Christmas Card setting!  The snow was falling quite heavy and the little chalets were lit up in the dense forest.

 
We stopped off at a coffee house where you grind your own coffee.  There was a big window behind the bar which looks out into the forest of Silver Birch. Some of us took off to buy silver Snowflake necklaces which a lady was hand making in one of the craft huts.  Others took off for a shower to prepare for the night of Karaoke ahead.

…And what a night it was.  Everybody got in the mood after a few (many) drinks at the Uta Dorobo Karaoke Bar which translates as the Song Robber.  Karaoke is hugely popular in Japan and you cannot leave there without taking part in it at least once. The whole group got involved in Karaoke until the early hours.  It was the perfect ending to the Academy coaching course and an ending that left many people with sore heads for their freeskiing day on Saturday.

From the words of Jules ‘Fabulous skiing aside, there were more great moments ‘off-piste’ - the friendly dance off with the locals, and the killer Karaoke night in Furano.  Great crowd and great fun!’  That about sums it up.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 12:06 am and is filed under Japan powder Camps 09. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.