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 have to rank today’s endless powder-smashing as one of my best days on the mountain ever!  A beautiful sunny day, fresh pow as far as the eye could see, and great friends to enjoy it with.  We rode from the first lift until our powder legs simply gave out beneath us.  I felt like I had died and gone to heaven!  Now off to the onsen to bask in the glory of March’s last hoo-rah!

First lift... Release the powder hounds!

Eric is all smiles

Powder ain't just for people! Our second sighting of a Kamoshika today.

Fat fun freshies all day long. aaaaaaaaahhhh!

Just a few quirky moments from this week on the mountain…

Why wouldn't you dress as a dragon to ski? Looks pretty toasty, actually!

A small snowman watches over the lunchtime crowd.

No Boozin' and Cruisin! Apparently drunken skiing happens enough that they have to tell guests not to partake? おもしろい！

Keigo opts for the more adventurous route...via river!

It’s been snowing hard here in Hakuba, and the Morino crew all got on the slopes early to enjoy some fresh lines.   The 25 new centimeters came in a little heavy, but still heaps of fun to ride!  Keigo and I took a detour that had us crossing a river a few times and trudging through thigh-deep snow for ages. Well, knee-deep snow to  you non-midget types.   I suppose  you have to sweat a little for your powder every once in a while.  Whatever it takes to keep the powder gods happy!

In the meantime, those dieties of frozen vapour  have us all looking skyward and returning those smiles.  The  snow is still coming down steadily, only lighter and fluffier now.  Another fresh 30 or 40 by tomorrow morning?  Fingers crossed.  I’m glad to see this season still has some goodies in store for us powder hounds.  Woo hoo!!!

Whether it’s a life-sized hamster, Godzilla, or a Human Football,  everyday is a costume party on the Japanese slopes.  5 star entertainment!

It’s official! There’s plenty of snow in Hakuba! We were able to verify this by riding lap after lap of bottomless conditions today at Hakuba 47……our longest lift-line being about 12 seconds. This is great news for those coming up for a white Christmas in Hakuba and means you can put away your early season rock boards and bring out the good stuff!

Its been raining in the village the last couple of days but awoke today to glorious weather and the first real dump of snow this season on the tops

I walked down to the Matsukawa river and took some shots. Not long till winter now!!