Or do they exhibit fractally generated spacing by natural iterative processes that the brain is able to compute and predict…Something to ponder when hurtling through them.

Have you ever tried skiing through a plantation?

Here are some more pics of randomly spaced trees from the Finns.

Conditions have been great and another 40cm is coming tonight.

Hurtling through randomly spaced trees

Half of Morino and Wadano lodge joined us today for a day of lapping easy trees at Cortina. Once again the snow gods smile on Cortina which gets a decent 30cm since yesterday morning whilst Hakuba village only gets 5 or 10cm

Thanks to Heikki, and the Finns, staying at Wadano lodge for their pics!

If you had the Japanese pegged as quiet, polite and conservative, you would be right most of the time… but The Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival proves that when the Japanese let loose, they can out-wild anyone! Combine slippery snow with buckets of sake and an excuse to beat each other sense-less with fire and you have a recipe for a wild festival indeed.

The fire festival is one of the three most famous fire festivals in Japan, held every January 15th to pray for a plentiful harvest, health and good fortune in the coming year. The festival dates back to 1863, and though the location has changed, the festivities remain the same.

During this festival the twenty-five and forty-two year old men from the village play a very important role. An old belief in Japan dictates that, for men, these years are unlucky ages, and these men must construct the shaden (shrine) from beech wood that reaches a height of 18 meters.

Every year it takes 100 villagers to build the shrine. The trees are cut down in October and brought down from the mountain, through the village, on January 13th. After the shaden has been constructed, the priest from Kosuge shrine performs a ceremony to endow it with a God.
Along with the shaden there are an average of five tôrô (dedicatory lantern poles) erected every year. These poles are made by a family in the village to celebrate the birth of the first son. The tôrô are offered to the Gods in a prayer for health and good fortune.

The festivities begin with the lighting of the fire by the twenty-five and forty-two year old men. A small group of men carry a torch, which is lit by striking two stones together, from the Kôno residence to the festival grounds. The torch is used to start a bonfire from which the handmade torches, used to attack the shrine, are lit.

The festival centers around the shaden, where the fouty-two year olds sit on top and the twenty-five year olds stand guard at the base. Those who are 41 and 43 years old stand around the perimeter to protect the spectators. Torch bearing villagers of all ages attempt to break through the guards and light the shaden on fire. A dangerous and lively battle ensues. The defenders try to put out the fire by striking it with pine branches. The attack lasts for about one hour, after which the 42 year olds call an end to the ceremony and the shaden together with the tôrô are set on fire in an offering to the Gods.

Morino Lodge, Evo Gear and JustFares Combine Forces!

We are proud to announce that Morino Lodge has teamed up with Evo and Just Fares to give away the trip of a lifetime! You’ve seen the footage of the classic Japanese powder tree skiing right out our back door, you’ve dreamed about the delicious cuisine and nightlife Japan has to offer, you’ve fantasized about seeing those famous hot-tubbing monkeys ….and now’s your chance!

You (and a very lucky friend) could be flown to Japan where you’ll both be welcomed in our legendary lodge… But that’s just the beginning! A number of sponsors have stepped up to round out the trip to make it a once in a lifetime ordeal. If you ski or snowboard, Salomon Skis or Salomon Snowboards will hit you with a full gear setup. And don’t worry, Oakley had you covered for a free outwear setup and the best optics known to mankind. Dakine is throwing in luggage and Under Armour Mountain has your base layers worked out. Did we mention Bern Helmets is providing lids? You’ll be completely dialed to let loose for 5 days of incredible skiing and exploring everything that Hakuba, Japan has to offer. Oh yeah, and don’t worry about ground transportation. Covered. Plus you get $500 spending cash to cover your meals… does it get better?

