Skiing in Japan

by Iva Skoch on

A recent NY Times article has peaked our interest. We’ve brought Niseko, Japan’s largest ski area, to your attention before, but the new article does a great job of presenting other skiing opportunities in the country.

As it turns out, Japan actually has many more, perhaps a hundred more, ski areas than the U.S., according to the website Snowjapan.com.

While the vertical drops aren’t quite what some have come to expect in the Alps or the Rockies, due to Japan’s unique climate, with winter winds blowing in from Siberia, ski areas can get tons more snow than comparable resorts in the U.S. For example, Niseko gets over 600 inches of snow, while Vail only averages 348. And the powder is supposed to be incredible.

Americans will benefit from the increased traffic from Australian skiers, who have gone to Japan in droves, blazing a skiing trail. Japanese businesspeople have responded by putting up more signs in English and catering to English-speakers. The Times suggested contacting Australian-run tour operators, like Skijapan.com, for more help.

And an additional feature that really intrigues us: the large number of available hot springs (“onsen“) for apres-ski.

Powder Road

by Erik Olsen on

We’re moving into winter and so powder hounds on the lookout for inspiration need look no farther than the wonderful book, online video experience Powder Road, over at Stellar Magazine. We’ve not visited our good friends at Stellar for quite some time, so I figured a quick mention to get people to go over and check out Powder Road was worth it. I’ve seen a bunch of these vids a few times and always come away psyched for ski season.

Wasatch Tunnels in Utah?

by Erik Olsen on

Utah is one of my favorite places to ski, no question. You fly into Salt Lake, enjoy a nip of 3.2 beer and then plunge into the Wasatch Mountains to some wonderful snow-laden place like Alta or Park City. But as Utah skiers know, several of the best areas are divided by the range itself. That is, they sit on either side of the mountain crest, and so if you want to ski, say Alta one day and Park City or Deer Valley then next, you have to drive all the way back down Big Cottonwood Canyon and then up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Well, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has an idea how to change all that. OK, it’s not his idea, it’s been kicked around for a while. But he is currently pulling together government and resort officials to discuss a system of tunnels, snow sheds or cable systems connecting these ski resorts. The key would be for skiers to drive or ride between resorts in minutes, avoiding the sometimes trafficked (relatively speaking) and avalanche prone roads. The resorts’ borders are separated by no more than 1 ½ miles, but driving from one side of the Wasatch range to the other can take an hour.

It’s a heck of an idea, but of course one has to wonder how much it will cost. But another great thing about it, I realized, is these tunnels might provide an excellent place to hide during an apocalypse, thus leaving behind a small population of skiers and Mormons to repopulate humanity should the end of the world arrive. Interesting notion, eh?

Ski Jumping in San Francisco?

by Neil Woodburn on

If Mohammed will not come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Mohammed–especially if he is a snowborder in San Francisco.

The second annual ICER AIR competition will be held this Saturday at AT&T Park where 20 world-class skiers and snowborders will be on hand to compete in some crazy vertical stunts off a 100-foot-high ramp.

Too bad it doesn’t snow in San Francisco.

That’s why event coordinators are hauling in 200 tons of snow to cover the ramp and landing area.

Last year, ICER AIR was held on the steep streets of downtown San Francisco, but after local residents complained, it was moved this year to a proper stadium. Tony Hawk will preside over the festivities which will also include live bands (Jurassic 5), and a “blowout” ski sale.

Tickets start at a mere $10. What a great way to kick off the ski season!

Oh, and if you’re in town and love college football as well, UCLA plays Cal and USC plays Stanford on that same day. Go Bruins!