JAPAN GRABS - Hakuba Blog 2013 / 2014
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Dec. 29th, 2013 at Cortina KokusaiFirst day of the year at Cortina, which used to be a hidden gem, but is now well-known to all as powder heaven. The day before was better apparently, and while we had new snow, yesterday’s tracks weren’t fully filled in. I shouldn’t complain though - it was powder and it was bluebird.
Cortina has amazing tree skiing in bounds and out of bounds too. If you go there, though, and want to drop off the back, please read the warning sign and follow the rules. Having avalanche safety gear is essential and just because you see a group of ten Japanese riders going in without backpacks (like I did today), it doesn’t mean squat if you get into trouble…or someone near you gets into trouble. Also, for those of you with travel insurance, better read the fine print to see if it still covers you outside of the resort boundaries.
Anyways, on to the powder!
Let’s start it off with some classic Cortina shots:jealous, anyone?
I believe this is called “the white room”
slashes still look good in black & white
Normally, with a sequence, you need to choose the best shot out of the lot. It’s especially difficult when the rider is doing a line which has a number of epic stills. Setting up for this shot, I didn’t bother hiking up to a traverse track two meters above me as I 1)couldn’t be bothered and 2) thought I would just get the action before he got even close to it. As you know, having tracks in a shot is a big downer and what do ya know? the ones I couldn’t crop out are a bit of a shame. Normally, they’d be deletes but the powder wave is pretty gnarly. Check it out:
Does Cortina seem familiar to you?
You guys may recognize it from my past photos, like this one, the winner of a Boardworld photo contest:
Anyways, it’s definitely worth a visit if you come to Hakuba for a holiday!
Just epic! Great photos, Marc. And yes, I am jealous. 
here’s a New Year’s bonus:
I can already tell this is going to be a very painful thread to catch up on…. 
I can already tell this is going to be a very painful thread to catch up on….
i dont like coming in here at all due to jelousy, yet i still do. I cant stay away, im japowing vicariously through everyone this year.
Ah cortina! Probably one of my favorite places on this planet. And I only spent one day there
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Got a cool announcement from Happo One for you guys!
The Happo Banks park will open on February 1st! 
In case you don’t know, Happo Banks is a unique park that focuses on bank and bowl riding. There’s no extra charge for it, just get a Happo One lift ticket and you’re good to go. First off, watch this video:
then, check out the website here:
http://happobanks.com/en/
This park caters to all levels of riding and is great for getting creative on your board. If you’re going to be in Hakuba after February 1st, Happo Banks is highly recommended and ranks a 10 out of 10 on my must-ride scale (that I just made up).
Last year I made the mistake of buying a season pass to a different resort, and had to buy day tickets to ride this park. It’s that good. When it opens I’ll be shooting a bunch there so check back for images. Here’s one from the site:
That looks like fun!!!!!
Damn that looks super fun.
That looks wicked
thats Rad with a capital R
That looks sweet as. I know where I’ll be for my last day in Hakuba…
Wow, so epic. So Hakuba.
That would be so much fun!
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Iwatake
On the drive up I heard that there was 50cm of fresh, Cortina top lifts weren’t opening due to avy danger and it was super windy. Plus, it was still the winter break so the bigger resorts would be rammed with tourists. What to do? We decided to try Iwatake for a change. I always hit Iwatake in the spring as there are loads of side hits on the runs, but would it be good on a pow day?
these guys seem to think Iwatake is a good idea
Iwatake is quite a fun resort and it has a young, hip vibe to it. They actually play good music on the speakers on the lift poles and there are lots of university students there on tours. It’s the only resort in Hakuba that has runs facing all points of the compass, so if one aspect is wind hammered, you’ve still got plenty of options left.
Anyways, it was quite a good day. We scoped out a tight zone within view of a lift that had some tasty drops and were cheered as we pulverized the line.
My third time down was my favourite as I hit the jumps hard and didn’t crash like on the run before (the shame!). 
I was stoked the rest of the day, thinking about how good the gopro footage was going to look. To my horror, the jump footage was ruined by snow sticking to the camera! Aaargh!
the most epic run evar!
We heard later that Cortina opened up on time and it was epic, but no worries, hitting new terrain is always fun. Then, after a long laidback lunch, we went to check out a small cliff line that I first seen over five years ago, but had never explored. It looked good, so we hiked it, and ended up spending all afternoon there, doing drops. It was great fun and good to get the feel of cliffs again.
Random guy riding pow
That night when we hit the onsen, my friend found that he had forgotten his towel! Practical as ever, he proceeded to use the hairdryer to dry his entire body 
The look on two young Japanese boys, waiting for their father, was priceless! “what is that white guy doing??? Has he no shame? Why is he too cheap to pay 200yen to buy a towel at the front desk?”
Man I am hearing bad reports for nozawa , can u confirm Marc