Happo One Video and Misc. Japan Pictures

Kelly and I were fortunate to travel to Japan from April 17, 2014 to April 26, 2014 for the second leg of our honeymoon (we are trying to start a new thing by taking two honeymoons).  I managed to make my way to Hakuba via Nagano for some skiing at Happo One on April 21st.  It was a cool solo adventure in the far east for me, and I could see the potential of the ski area on a mid-winter powder day, but unfortunately it more or less poured the whole day which certainly put a damper on the skiing.   The snow was actually pretty fun - serious mashed potatos - and it was cool to see and ski the '98 Men's downhill run as well as explore a bit off piste (to the extent possible given the late spring conditions).  Here are some pictures and video:

- Some Japanese Information in the lift line - 

 



 

- Noodles for lunch -

 

Mt. Flume Slide - April 6, 2014

Scott, Mike, Ed and I headed up to Mt. Flume on Sunday April 6, 2014.  Weather was favorable most of the week leading up to the weekend, but some mixed precipitations and droping temperatures locked things up on Saturday.  Sunday promised to be sunny (and windy), with temps hovering in the mid-30s.  We thought if we could find something south of Mt. Washington, and also south-facing, we would have our best shot of finding some soft snow.

It was actually quite cold when we arrived at the trail head.  We started skiinning at 10 a.m. knowing that things wouldn't warm up, if at all, until much later in the day.  But temperatures rose quickly and it was over 40 by noon.  The snow pack was changing before our eyes - much to our excitement.  Coverage on the flume slide looked good, and it is a long slide, so we were hoping for a great run.