- NISEKO 2014/15 -
Guys, anyone have a bit of inside advice/knowledge etc of gate recommendations at Niseko other than just try for a full set!!! lol cheers!
They’re all good value!!!!!
Personally I like the gates over Annupuri Resort side though!!!!!
Strawberry and the Peak tend to get tracked out fast, so maybe start off there first, then ride the others!!!!!
Ah ok sweet. Sounds like a plan. Cheers Mizu!!
Ah ok sweet. Sounds like a plan. Cheers Mizu!!
No wukkas, mate!!!!!
Oh, and give the Mihirashi Trees if you’re on first gondy out of Hirafu!!!!! (Small hike up the hill to the right once ya get out of the gondola)
Just please do check the conditions and patrol info.
They’re getting pretty fed up with cowboys charging every fresh bit of snow they can, closed or not, roped off or not.
What we have in Niseko as far as the gate system and Niseko Rules is pretty special and gives us a lot of freedom and choice. It’s been a spectacularly bad season in Hakuba with accidents…and if we got a rash of incidents in Niseko it wouldn’t take much for the powers that be to reconsider the freedoms we have.
It’s a very safe place, it’s very well managed, you will absolutely love it.
Just play within the rules.
I’m probably preaching to the choir here - you guys know the score. 
Totally agree with that LMB!!!!!
Gates closed, there’s usually enough powder to be found within the boundaries anyways!!!!!
But even be aware of how deep it can get inside the ropes!!!!! I’ve been in a couple of dubious spots on a couple of occasions!!!!!
Go with the gut!!!!! But take notice of the notices!!!!!
Cheers guys, appreciate the advice!! We’ll make the effort to lift the opinion of the Aussie invaders while we’re there….
Cheers guys, appreciate the advice!! We’ll make the effort to lift the opinion of the Aussie invaders while we’re there….
I wouldn’t bother with strawberry fields unless you’re on the first chair. It gets tracked so quickly and easily.
Gate 9 (waterfall) is awesome, great if you can go further around but sometimes it’s hard to traverse with a snowboard across the top unless someone has already broken trail for you. Either or you can usually drop in anywhere so if you get stuck, just go down.
Gate 5 is lots of fun underneath Hana 3 lift and around… Just make sure you don’t go too low -come back in before lift tower 8 otherwise you’ll be hiking out - have fun with that!!! Go up the Hana 3 lift first and see where people are coming back onto trail before you go through the gate.
Gate 4 is great, usually opens about half after gate 3 (peak). You can traverse all the way round. I have probably done this the least so maybe go with someone that knows before you do that one. Gate 3 (peak) as well!!! Heaven! Doesn’t open all the time. If it’s a sunny day, do it!
Annupuri gates 1 and 8 are lots of fun. Can’t really go wrong there. I’d probably go there first. Gate 2 you can traverse to the 2nd Annupuri bowl. I really like it there too. Just be careful when traversing across the first bowl, stay high. There should be tracks before you. You can also usually get to Moiwa from Annupuri but go with someone who knows.
What’s your ability like? You definitely have to know what you’re doing out there. I’d get a guide if I were
you - if you are in a group you can pitch in costs together.I am lucky because I have lots of friends and my fiancé there and know the gates like the back of their hand. Either way make sure you have your backpack with probe, shovel, beacon etc. Be safe out there and ride wisely!
Miharashi trees are good if you are early… They get traaaaacked out quickly. I’d go to gate 5 first.
Ps. Oh yeah. NEVER EVER duck ropes, and if the gates are closed, it’s for a reason. Don’t go there. Heroes who don’t listen usually end up dead!
Oh yeah, good point about bein with friends, Billy!!!!!
Never, ever, ever, ever (is that enough evers?????), ever (one more for good measure!!!!!), ride the gates on ya own!!!!!
Oh yeah, good point about bein with friends, Billy!!!!!
Never, ever, ever, ever (is that enough evers?????), ever (one more for good measure!!!!!), ride the gates on ya own!!!!!
We left the ‘been snowboarding a week’ Spaniard in town on his own when we went to Kiroro. We paid for a whole day instructor the day we went to Rusutsu so he could come too, but he said he would rather tinker around on the Ace by himself than do that again…saved us a bunch of cash! BUT we got home to find he hiked the Peak…on his own.
No clue that what he did endangered himself and others.
I thought I’d taught him enough mountain sense, but a week in I didn’t expect him to try anything like that.
Took me 2 days to calm down enough to explain more than - ‘congratulations, I’m glad you didn’t die, but you are lucky nothing bad happened and don’t ever go out a gate without a partner again.’
It made me wonder how many more people were doing similar, with a similar skill set.
If so….it’s a wonder there’s not been more issues!
I don’t really understand the people who “dog” their friends to go ride by themselves.
Riding with buddies is one of the main reasons I love snowboarding.
However I do understand that a lot of people underestimate the snow as a killer, it’s the same as people getting caught in a rip at Bondi…
BUT we got home to find he hiked the Peak…on his own.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?! That’s madness! Where did he end up??
I don’t really understand the people who “dog” their friends to go ride by themselves.
Riding with buddies is one of the main reasons I love snowboarding.
However I do understand that a lot of people underestimate the snow as a killer, it’s the same as people getting caught in a rip at Bondi…
Just to be clear we didn’t dog him.
We wanted to do 2 day trips in 3 weeks.
We’re all experienced - he was a newbie that we brought with us because he has become family.
We paid for 3 x 3hr private lessons the first 3 days and then spent the afternoons riding with him. Rode with him every other day. But on those two days the agreement was we were riding stuff that was too hectic for him, we brought the same private instructor he’d already had with us and he had his own private guide/rent a friend. We met up for lunch.
The 2nd day he chose not to come.
Personally I think he knew we would not support a decision to hike the peak, so took his chance to do what he wished for a day. If I had any clue what he had planned I would’ve stayed behind and maybe taken him down Miharashi instead…at least as a practice run to see how he coped.