2010.04.20
Gassan Tour
May 14-16

Another great spring (almost summer) tour; another of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. Gassan is a big mountain where the snow just hangs on forever (no wonder the lower slopes are covered with ski clubs and racing teams from all over the country). Boarder, skier, freeheeler—everybody is welcome!

A full schedule and details can be found here.
Or just click here to register!

2010.04.20
Tateyama Spring Tour
May 7-9

Always one of the best tours of the year; even if the weather socks in, we always have fun just getting to and hanging out in the hotel. That, plus the spring weather—and definitely the snow—is much more dependable than in fall. Tateyama is real big-mountain, Alpine skiing, with a lot of courses that we can choose from depending on our guests and their interests. Plan to join us; bring plenty of sunscreen and some change for the draft beer in the Raicho-so bar.

A full schedule and details can be found here.
Or just click here to register!

2010.04.20
Oze/Mt. Shibutsu Tour
April 24-25

There's still time to join us for our tour to Oze and Mt. Shibutsu. The mountain is one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains, and a great ski—a fairly easy approach, and a great bowl-shaped (and at times nice and steep) slope down to a scenic wetlands and forest. Oze is beautiful, and packed with tourist in summer—but there's tons of space in spring for skiers and boarders (and we're looking forward to taking you there).

A full schedule and details can be found here.
Or just click here to register!

2010.04.10
Kabuki (and some skiing) in Aizu

For anyone who thinks backcountry skiers are interested only in the snow, I would point to our tour of Aizu Komagatake in April. We apprecaite some high culture, too (especailly with a cold beer in hand....).

We were a small group for the trip to Fukushima, ready to tackle one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains (but what is also supposed to be a pretty easy hike). The kindly host of our hotel had called repeatedly, however, to tell us to be sure and be back by 3pm for the Kabuki performances by the townspeople. The level was said to be high, our timing very lucky. So we went off for a short hike up from the end of town. The day was nice and cool, the walk pleasant, but with the road plowed out there wasn't a lot to ski (if the road and been filled in, we could have had a lot of choices.) But no problem; and we were back by 3 to enjoy the Kabuki performance, which was good, then the dinner at the hotel which was outstanding.

The next day, steady rain and the threat of high winds further up meant we gave up on skiing, and stuck to the cultural—onsen, shopping, exploring the historic town and area. For more, please see the photos we took.

2010.04.08
Scoping out a new tour

OK, I'm adding these a little after the fact—but I'm hoping that you're reading these and thinking about the 2010-2011 season too! In the photo is our own James, and friend Ben Charnock, who spent the season teaching at Yodel Ski School, in front of the Otani Hütte (or Hytte, or however you like to romanize the Japanese loan-word for hut). The hut is just to the south of the peak of Mt. Maeyama, and just visible on the approach to Akakurayama. We hiked up Maeyama from the Akakura Kanko Ski Area, then traversed in from the north to the hut. Our goal: to try it out for a possible addition to our tour schedule next year. The verdict: it would be great. It's a clean, wood hut with a full set of futons, blankets and pillows, and pretty warm on the second floor.

We might hike in from Maeyama next winter, or we could ski down the inside of the caldera from Mitahara, if the snow and weather were right. After generally eating and drinking too much (we had food for five) and staying overnight, we hiked up to about 2,000 meters for a great look at Mt. Myoko from up close, a fleeting glimpse of Mt. Fuji, and a great ski down. I'll put up some more photos here, and hope they get people interested for some overnights next season. I'm ready to go back!

2010.03.28
Togakushi/Mt. Menou Tour

It was a beautiful day when a small group of us headed just a bit further south than normal, to the Togakushi Ski Area. We went all the way to the top of the highest point, Mt. Menou (1,748 meters), then down the back and out across the meadows below (now under the snow, of course). Hiking through the beech forest was especially nice, and not too strenuous, perfect for our one skier on his first backcountry trip (although a proficient skier, so no problem). While a few remained below having a snack, four of us climbed up Mt. Taka Dekki (which I assume means "High Deck"). It was a nice little platform for looking around, from big Mt. Takatsume to the northwest and Mt. Kurohime to the north, to the pastureland and campgrounds area below to the west. An excellent ski out, too—this is definitely one we want to try during powder season! The trip ended with some soba at a local restaurant (too good to bring out the camera). More shots can be seen here.

