Pugski Is Going to Japan!

[SBrown]

Who's going to Japan to ski moguls?

Not I!

 

[James]

Not I!

I was informed once here, or there, that "tons of people" go to Japan for the moguls.

 

[Michael Kane]

Jonny Moseley went to Japan for the moguls.

 

[Ron]

looks like killer trip for sure! maybe 2018/9

 

[Jim McDonald]

There are plenty of moguls at Japanese resorts if you want'em.

 

[Mattadvproject]

I was informed once here, or there, that "tons of people" go to Japan for the moguls.

Not something I personally go to Japan for and normally our groups are there to ski powder ('cause it's fun!), but if moguls are on the list to ski, then that's up to the group..... they actually do have some great bumps in some of the Hokkaido resorts and several have a few skier manufactured zipper lines. Rusutsu has some great lines and we found a couple of nice lines in Sahoro. I had wondered what the more advanced Japanese skiers were doing if they weren't skiing the powder in the trees, seems like they were shredding the bumps...... here's a quick clip of a bump line in Sahoro in full BC gear and fat skis (on the way to the next powder stash - I did post this on the Japan blog a couple of days ago, apologies if you've already seen it). Fun times!

 

[Jim McDonald]

Looks like the remains of some earlier pole-bashing; pretty common in Japan.

 

[Mattadvproject]

This trip sounds like fun. I'll have to discuss it with my boss. (Wife)

You are more than welcome to join us Gary. That would be 3 in the Pugski group (not including me) and then we would need 2 more to make sure the trip went ahead. It will be a fun time! Let me know if you have any questions. Don't forget the early bird discount (-$250) runs out on the 15th August.
Regards,
Matt

 

[locknload]

This trips looks like a ton of fun! Assessing finances to see if I can pull it off.

 

[SBrown]

Regarding airfare ... if you have United Mileage Plus, there appear to be some good deals. I got Denver-Sapporo for 35K each way, which seemed to good to be true, but it tells me I am going to Japan...

 

[Mattadvproject]

Some more motivation for you all....... thanks to Grant Nakamura photography for these shots, taken last winter during our Hokkaido trips.....



(This one was taken in 2016 and is me skiing Furano)




































Thanks again to Grant for these shots...... some people have called the last 2 seasons "mediocre" in Hokkaido. If that's the case, then "mediocre" conditions are still pretty darn good. Hope to see you all with us in 2018!

- Matt

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

Regarding airfare ... if you have United Mileage Plus, there appear to be some good deals. I got Denver-Sapporo for 35K each way, which seemed to good to be true, but it tells me I am going to Japan...

I also used 70k miles RT for LAX/CTS in Jan 2016, so it's not too good to be true. Trans-Pacific mileage redemption seems to have greater availability than Atlantic in general. I also monitored airfare prior to departure and found it cost only <$900 last minute. So it wasn't the best use of miles for my case.

Was trying to recruit a SLC friend, to join but the SLC/LAX portion of the travel was going to cost more than LAX/CTS two weeks in advance.

JAL and ANA are both wonderful Japanese airlines, give them a try in the United/Star Alliance program, especially on the trans-Pacific segment.

 

[Jim McDonald]

JAL is One-World; ANA is Star Alliance; both are light years ahead of any US airline.
Watch out for code-sharing, especially out of LAX or SFO.

 

[Big Salad]

My two cents, two seasons ago I was looking for something more adventurous to do so I decided to go to Japan. I ended up going with a different company to Hakuba Valley on the main island about 3.5 hrs northwest of Tokyo. I think about that trip alot, and have told alot of the users that know me here, it was the best powder/tree skiing I have ever done. The skiing there was very different from the states, in that, most of the folks that ventured into the sidecountry/backcountry were not the locals. The Australians, New Zealanders and us, the Americans, were the majority so there was always plenty of powder to be had. If your on the fence consider it. It is/will be a unique experience and there is nothing better than a full day of powder and nice hot Onsen at the end of the day.

 

[Philpug]

looks like killer trip for sure! maybe 2018/9

If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do.

 

[Ron]

If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do.

older, yes, more functional, hopefully

 

[Tricia]

My two cents, two seasons ago I was looking for something more adventurous to do so I decided to go to Japan. I ended up going with a different company to Hakuba Valley on the main island about 3.5 hrs northwest of Tokyo. I think about that trip alot, and have told alot of the users that know me here, it was the best powder/tree skiing I have ever done. The skiing there was very different from the states, in that, most of the folks that ventured into the sidecountry/backcountry were not the locals. The Australians, New Zealanders and us, the Americans, were the majority so there was always plenty of powder to be had. If your on the fence consider it. It is/will be a unique experience and there is nothing better than a full day of powder and nice hot Onsen at the end of the day.

There you have it.
You gotta believe Big Salad!

 

[albertanskigirl]

Looks amazing! Maybe sometime in the future, when finances allow!

 

[Chriscray]

I need to win a lottery!

 

[Tricia]

This reminds me. I need to get to the California/Nevada border today and get me some tickets.
@Philpug @dean_spritio Its only 10 miles from here.