International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2024 Tohoku (Japan) Trip Report

[Mattadvproject]

Feb 1st - The Start of the Tohoku Trip

Good evening sports fans! Well, I was hoping someone else would post another trip report before I started my next blog, but everyone is too shy, so I shall continue on with our intrepid adventures in Japan and we will move forward to the next exciting installment. Our hero's have moved further south, down onto the main island of Honshu. After the Hokkaido trip finished on the 29th Jan, myself and one guest (Dave) who was staying on with me for the next session, took the train from Chitose to Hakodate and then changed to the Shinkansen to head under the ocean and then to Aomori.

That all went pretty smoothly, especially since we shipped our ski bags from Chitose to Aomori with Black Cat/Yamato. My ski bag cost about 2,600 JPY (about $18!!) to send and it was there the next day. Ridiculous! I'm absolutely loving the exchange rate this year, it's so good and everything is so cheap. I had 3 nights in Aomori and it was a nice chance to rest up a little, catch up with some work and then meet some of my guests as they started to arrive. I picked up the van at Shin-Aomori station on the 31st in the afternoon and we were mobile. All the guests had arrived by that afternoon.

On the morning of the 1st Feb, we packed up the van and hit the road. I'm not going to name any of the resorts we go to (apologies for that), but I'd have to say that there's a noticeable increase in Westerners this year and quite a few Americans, no doubt with all the marketing that is happening for some of the resorts in Tohoku courtesy of the Indy Pass and a certain Japanese guiding company. There's 5 resorts in Tohoku that are now on the Indy Pass. It was always going to happen (the increase in Westerners that is), so now the trick is to find the resorts that aren't on that pass and then there's relatively few Westerners. If you know where to look, you can certainly find them, especially if you have your own transportation.

Anyhoow, we headed to our usual resort in this zone and it took about 1.5 hours from Aomori. They were forecasting moderate snow but high winds and the gondola was going to be shut down, but the two chairlifts that would take us to the zone of plenty were going to be open. We headed up and we found really nice wind-blown powder in the trees next to the lift. Sweet! Then I wanted to push us out to the far skier's right to try and scope and open face that we could potentially use for a conditions check for a potential skin lap. I was definitely concerned about avi conditions given the red flags we were seeing (new snow, winds) and didn't want to commit to going any higher until we had a better feel for conditions. Digging a quick hand pit I found a rain crust about 30cm's down and the start of a slab.

We traversed and got to the edge of the trees with the start of an open face. Sure enough we were able to get a small section to release after undercutting a steep face. That was a major warning sign and enough information to know that the mountain was telling us no. The plan to skin higher up was immediately cancelled and we headed back to the trees. As we traversed back to the main run, we could see that the chair was no longer spinning and people were starting to clear out. Oh well, time for lunch then. After lunch it was time to do some beacon practice and get our skills dialed again. My group is quite experienced with their avi kit having done multiple trips with me, so we went straight into a couple of rounds of multiple rescue scenarios (single rescuer/two victims and then two rescuers/two victims) and that took us a couple of hours.

Then we headed back to our first official stop in Hirosaki. I was suffering from a heavy cold (had tested for COVID already and was negative), so I pretty much went to bed when I got home and the guys walked across the road to a Yakiniku restaurant for some Wagyu beef. Sounds like it was pretty good as they were eating grade 5 Wagyu, ie the really good stuff! All in all, a solid day, with a little bit of skiing but some really important avi education, both with the beacon training but also an eye opener for the guys out in the field.




- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

Feb 2nd - Flying Under the Radar!

After seeing so many Westerners at the last resort, I suggested we try somewhere a lot smaller and head to a resort I found last winter where we were the only Westerners there. You know you are onto a good thing when the locals come up to you and ask you why you were there and other curious questions. I love those kinds of interactions personally..... It only took about 30 minutes to get there and were were one of the first cars in the carpark. The gentleman parking the cars was really friendly and thanked us for coming. Lift tickets were only 2,500 JPY for a full day ($17!) and we were on the lift around around 9:45am. We took the next lift up and we could see the snow was looking good. My goal was to ski powder on low angle terrain and keep it mellow.

The first lap we skied next to the lift and on the far side and it was boot top deep. Sweet! This would do nicely. I noticed a Japanese skier heading to the powder, he would prove to be our competition for a couple of runs but when there is literally only 1 person to compete with, it's all good! There's several tree lines emanating from this one main ridge and we would keep cutting our own fresh lines each lap. It was pretty sweet, the guys were very happy. There was definitely more exposed brush compared to last year, so cross-blocking with the poles was definitely a required skill.