2010.03.22
March powder!

Just when you think spring is really here, things can turn around.... On the third of three days on Akakura-yama, we had 20-30 cm of fresh snow. A little heavy, maybe, but the intrepid team of four telemarkers—one on three-pin bindings, no less—and two boarders had a great trip all the way down the mountain, right back to Akakura. Soft snow, some great turns and scenes, a couple of rabbits (now starting to turn back to brown) sighted along the way... A really great day, in short.

A quick stop at Lodge Ohno for a beer turned into a long session, but that's what it's all about, isn't it? See more here.

2010.03.20-21
Two very different days on Akakura-yama

You couldn't ask for two more different days on the same mountain in two days.

On Saturday, it was a real spring day for three snowboarders and a telemarker—a hike up Akakura-yama from Suginohara Ski Area almost in T-shirts (top photo). The snow was soft, the sun was hot, and it was a beautiful day on top of the mountian. We had about 10cm of fresh snow the day before; that meant it was real sticky, slow, sun-warmed snow on the way down. A lot of fun, though, and certainly safe (aside from sending discs of soft snow down the slope). No one was speeding!

On Sunday, though, the temperature dropped, and we were on ice for much of the climb. The bottom photo at left is a terrible shot, I know, but that is snow obscuring the view (and a little fog on the lens!). We had eight snowboarders and two telemarkers on a wind-blown, cold climb up. We heard thunder once—almost went down right at that point— but things got better, some snow fell, and after lunch it was actaully some really good snow all the way down to the golf course and back to Akakura Kanko.

And then the snow kept on falling! It looks like it could even be a powder day tomorrow. You just never know....

2010.03.14
Maeyama in the sun and on the crusty snow

A busy week, with four tours in as many days (but all different, and all fun).

So, to end it up, the classic Myoko run, up from Akakan to the top of Maeyama, and then down through the woods. What started out as a pretty gray day—some really think fog, but some promising fresh snow—ended high above the clouds in the sun. It was also increasingly windy, so much that we decided to ski down off the peak for lunch.

The snow was really good at the very top, then a bit more challenging lower down. The top 5/10 cm was fresh, but the layer below was the previously warm soft snow that had become a bit crusty. It's interesting how things change; some days the lightest person floats over the top; sometimes the heavy guys with big backpacks (hello!) can power through the heavy stuff. Natural snow is always interesting, even when it's just hard to make a turn. One advice to the telemarkers: when it gets crusty or heavy, don't fight the snow (it will always win). Round your turns, don't force your lead change, and make sure there's plenty of room between you and the trees if things go wrong! We all had fun, in the end, too!

More photos from the tour can be seen here.

2010.03.12
Mitahara tour—big hike, big hill

Yesterday we had great powder on a hike up Akakura-yama with a very nice UK-based tour operator; today was a much bigger hike to the top of Mitahara. Especially big because the top lift at Suginohara no longer runs on weekdays. Over three hours up, a quick lunch, and then down, through what we can only call interesting snow. Pretty heavy in places, crusty in others, but it was a beautiful day, and it's a great tour course. Ready to do it again, when we have either some fresh snow (can happen!) or settled spring snow. Maybe on a weekend, though, for a little quicker access to the hike part!

2010.03.11
Powder snow!!

OK, it might be a bit heavy, but it still is about 20-30cm of powder snow! A little fog at times, too, but we love skiing on the soft stuff....
We are seeing a lot of cracks on steep faces, so we're being extra careful on our tours (and there are plenty of safe places that we know about, and can take you to!).

2010.03.7
Bad weather; a fun hike

It was a rainy Saturday when four of us left the Suginohara Gondola to head out to Sasagamine.

It started out promising, with the unkai (sea of clouds) showing behind us (see photo). But heading down, it was so rainy and gloomy that it was hard to see where to leave the ski area for the road back to Sasagamine! But, a little low is no problem, so we went back up as far as Ikenomine, set our tarp/tent, and had a delicious warm lunch of fondue, wine and some other goodies. Two of us were on waxless tele skis (with the fishscale bases for gripping the snow), two on traditional telemark. Three-pin bindings, light boots and skis are fun! Definitely a challenge in heavy snow, but we all had a great time. We hope to do more snow hiking—anybody can get out into the woods, have lunch, see some animals, and ski on down!

