Hakuba in April

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Hakuba Blog
Echoland in April

There is still snow outside the White Horse Hotel in Echoland

The sky is clear and the spring conditions are magnificent in Hakuba at the moment for skiing and boarding. The snow groomers are out every night making sure the runs are perfect each morning. There is still plenty of snow around here for those keen to get away from the cities.

Goryu ski runs in April

The 8 minute drive to Hakuba 47 shows the mountains are still top to bottom skiing

The blue sky backdrop and not a breath of wind is the perfect setting for a morning session on the mountain. It takes about 8 minutes from Echoland to get over to Hakuba 47 which meets at the top with Goryu. The area in the center of the photo is Iimori. All three resorts are linked and are on the same lift pass.

Hakuba 47 base

The resort has full cover but nobody on the runs

The carpark has maybe 80 cars and there is not a lift line to be seen. Standard for an April weekday in Hakuba.

47 park

The park is lookings it's best with a big half pipe as well.

Coming up the gondola you get a good view of the park. Look closely at the picture and you can see a guy at full flight off the big kicker.

Tanimoto san from Osaka

Tanimoto san enjoying the conditions before he heads to off to Sendai.

Tanimoto san from Osaka has been coming to Hakuba every year for 32 years. This is a brief stopover for him before he heads off tomorrow to Sendai to assist in the earthquake and tsunami relief effort.

Hakuba valley

The Hakuba Valley from the quad lift

There is still plenty of snow in the valley which is about 700 meters of verticle from this point. The ridge run is a good thigh burner and one of the best runs to get to first up, be it a groomer day like today or on a powder day.

Hakuba 47

Always finish off with a few coronas at the base area of 47

My camera battery ran out so I had to dig this photo out again. Nothing has changed though at the base area. It is still the best spot in Hakuba to finish off a mountain session with a couple of icy cold coronas whilst lapping up some sunshine.

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Japanese Tsunami

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Hakuba Blog

The footage here will give you a good indication of the intense destructive power of the tsunami that was generated by the 9 magnitude Earthquake that hit off the east coast of Japan on the 11 March, 2011 at 14:46.

RIP to all those that lost there lives.

The term tsunami comes from the Japanese 津波, composed of the two kanji 津 (tsu) meaning “harbor” and 波 (nami), meaning “wave”

 

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Hakuba Video 2010/11

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Hakuba Blog

Another edit from Chris the Barman. He has gone back to uni now to complete his degree so then he can freely travel around the world to do back to back winters. Chris has been skiing since he was 3 years old and his father travels the world each year chasing the snow for his holidays. He dropped in to Hakuba this year to visit his son and scored some amazing powder conditions. He put 2 of his days here in his top 10 of best days ever on the snow. That’s a big wrap.

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Norwegians skiing Japan – Norrona Magazine

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba BC

This photo from Jens-Morten Overvoll captures the Hakuba BC in all it's magnificent splendor

Norwegians love their backcountry skiing and snowboarding. Last season when we had photographer Jens-Morten Øvervoll, writer and pro skier Torkel Karoliussen and pro snowboarder Håvard Ånesen stay with us in Hakuba, they were blown away by the shear size of the mountains here. You can read the article they did here for the Norrona Magazine (page 106) which is the biggest outdoor adventure magazine in Scandinavia. The photography is magnificent. Jens who has 20 years experience in the Norwegian Avalanche Rescue team left us saying in his thick accent, “Tony, I do not want to tell anyone about Hakuba. I want to keep it a secret and I don’t want anyone to come here. I want to keep it for myself”. Looks like the secret is out.

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Hakuba 2011 Video

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Hakuba Blog

Every year we have our staff and guests taking lots of video and photos of the area. This  one was put together by surf photogragher Aaron Adcock who stayed with us for a few weeks. You will see by the video that he is a snowboarder who loves his powder. Thanks for putting this together Aaron. See you next year no doubt.

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Bamboo Cafe Charity day

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Hakuba Blog
Bamboo Cafe

Coffee for a cause.

Buy a coffee in Hakuba and support the earthquake victims. All profits made this weekend at the Bamboo Cafes, (Hakuba Station and the Happo Gondola) will go towards the victims of the Japanese earthquake. Head down and grab yourself one of the best lattes in town and help contribute to the relief efforts. Great work guys.

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Hakuba 47

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba47

March powder

The earthquake has taken a lot out of us all here in Hakuba and sometimes there is a need to just get out of the office and be able to clear the head and reflect on the last weeks events. We have had about 60cms of snow fall over the last few days and today was a bluebird day so some of the crew went out for some turns in the powder. Others just went for a walk to take in the beautiful sunshine and crisp air. The resorts are almost empty and there is a different feeling out on the mountain. Maybe it’s just me but the atmosphere around Hakuba is not really a fun feeling but more of a get on with everything feeling.

The reports from the overseas media have focused so much on the nuclear power plant issues that they have forgotten about the thousands who have passed away and the hundreds of  thousands left homeless. Please consider a donation to the red cross to assist in rebuilding the lives of those affected.

 

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Earthquake details from Hakuba

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Hakuba Blog

May the dead rest in peace and may the living rest in hope.

Very sombre mood here in Hakuba at the moment. Our heart felt sympathy goes out to all those affected by this enormous tragedy. We were all touched by this as one of our staff members had family missing in the region for days. Finally this morning we received the good news that they have finally been found and are safe and are being looked after at a shelter south  of Sendai. We have asked them if they would like to come to Hakuba but they feel they need to stay there to assist the others in their community who really require their help. Truly admirable.

It has been dumping down all day today however most of us haven’t even considered going out on the mountain. We still have a couple of guests who have been safe here and still able to enjoy their holiday but are also anxiously awaiting their departure. We have officially closed everything up for this season and if you were considering coming up to Hakuba on a holiday in the next few weeks then maybe some of those funds could be donated to the red cross appeal. I would like to thank everyone for their good wishes and for those who are still in the areas of the disaster please stay safe and know that we are all praying for your wellbeing.

Regards

White Horse

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Jeremy Jones in Hakuba

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Hakuba Blog
Jeremy Jones

Jeremy Jones about to drop into some big Hakuba Back Country

Jeremy Jones is considered by many as being the best freeride snowboarder on the planet. The last couple of weeks he has been hitting some of the big lines around Hakuba and falling in love with the Japan Alps. As with all the big names that come to town, he hooked up with Dave Enright from Evergreen to take him around to all the best spots.  Every year we see more and more professional skiers and boarders coming to see what all the hype is about. Big mountains and lots of snow guarantees a great experience. To check out Jeremy’s range of boards go to www.jonessnowboards.com/

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Hakuba back country

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba BC

Hike a little more and find the stuff you really want to ski

 

 

The back country options here in Hakuba are truly endless. There are a lot of easy access points just a short stroll from many of the top lifts or you can decide to hike a bit further for some more verticle. A little local knowledge can go a long way and if you drop into the White Horse Bar the guys are usually able to advise you on some places to go to get you started.

Some rules to follow.

  • Always wear a beacon and pack a shovel and a probe and know how to use them.
  • Have some avalanche risk knowledge.
  • Have a sense for adventure.
  • Always be prepared to hike out of somewhere you drop into.
  • Always tell someone where you are going.

Evergreen is the best English speaking backcounty guiding service in Hakuba and offer a range of levels from those who want just a taste of powder to those who would like the full day of hiking to get some of the best lines of their life. Ask us at the White Horse to book you in for a tour when you are making your hotel reservation.


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