I lost count of the number of laps we got in, but it was quite a few before lunch. We had our break around 1230pm and there was plenty of room in the cafeteria. I had Soba Udon noodles and price was 580 JPY for a bowl ($4). A gentleman came over and asked if we minded if he could chat with us. He spoke broken English, but was a local ski instructor who worked at the mountain. He was curious (but very excited) as to why we could come to such a small place from the US and we showed him our powder photos and said this is what we were looking for. We had a lovely chat. Then his young daughter gave us some chocolates and that was just the sweetest thing ever. We chatted with them for quite some time.

After lunch we headed back out for a couple more laps and we pushed further left into a new zone, with completely untouched lines again but a short sidestep and traverse back to our original traverse line out. That was a nice addition. After 3pm, we headed out but hit this amazing temple in the forest. I had been there last year and it was just as awesome. Unfortunately we didn't see any snow monkey's but fingers crossed we'll see some tomorrow. When we got back, we had a few guys go to a sushi restaurant and Dave and I went back to his Wagyu restaurant. That was pretty awesome but we ate them out of the grade 5 Wagyu. Sorry...... Tomorrow I think we'll head back to the same resort and do even more poking about. It worked out real fine the first time.....



I'll try and post the temple photos later......

- Matt

 

[Jenny]

There was definitely more exposed brush compared to last year, so cross-blocking with the poles was definitely a required skill.

This prevents getting smacked in the face by branches? One of your pics form the Hokkaido report looked like the guy was really going to get it in the face.

 

[Mattadvproject]

This prevents getting smacked in the face by branches? One of your pics form the Hokkaido report looked like the guy was really going to get it in the face.

Yes, same technique that slalom skiers use going through gates. Sometimes if it's a bigger branch, then that necessitates the use of two poles, whatever you need to do from getting whacked in the face with the branches. The vines you definitely want to avoid altogether and then there are these murderous, nasty, thorn branches that are really hard to tell apart from the regular branches..... they will tear through your clothes. Have had that happen to two people last year. I saw a big one today and stopped and called it out to the guys..... you have to nuke those from the planet, it's the only way to be sure..... (hope the science fiction fans in the group get that reference!).

 

[dbostedo]

Well, I was hoping someone else would post another trip report before I started my next blog

Well some of us don't travel as much as you and don't have trip reports to post!

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

@Mattadvproject took us to the goods on Friday. Spectacular skiing and experiences.


Google Translate…


Matt dug a hand pit to check layers and stability.


Matt got some nice shots of us skiing Friday. Here Dave is pillaging one of several untracked lines.


We met Yukio Toki, a ski instructor at the area. Like most ski instructors, he likes to stand around and talk. Nice fella.


We visited a temple on the way back to the hotel.

 

[Mattadvproject]

2nd Feb - Temple Shots

Exploring a beautiful temple on the way back from an amazing day of powder skiing at a tiny resort! Such a serene place, located in a forest of what looked like to me, Sequoia trees and with the snow gently falling down, made for a beautiful experience. We had a lovely BBQ dinner of grade A5 Wagyu and then I took some video of a 7-11 convenience store and all the amazing goodies they have.....

- Matt

 

[dbostedo]

grade A5 Wagyu

Is it cheaper there?

 

[Mattadvproject]

3rd Feb - Rinse, Wash and Repeat

Well, who'd have thunk it! Given the amazing amounts of fun we'd had the day before, we decided to head back to that same little resort for another round. Thinking that other resorts in the area would be busy, we opted for our little friend, hoping that we'd still have less competition for the pow pow here and there was still a lot more we could explore, especially if we put our skins on.

Sneakily, the resort opens at 9am on the weekends, not 10am like it does mid-week but we still had parking in the main lot when we pulled in after 9am. Tickets were still $17. When we got on the lift, we soon realized that all the tracks from yesterday had been filled in and we had had a complete refresh. If anything, it was looking even deeper! The forecast was calling for 2cm's of light snow and they had had way more than that.

This time we headed straight into the trees and it was above the boot tops and quality had gotten even better. It was even drier snow and very bouncy and playful. The trees were awesome again, untouched with just us in them. This was going to be another great day. We did 6 or 7 laps, skiing untouched lines each time. I worked with one of the guests, Rob, on some technique (stronger leg turning, keeping the upper body still and a more rhythmical pole plant) and that seemed to help him a lot. He was really starting to ski more fluidly and aggressively.