2010.03.5
Yokote to Kusatsu Report

I'll be completely honest with everybody; the rain and wind of the last week has really gotten everybody down. Then I remembered the fun we had last weekend on our tour from Yokote-yama, at the top of Shiga, to Kusatsu (and thanks to Shigeru Yamamura for sending some nice photos!).

It started in the soupy fog that we've had too much of, but at the top the sun came out and we had a beautiful day coming down through some outstanding terrain. Not a lot of steep—we discovered that for next trip!—but just a really pleasant spring day, skiing on spring snow.

A fun evening in the onsen town of Kusatsu, dinner, a party.... It hardly mattered the next day that winds closed down the ropeway, so we couldn't ski back; we bashed the bumpy steep slope at Kusatsu Kokusai and headed home happy. You can see more here.

2010.02.19
Preview of the Yokote to Kusatsu tour

On February 18, a group of four henna gaijin (crazy foreigners—Kate, Simon and James on Alpine, our own Bill on teles) and three henna Nihonjin (equally crazy Japanese—me, Mr. O and Pon) went for a preview of the coming week's tour from Yokote-yama, at the top of Shiga, about 11km to Kusatsu. There are no steep slopes at all along the way—it's a perfect tour for beginning backcountry skiers. We had about 15cm of fresh snow to enjoy; just about right, because a lot deeper and you'd be putting in a trail on the flat sections! There are still spaces available, and it should be a lot of fun! Bill will be putting up some more photos shortly.

2010.02.12
Back to powder

There wasn't a lot of new snow, but enough for a nice slide on top of the hard layer from the rain. We choose to visit Akakurayama — and had a great time. A little bumpy from the top (around 1900 meters today), but got much smoother lower down and among the trees. Thanks to my two Kansai boys for a nice hike up, and a great slide down all the way to Route 39 (and, yes, we really enjoy taking boarders backcountry, too!). Oh, and thanks for the cool-down beer on the way home! Two more tours to Akakurayama ahead!

2010.02.11
Ice! But it's over....

That gray line in the photo (my woodfire shed's roof) is the result of freezing rain last night. It must have been warm above, because it was -2°C at 7pm, but the rain was falling and freezing. Strange weather. The good news: it started to snow a little bit during the night, and more is predicted for the coming days. We'll keep a close eye on the ice/rain layer as we choose the tours for the coming days.

2010.02.09
Interested in avalanche certification?

A quick note: we had hoped to hold English-language Avalanche Safety Training (at least Level 1) in conjunction with our friend Tomo, a Canadian Avalanche Center AST instructor, this year. For a lot of reasons (not least that his first child is due in May—congratulations!), we can't this year, but this is definitely something we would like to have on next year's schedule. Interested? Just drop me an email at mbss@myokokogen.org.

2010.02.08
Big snow, and a tour gets cancelled

We had some pretty big snow over the weekend; a very cold and blustery Saturday on which I had a nice full-day private lesson (despite frozen faces), wind which in turn created some seriously windpacked snow. Over the past week I've been regularly digging to check the snow; we have at least three distinct layers in the snow, one of which was pretty light and sugary, although compression tests failed to show very much to worry about. So far, that is.

But with that windpack on top, I was pretty nervous about what might happen—and I had a feeling that any tour in the super-dense windpack would mean breaking a trail not only on the way up, but the way down, too. So, with some reluctance, I cancelled our tour on Sunday.

It's not easy to do—we all want to get out there, too! But we're really thinking about both safety, and the fun for our guests. If the snow is miserable to ski in, or dangerous/just too much to handle, we will call things off and wait for a better day. And there was a big avalanche in Shiga on a west-facing slope—granted not the same aspect as we ski on a lot in Myoko—big enough that it buried two buses, smashed a hotel window and injured two people. So maybe a good call....

2010.01.30
Three days of good snow on Akakurayama

I think it's a record; three trips up Akakurayama in one week. The legs are a little tired, but three great trips with really fun snow, each time a little different.

First was a fun group of eight: five telemarkers, two boarders and one AT skier. Soft snow—not light powder, but easy to ski—and we took advantage all the way through the woods down, and off onto Ikenotaira Ski Area (a little tired legs on one or two members of the group!)