Winner (and their best friend) will get:

* Round trip airfare to Japan from LA for two provided by JustFares.com
* 5 Nights of lodging for two including breakfast at the Morino Lodge
* 2 Outerwear kits provided by Oakley
* 2 Ski setups provided by Salomon Skis
or 2 snowboard setups provided by Salomon Snowboard * 2 Helmets provided by Bern Helmets
* Layers for 2 provided by Under Armour Mountain
* Round trip ground transportation from airport to Morino Lodge
* Spending money for meals ($500)
* Trip valued at: $7,000
* Travel dates: Jan 8, 2012 – April 7, 2012 (your choice within that window)

Could you be the lucky one?

CLICK HERE TO ENTER NOW

The Trip of a Lifetime!

A winter of consistent cold dry powder continues. Friday was one of those dreamy days, when the sun comes out after days of snow!

A great day in the Hakuba BC from Dan Cockburn on Vimeo.

Mathieu has a tough job at Morino Lodge: Trying to keep up with all the new snow!   Today the flying Frenchman decided to mix work with pleasure…

Hisashiburi! Did you miss us?  It’s that time of year again… the middle of January and we are just getting around to posting our first blog of the season!  But can you blame us for being a tad tardy?  Heaps of fresh snow with consistent cold temps has given us plenty of powder to play in.  Who wants to sit in front of the computer when you can be out enjoying what’s shaping up to be another fantastic winter season in Hakuba!?

Powder Slashin' Santas

Morino has also busy welcoming some new additions to the family!  Alana and Pat are our new in-house chefs cooking up a storm at Wadano and Morino Cafe and taking our Christmas dinner to another level.  Mathieu hails from tropical Reunion Island, but has enthusiastically taken to the snow… even the shoveling!  Michiko, our genki-est staff ever is back, and brought her friend Konomi to join in on the fun at the lodge.

Last, but certainly not least are two tiny additions:

Maika Joy Oldring born Sept 21st 2010

Hanna Abigael Dunn born Christmas Eve, 2010

Thanks to all of our awesome guests and staff for making yet another Morino Christmas to remember!  And to the rest of the Morino family out there… stay tuned for more blogs and photos to come!

Settin' up the Spread

Diggin Out'

Diggin' In

Santa's Little Helpers

Enjoying the feast

Eying the Desserts

A White Christmas!

The Christmas Crew

Maika's First Christmas

Crazy cool cookies

Dessert Delivery

Hakuba rode quite the weather roller-coaster today.   A sudden snowstorm plowed through what had once been a clear and warm spring day.   The sudden 4 degree drop in temps and onslaught of snowflakes stopped as suddenly as it started. Winter’s dying hiccup, perhaps?

I hit the slopes at Hakuba 47 to enjoy  the new dusting of  snow and found that I had just missed a huge slalom snowboard race.  The  mountain was packed full of sleek racers, hippie ski bums, and  wildly colorful park punks.  A huge snowboard demo kept everyone kitted up with fun new toys to try.  I was happy just to cruise a few groomers on what had turned out to be a glorious  spring afternoon and let myself be entertained by what the circus had brought to town.

A wide variety of demo boards to take up and try out.

Geared up to shred.

Tailgaiting Hakuba style! BBQ and beer in the 47 parking lot.

Sweet snow planks.

A splash of color

Apres Ski smiles. Morino guests enjoy a beer at the bottom of 47 after a most amusing day!

I couldn’t make it out today but Eric, our trusty Wadano lodge manager and faceless being (he’s very shy on the internet) took the camera out and did some easy lines off the back of Happo.It looks like spring kicked in from this afternoon and it will be sunny t-shirt days of park riding and corn backcountry lines until the end of the season in May.

Yari seen through Eric's skis

Eric in the upper bowl

Faceless being in the upper bowl

Lines from the day

I know Jen just posted for today but I had to post some more pics and vids from my camera cause it was such a cracker!

an almost festive atmosphere on the mountain and perfect snow – as the title says, as good as it gets and a fitting finale to a great season of powder. Get your t-shirts and sunnys out cause it’s Spring skiing from here on in!

Some more pics