We had an early lunch around 1130 (fried chicken curry for 800 JPY or $5.50) and then headed back out for more. The guys were up for some skinning so we decided to take the same ridge that the resort was on but skin higher. There is a massive volcano up there, but a long isolated ridge to take us up even higher. My plan was to take the ridge and then cross over to another ridge to the looker's right of the ski area. We bumped into an English couple who had already done a lap and were going for a second one, they gave us some valuable intel and we decided to go for it.

It was quite the skin. I'm very grateful for the skin track, but it was super steep and direct. The 10 degree riser of the Salomon Shift binging was definitely tested to it's limit. I did think about putting in some more switchbacks but that would have been even more tiring in the deepening snow. It was a direct track, but quickly gained us altitude. There were a couple of exposed traverses higher up but finally we came to our transition point and downhill time. The slope was right around 25 degrees and a nice safe option. It was a very open ridge, with minimal brush, absolutely perfect for the guys.

We had amazing turns, with the snow billowing up with each turn to hit us in the chest and face. This run went on for a long way and we had to stop several times to rest and re-group. It was so much fun and the guys were having a blast. Eventually we started to come down the ridge and into some open meadows which still required us to stay high in the traverse. The English couple made a great traverse line out and we stayed in it most of the way. Eventually we were down in a valley with huge Sequoia-looking trees, just like the ones we had seen at the temple.

There was a little bit of brush to scrape through and around, but still most of the track out was gravity fed. After crossing a creek bed, we saw some dam walls and then a sign and we had reached the resort again, with no skin out. That line was a game changer! I guess we will have to go do it all again tomorrow! Here's some powder shots from the inbounds skiing. I will try and add some more shots later.....



- Matt

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

Is it cheaper there?

Yes. Substantially. The first night our bill was about $200 usd. We would’ve dropped more than $1K in the states for what we devoured.

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

Saturday was super!


Note the Saturday crowds. And we got a late start!


Gotta go up to get down. Parts of the skin track were a bastard — super steep and set by a short guy.


@Mattadvproject having a break on the way down. Communication is one of Matt’s strengths. He lays out the options and discusses the potential hurdles we may encounter. He listens to our desires and does his best to meet them. Above all, Matt is very safe and respects the mountain and her power.


Having a traverse out already in place was another bonus.

 

[AJM]

So many of our friends are either in Japan, going to Japan or have just got back from Japan this season, a lot more than usual it seems. Hubby is definitely getting twitchy, I wont show him these pics

 

[Mattadvproject]

4th Feb - Please sir, may I have another?

Apologies for not posting anything for a few days, things got a little hectic..... so let's travel back in time to February 4th....

We decided to ski a 3rd day at our little resort given it had offered so much. There had not been a reset of the snowpack, but we thought we could ski tour again up and around to the amazing ridge we had skied the previous day. Unfortunately, temps had warmed slightly and the winds had picked up. The skin track had been improved immensely as some generous soul had put in switchbacks on the steep direct sections and the track was a lot easier and more efficient. Thank you, generous soul, whoever you are!

We saw new avalanche activity on some steep, leeward slopes and that was a warning sign to be cautious. We decided against skinning up higher and took the same route down. The snow was definitely wind affected but still nice. There were a lot more tracks this time round. It was a long ride down the big ridge and it was easier going having mapped the area the day before. We only had time for one lap as we had to drive to our next hotel, a lovely Japanese style hotel with huge Japanese/Western rooms. More to come....


Looking up at the mountain..... the cloud was still shrouding the top and it was snowing and windy up higher. Not the best conditions for pushing up higher....


Taking the skin track up. It took a little longer this time as we took it a little slower, but still only about 1 hour and 20 minutes.


We observed several new crowns/flanks from recent avalanche activity. This would like have come from natural release from collapsing new wind-slab on steep slopes. This crown was about 3 feet deep and is behind that outstretched branch. We saw at least 3 new crowns. A definite red flag and a sign to be more cautious. Stay off wind-loaded, steep, leeward slopes. We did just that....


Down low, on our egress. Scouting around a small, steep face that we had to navigate.


The mountain was starting to clear as we completed our lap.


Personalized reserve parking at the hotel, very nice!


Tatame-mat room, a perfect place to lay out some bedding and watch some Japanese TV which is don't understand in the slightest, but appreciate the enthusiasm of the presenters.....