The next day, a solo guest and another climb almost to the top. It was a first experience for him, and luckily a very good one. A little fresh snow made for good speed control, so he enjoyed easy turns and some nice soft snow. We made it all the way down to the Akakura Kanko Golf Course, hiked up the road to the Hotel Windsor and enjoyed a very refreshing cold beer.

Finally on Saturday, some old friends (Mr. M in the photo) and a pair of new ones as six of us skied on a beautiful sunny day. Boot-high fresh snow with a firm layer below; a little tricky at times (the hard layer was a little crunchy in turns), but we had a lot of smiles all the way back to the ski area.

Sound good? The tour season has really only just started!

2010.01.10
Super powder on the first Maeyama tour in two years

We had a great day on Maeyama, the 1935-meter peak just in front of Mt. Myoko, and long our home ground. We never skied it last year, partly because the low snow levels meant a lot of bush-bashing, but also because the final traverse across a small stream never filled in well (and we're concerned about these things....).

This year, however, is completely different—meaning champagne powder along the top ridge (the kind that means no resistance; it kind of freaked me out at first) and deep snow all the way down the hill. Lots of hoots and grinning all the way down, but a little less fun for a less experienced telemarker on the trip with us. Deep snow is challenging at first, but don't let it get you down, and don't panic! Once you get used to it, there's nothing like powder and it's actually easier to ski than hard snow. We're here to help, too, so you don't have to worry about slowing the group down. In the end, everybody was grinning with the mountain all to ourselves.

2010.01.06
Happy New Year! (and a first snow check)

Happy 2010, everyone! Sorry to be late in putting up our greeting, but we've had great snow, a lot of lessons and a few parties here and there to start up the new year. Thanks to everybody who took lessons; now, with a better base than we had for all of last season, it's time to start looking up the hills....

So, your writer and James Klein (photo), now with Akakura Yours Inn and soon to be joining us in the backcountry, went out to dig our first pit. Lots of good new: stable snow, lots of it, and an early-season rain crust now looks to be well consolidated with the snow above.

We have a whole schedule of tours ahead, so plan to come and join us! We won't be fighting the brush this year, so get ready for good turns.

2009.12.19
First skiing in AKAKAN

Everyone was getting impatient as the snow just refused to fall, but with a fantastic day of heavy snow on the 18th, the Akakura Kanko Ski Area (AKAKAN) opened right on schedule, and with some really nice snow. There was over a meter of snow on the area—nice, deep and surprisingly light and powdery snow (for December, at least). More should be falling so things look very good for a strong start to the year (come and join us!)

2009.12.18
It's Snowing (and just in time)!

Great news as the lifts are about to open tomorrow—the snow is falling like we almost never saw last year, meaning thick enough that it's like fog out there. Hopefully there will be 50cm or more of new snow by tomorrow, on top of the 30cm or so that has been around through the week (snow a little, condense a little, snow some more....). The Akakura Kanko Ski Resort is scheduled for opening tomorrow, and it looks like they'll make it.

So time to start thinking about getting on the hills, getting some exercise, and get ready for tour season (and we have lots of tours planned).

2009.12.02
New website!

The 2009-2010 season is here, and our new schedule of tours and lessons is up!

Our lessons begin along with the opening of the Akakura Kanko Ski Area on December 19, and continue into April of 2010. On weekends, we have tours scheduled for local peaks, including Maeyama, Akakurayama, Mt. Mitahara, as well as some multi-day tours. We’re also pleased to arrange for private or group tours at any time.

Please note that we can’t do "sidecountry" or "slackcountry" tours—skiing into the woods directly from the lifts. If we hike up from the lifts, then no problem!

For this season, we’ve added Google calendar to the site. Keep watching as we update our schedule with new tours and events; you can even embed the MBSS calendar into your Google calendar, iCal or other calendar.

Looking forward to see you in snow country, Myoko!

2009.12.4　Stand by!

We're into December, but Myoko still isn’t covered in snow. Hopefully the last half of the month will see the slopes covered in white!

Today the day was spent waxing the school’s rental skis and generally getting things ready. If you’ve thought about trying telemark skiing, we have a very nice package of a lesson and half-day rental for you! Make this the year you start freeheeling!

2009.12.02
A little white

Mt. Myoko got a little white at the the top, but although it looks like winter, it doesn’t feel like it— it’s still too warm!

We’re keeping our fingers crossed, though; many years there’s no snow until just around Christmas, and then doesn’t stop until March.