Hakuba`s been having one of the better Springs i can remember with a healthy base remaining and sunshine galore….& at just the right temperature to keep the snow from getting too slushy. Up until a few days ago we still had full coverage right to the bottom of Happo & now there`s still lots of fun to be had on the top two thirds of the resorts. So if you`re into a carve or jib session on the piste, Happo, 47/Goryu & Tsugaike are all open through May 5th. Unfortunately the Happo Park has closed for the season a little earlier than planned. I believe this was a cost-cutting measure brought on by the big drop in business immediately after the Tohoku Earthquake. Fortunately, business at the resorts has bounced back as it becomes clear that Hakuba was unaffected by the disaster. The 47 park is still open….and its a good one too. And complimenting the on-piste action, there`s still great skiing to be had in the backcountry. Yesterday we had a visit from Erick & Kayoko –  friends & former Wadano Lodge managers – and took advantage of a stunning day with a long hike off the top of Happo. Even after 11 seasons here these mountains never fail to blow me away……. After a looooong descent down a perfect & untouched bowl, looking back at at literally dozens of similar untouched chutes & bowls i thought to myself “there isn`t a single bowl in my former home resort of Whistler that can touch anyone of these.” Hakuba….What a place!

It`s hard to believe that a month has already passed since the the devastating earthquake & Tsunami struck the North East region of Japan.  The pictures & videos that swarmed every media outlet on the planet were horrific and continue to shock us today.  And the hardship of those worse-affected is by no means over and the clean up & recovery will be a long & trying one indeed. Add to this the ongoing troubles at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant and the near hysterical response of the international press & you can certainly say it was a strange and somewhat melancholy end to the otherwise fantastic ski season that`s currently winding down. On the other hand, we`ve been amazed at the outpouring of kindness and concern from family, friends & former guests of Morino, and the ski/snowboard community in general. All the emails, facebook posts, phone calls, etc. have been deeply appreciated & have reaffirmed our love for what we do……..provide a great place for great people from all over the world to come together and play in some of the best ski conditions on the planet! Lots of you have been asking about the situation in Hakuba and now that the fog of  disbelief has lifted and a little clarity has returned its a good time to share with you all the view of it all from Hakuba.   Was Hakuba affected by the earthquake? We felt the big one & a few of the aftershocks here in Hakuba but very lightly. Anyone who has lived in Tokyo for an extended period is accustomed to small earthquakes so none of us suspected anything major had occurred. It wasn`t until Jen was alerted via twitter that we realized the severity of what had happened up near Sendai. As […]

We were fortunate at Morino to have the good people of beardo for an extended stay with us this March………and they were fortunate to get some classic Hakuba conditions (its been a powder-filled March)……..& they made this killer video to back it up………thought i`d share it with you all. If its a hassle-free, warm & stylish hybrid beard-hat you`re after, check out http://www.beardowear.ca/

A nice touring hike today despite mixed resort conditions. Hiked up the first peak and then dropped into a nice north facing sheltered chute then up the next peak and down through perfectly spaced trees. Conditions were great in the chute as no sun had got in there! Not so good conditions on the 2nd lower descent but the views made up for it. The rare sunny February conditions look set to continue so get out there and enjoy them!

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.

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!

This post is a bit late but here it is anyway – More “as good as it gets” conditions a couple of weeks back!

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 […]