The Western side of my room, plus I had a separate toilet, shower, double sink and a little kitchenette. This was probably the biggest hotel room I have ever stayed in!





Katsudon for dinner, one of my favorites, plus some awesome Gyoza.....

- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

5th of Feb - Trying to get creative!

We had arrived in our new zone and it was time to explore. Unfortunately,we found that it was very low tide conditions and coverage was poor, plus there was no snow in the immediate forecast. Our first stop took us to a small resort about 20 minutes from our hotel and despite it saying open on the website, only one chair was spinning and it only services low angle terrain, so we said no to that.

We jumped back into the van and headed another 20 minutes to another tiny resort that I had not been to before. It only had 1 chair and was open, so Kevin volunteered to go for a 1 chair lap (which cost about $1.50). It was a cool place and we had some lovely chats with people, but the terrain and conditions didn't quite fit the bill.
Not far from there was another little resort which had 2 chairs, with a very steep upper lift and nice-looking trees. I bought Kevin and myself a one ride ticket each and headed up the first lift. When we got to the second lift ,he attendant said we needed another ticket, but thankfully I,was able to talk him into another lift up. It's a short ride bu, the trees have great potential on a powder day and there is no one else there.

We finished our adventures with a crazy evening. We went into town looking for a Yakitori restaurant and found a small one down a sidestreet. Inside there was the owner and two gentlemen. They were very surprised to see us. Immediately one of the gents struck up a conversation with us and he wanted to pay for our food and drinks. He wouldn't take no for an answer, what an amazing gesture.

Then after we finished he said he wanted to take us to heaven. That sounded a little ominous but it turns out it was a hostess bar. These are bars where Japanese men go to enjoy companionship from the female hostesses. The hostesses job is to try and get the men to drink more so they make more sales and subsequent commissions and for the male patrons, they get female company.

We found this all out after the fact but we were quite uneasy initially thinking it might have been some kind of scam and we might be facing a massive bill or end up having our organs harvested. We were a little at unease. It turned out it was quite harmless though; our guy just wanted to hang out with some Westerners and try to use us to attract the attention of one particular hostess he was keen on. We relaxed when he told us he would pay for everything and we could leave when we wanted. We didn't know what was happening initially! He was a very generous guy, just someone a little lonely perhaps?

Either way, we thanked him greatly for his kind act and wished him well. It was late and we needed to be getting back to the hotel for more skiing the next day....



Ha ha, @Drahtguy Kevin working hard to purchase his one ride ticket at our second stop!



One lift only, with an abandoned rope tow at the top. Sadly the low tide and poor snow didn't make for any fun skiing so we abandoned ship after Kevin's first and only run



Our 3rd stop. There were only 4 other skiers here. Kevin and I did a run to scope it out.



Short but quite steep. On a powder day with a deeper base, this could be a little gem.



The first 3 or 4 turns were genuinely steep! I did a couple of jump turns here.



The sidecountry trees definitely have potential!



Dave, quietly contemplating which skewers he will pick off next....



We had about 4 of these big platters!



Our host (on the right) speaking to Gordon, in Heaven. I don't know if he sensed we were a little uneasy, but it was a relief when he told us he was paying and we could leave when we wanted to. Glad it wasn't a scam and we were introduced to some new (and very foreign) culture.

- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

6th Feb - Going higher!

With no new snow, we needed elevation and north-facing aspects. We found that at a large resort further to the south. This resort has plenty of inbounds trees next to the runs and then an abandoned peak (had skied that before when the lift was actually running) that you can skin up.

We enjoyed plenty of inbounds tree laps in the morning, with a couple of inches of fresh snow. After lunch, we skinned up to the old abandoned side and had an easy 20-minute skin to get to the top. After a little scouting, I managed to find us a few untouched pitches with 8 or 9 inches of fresh. I set up some shots with my DSLR camera and got some nice shots of the guys.

Overall, the skiing exceeded expectations. Back at the hotel that night, we had a huge Japanese banquet with tons of food. It was very traditional and at first it was a little overwhelming, but one of the servers really helped decipher what each dish was and what was ready to eat and what needed to be cooked next. It was a pretty cool experience and I'm glad I did it.



