DallaSnowfinder #009 - Nakayama Toge

Every time I drive past Nakayama on my way to Rusutsu or Niseko, I wonder what the powder is like.  The elevation is very high and offers the longest season as a result.  Well, the 10 cm of dry snow was certainly appreciated after a recent warming trend that saw places like Teine lose 40+ cm of snow due to rain.  Even Niseko wasn't sparred the wet stuff.  Very uncharacteristic of Hokkaido.  If I was to describe Nakayama Toge in one word it would be "ghetto".  One out of three lifts working and a board park that looks like they were just looking for somewhere to dump snow after plowing the road.  It didn't really matter because Chiharu, Yoshiko and I still managed to enjoy a few beers in-between wind storms.  We'll be back at Nakayama for Yakiniku in late spring.  Thats what this place is really all about.

DallaSnowfinder #008 - Mount Racey

I haven't gone riding with the Mojane Snowboard Shop Crew since last spring so it was a nice surprise when everybody showed up at Mount Racey today.  We took over the slopes and what a sight it must have been to see forty or so snowboarders bombing down the hill at the same time, hitting every bump, drop and carving every wall on our decent.  As far as I could tell there was 0 cm of new snow to report, but it was of no concern.  The vibe was good and the show of talent from everyone was a real treat.  Thanks to Nakaji and Shota for inviting me.  I'm really looking forward to another Mojane Spring Session in March!

DallaSnowfinder #007 - Alpha Resort Tomamu

I've been looking forward to riding at Tomamu all season.  The lack of customers, mostly due to location,  made staying in my 21st floor hotel room very affordable.  Plus there is no lift lines!  This place is known for being extremely cold, so you know the 15+ cm of new snow that fell the night before was nice and dry.  I tried to enjoy everything that the resort had to offer including the buffet dinner, Ice Village and Japan's biggest indoor wave pool and a jet bath with over 550 jets.  My 1 night stay was just too short.  You really need to stay at least 2 nights to explore the whole resort and mountain terrain.  I'll go to Tomamu again next year for sure.  Hopefully the new owners of the resort can speed up those chairlifts!

DallaSnowfinder #006 - Bankei

Normally I don't ride at Bankei because it isn't very challenging and the few steep runs they have are mogul fields.   Today was alright.  No lift lines and 10+ cm of new dry powder, still not enough to fill in those monster moguls, so I tried to stay off course.  Last year my good friend Manabu showed me a cat track that starts at the top and follows the backside of the mountain all the way around to the bottom.  I guess they only use it to maintain the electrical towers that are scattered all over the mountain because it was really powdery.  The track is also a lot of fun cuz you can carve up and down the wall on the right all the way down.  Bankei is just too small but its nice if I'm feeling lazy because its only ten minutes from my apartment.