Forums Trip Reports A Typical Day in "Japanuary" Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)Author Posts May 1, 2014 at 1:39 pm #579960 Method 151 Posts*** CAUTION hardcore snowboarders may be mildly offended by partial graphic footage of two plankers *** After breakfast, most mornings began with looking at this: and soaking in the fact that it’s going to be “just” another day of ridiculously D-E-E-P turns :bananas: … then 20 mins of this… 😯 It was always a task that was happily done, knowing what was in store and motivating the troops was never hard. The drive to the trailhead was always a little slippery and sometimes there was no room to park the car off the road so you just kinda parked as close to the side of the road as you could and surveyed the trailhead telling the newcomers where you were headed. boots on, skins on it was time to move Sometimes you got a glimpse of the epicness that awaited … but more often than not the objective was shrouded in cloud and unrelenting snowFresh legs made light work of a flat approach, where sometimes there was a freshly broken trail. But progress was often slow where breaking trail resembled post-holing Route finding in virtual white-out and thick trees relied on using “the force” Glimpses of the vast tracts of untracked goodness injected some vigour back into the legs for the final push Not that there weren’t other difficult momentsThrough the trees we often got some nice views Forays into the Alpine were quite rare, but special when they did happen When there was a view (er, once) it was savoured Transitions were always a little challenging in the wind and snowThe two plankers sometimes had issues clipping into their bindings 😳 , much to the amusement (possibly with a touch of schadenfreude 8) ) of the split boarders amongst us 😆 When snow clogged bindings were cleared, layers were added and the real fun :thatrocks: began…Dropping Each impending turn was greeted with joy…… as Whiterooms were available for short term rental at the completion of each and every turn The “surf” was most definitely up!Friendly skier-snowboarder rivalry was put on hold as everyone’s a brother in the white shack!Nipple massages were commonCamera hands were frozen raw waiting for the right light in the biting cold and windOccasionally, there was a pause for a photo or to enjoy the view The avalanche dragon reared it’s ugly head resulting in a partial burial and some big lessons 😯 😥 Speed was of the essence at the bottom… I went completely MIA at one stage The flat run outs were often energy sapping for the split boardersBack at the car, the occasional chilled beverage was enjoyed at the trailhead Sometimes there was digging to be done at the end of the day too!!!! 😮At the onsen a few more bevvies didn’t touch the sides on the way down :guinness: , with the soothing relief of hot volcanic water on tired muscles :doobie: Evening activities meant some warm Sake from a charcoal grill As well as trying those more adventurous local foods, such as horse sashimi 😯I think we’ll do the same again tomorrow thanks! :disco: May 1, 2014 at 2:58 pm #676591 imported_MountainDog 160 PostsAwesome write-up! Looks like it was a blast. Some day… May 2, 2014 at 3:16 pm #676592 CascadEagan 45 PostsHoly Gawd that’s a lot of POW! Great shots.Japanuary – nicely done. May 4, 2014 at 4:18 pm #676593 ozsnowbum 62 PostsIn past years I’d agree, but I definitely didnt get many of those days this year in Hokkaido. May 6, 2014 at 1:26 am #676594 shesplits 32 Postsah, just the motivation I needed! Looks like a great time! Japanuary is on the cards for us next year, missing the pow, the onsens, and the amazing food too much to wait…but theres winter to be had here first! Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)You must be logged in to reply to this topic.