Top of the gondola, heading for another lap



There's plenty of trees at this resort; some tight, some open



Heading to an abandoned part of the ski area for some ski touring and deeper powder



An easy groomed trail took us up to the top of the peak. It took about 20 minutes to get to the high point



The abandoned lift. A cat will also take you up here if you are a black pass holder. I rode this chair back in 2019. It no longer runs



Some nice powder to be had in these trees. This shot doesn't do it justice!



Crazy traditional Japanese dinner. We didn't know where to start, thankfully the kind staff helped us out.

- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

More shots from the 6th Feb taken on my DSLR camera.....

 

[Lauren]

Well, I was hoping someone else would post another trip report before I started my next blog, but everyone is too shy, so I shall continue on with our intrepid adventures in Japan and we will move forward to the next exciting installment.

I try to get off my computer as much as possible when traveling, so no regular reports from me .

But sounds like we were at your first mountain on the same day…we lapped the trees off the upper lift until it shut down. So. Much. Fun. We found some amazing low angle trees on the other side of the resort after a long lunch…overall, incredible day.

Next day we headed south and found some goods along the way…then arrived in similar low tide conditions you experienced. Had a couple of days that exceeded expectations, with a little exploration and willingness to ride tight trees (as you mentioned…slalom pole blocking was necessary). Found some incredible turns with the help of a local guide and man-powered ascents.

Home now…so I’ll be finding some time soon to report fully.

 

[Mattadvproject]

7th Feb - Moving on to our final zone

It was time to leave our hotel and head to our final destination for the last 4 nights of the trip. Temps were warm and the sun was out, so we needed north-facing terrain. I wanted to check out the north-facing trees at the resort we were staying at. If they were still skiing well, then without new snow in the forecast, then they’d need to be an option for a couple of days. If they had been skied hard during the weekend and were all tracked out, then without a refresh, then it would be tough.

By the time we made it to the resort, it was past 10am, so we just opted for a 4-hour ticket. We took the tram and then 2 chairs, to get up to our zone. After a very short traverse, we came to the trees and could see several tracks in close, but the snow felt nice. I pushed in further and eventually; we came to untouched snow. Sweet, this would do nicely!

The first time down, I had to ski a little slower, making sure I didn’t get us to low so we could take the gravity-fed traverse line out. It was definitely brushier than I’d seen it, but the skiing was good with settled, untouched powder. The guys were very happy! I found our traverse out and we made it back to the resort.

We had a quick break for lunch at an on-mountain restaurant and then headed back for another run. We pushed further left and enjoyed another nice lap. This was definitely exceeding everyone’s expectations. We had a long ski back down to the base and then we could check into our rooms around 3pm. At least we knew we had decent snow in this zone, if temps stayed low enough. Again there was still no new snow on the horizon, so this would have to be our backup plan for now.

We earned our dinner that night and I drove the group about 20 minutes to an awesome Yakiniku BBQ restaurant we had been to several times the year before. The server even recognized us, so that was nice. We enjoyed several rounds of grade 5 and 4 Wagyu beef and bowls of rice. The mood was pretty high given the quality of skiing (and the Wagyu!) that we had experienced that day. We were ready for more….


Curry doria, curry on top of rice with melted cheese on top! Tasty lunch.


Exiting the Zone of Plenty back into the resort


Wagyu time at the Yakiniku restaurant

- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

8th Feb - Climbing higher

We had some choices to make as to where we would ski. Initially I thought about hitting the road but given we had found decent snow at the resort we were staying at the previous day and the sun was going to be out, I asked the guys if they would like to do some ski touring and try and reach the peak, past the old abandoned tram terminal. You don’t often get the view so the guys were keen to try it.

So, we purchased a 4 hour ticket and took the cablecar and then 2 chairs, to make it to the high point. From there, we could put the skins on and start climbing up. Apart from a little steepness at the very beginning, it’s pretty easy going and we made it to the old tram house in about 35 minutes. From there, the track steepened and we increased our spacing accordingly.

It was still pretty easy and we summited the false peak in about 20 minutes. There was an impressive cornice down lower to our left. From there we made the decision to climb to the true summit and experience the amazing views. The snow was pretty hammered from the wind and we had to stay right on the edge of the ridge.

Another 10 minutes later we made it to the proper summit and the views were amazing, definitely worth it just for that effort alone. There was an amazing looking open bowl below, but that had a couple of large glide cracks in it and would have taken us well away from our objective and subsequent exit plan, so we turned around and headed back down to the false peak.

From there we had a pretty big open face with sparse trees. Again it was win-affected at the top so when I dropped in, I did a couple of turns in the fall-line and then cut right into a slight gully and that was where I found really nice snow. After about 10 turns I had to cut right again to get to safer terrain to watch the others ski one at a time down. That part was wind affected again, so it was a mixed bag.

After everyone was down, then the hard work began. We were still high and I knew if we kept going lower to the traverse I had used in the past then it would be slow going with all of the brush we would likely encounter, so we stayed high. There was a lot of brush and some bamboo to push through, but after 10 minutes we came to another open area and we had a few more nice turns again.

We still had height so we pushed right again and then had one more really nice pitch before hitting our traverse line from the previous day and then it was a quick out. That had taken 3 plus hours so it was time to head over for a late lunch. I know I was feeling a little tired after all of that work, mostly from the traverse and all the bush-bashing. Overall, it was a great adventure and I think the juice was worth the squeeze.

That night we had another great dining experience. The group was keen to try some more Yakitori (meat/vegetable skewers) and despite one place being booked up more than a month in advance!!, we found another place in the small town we were staying near. We didn’t have a reservation but there was no one in there when we arrived around 6pm.

The gentleman looked a little surprised to see a group of Westerners, but he welcomed us in and we sat at the bar. We told him the gaijin were hungry and that he would make some good money tonight. Sure enough, we worked our way through the entire Yakitori menu and it was awesome. The man started to warm to us and we had some nice conversations via good old Google Translate. He seemed happy we were there and that was probably a good thing as there was no one else in the restaurant that night. His wife turned up to help a little later and she was really friendly too. All in all, it was a very heartwarming experience and we were sad to leave, so much so that we decided to turn the van around and make another reservation for the following night!


The start of the ski tour



Beautiful views behind us



Heading up towards the old abandoned gondola building



Some pretty impressive terrain up high!



@Drahtguy Kevin enjoying some nice turns in the trees







Tasty pork and chicken skewers



Love the Yakitori skewers!



Amazing night with wonderful people


- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

9th of Feb - Ski touring and a beautiful bluebird day!

What an amazing day! It was a bluebird day and that gave us the opportunity to drive about an hour to a resort I had skied several times before during storms, but I had never been able to see the massive peak above. Now was our potential weather window and the guys were keen to go for a tour above the lifts. It was an amazing time with stunning scenery surrounding us on all sides. The skin up was a fun adventure as we had to find a line through the snow monsters (small trees that had been inundated with snow and ice).

Our objective was a large knoll about halfway up the ridge to the peak. We had talked about the potential hazards on the skin up and when we got to our drop in point, we had a group discussion and came to the consensus that our line was too hazardous and the risk versus reward was skewed too highly to the risk side. There was too much exposure to avalanches with big terrain traps in the runouts; cornice exposure and likely windslab in the start zone.

This was a defining moment for the group; knowing when to say no and turn around. We retraced our steps and skied down the ridge we came up and then enjoyed lower angled turns in an open treed face with a cool backdrop of small snow monsters. That was definitely the smarter and safer choice and I'm happy that everyone was on-board with the line change.

We enjoyed some more trees and then went for a drive around the lake before heading back to the same Yakitori restaurant from the night before. All in all, a great day of adventure skiing and exploration!


I've only skied this resort during a storm, so I've never been able to see this lake view before!



Also, I've not been able to see the peak either, so this was a rare treat to be able to go for a ski tour up there with good visibility. Dave, enjoying the stunning backdrop!



Kevin, Dave and Rob enjoying the amazing views. This was one of the most enjoyable skins I have done. I loved the technical route finding I had to do when setting the skin track, dodging all the snow monsters on the way up! It was a fun time.



Our aborted line..... This picture doesn't really capture the potential hazards of this line. There was definitely wind-slab present on the line, with exposure from a bigger face above that measured 32 degrees and steeper, with a nice deep terrain trap gully below to trap people in, if it slid. The "island of relative safety" (that little outcrop) was also very exposed and then the second half of the line (which you can't see from this photo) had a large cornice above it. All in all, I know I was not feeling this zone at all and I'm glad when we discussed the hazards as a group, the group realized that the risk versus the reward was skewed too highly towards risk and that the line was not a smart choice. I'm glad we turned around and chose a different path.....



Skiing in and around the snow monsters was fun and made for a very aesthetic backdrop!







TJ Burke and Dexter Rutecki, practicing for the Powder 8's....



Refried noodles (Yakisoba) with a fried egg and pork intestines!



Trying to get the band cover shot....





- Matt