ShigaKogen Backcountory Tours

A Perfect Saturday!!!

This Saturday doesn't remind us that is already Spring in Japan in any possible way!
The trees are all snowy again, we had some snow during the day and temperatures registered were below zero just like an ordinary winter day!
It was cold Saturday, but sunny and beautiful! At the end of the day, I was told that it was -5℃ on the ski course...

This is Yokoteyama Kid's Park and Kumanoyu Ski Area on the background.

Kumanoyu Ski courses and Kasadake

The summit of Yokoteyama hiden in the clouds, viewed from Yokoteyama Sky Lift 2.


An hour later, the summit could be seen perfectly. This is Yokoteyama Sky Lift 1.



This is Mt. Kasadake, viewed from Yokoteyama Sky Lift 2.


The Yokoteyama trees are all white again!
Yokoteyama Sky Lift 2.

This is the view from the top of Yokoteyama Sky Lift 2.

From Yokoteyama Sky Lift 3 the trees are even more snowy!

Shibutoge Area

From the top of Yokoteyama Lift 6 Kasadake is beautiful

This is the Yokoteyama Lift 6

From Yokoteyama Lift 6, you can choose a intermediate course, on the left, or a easier one, on the right.

And that's Yokoteyama main course in the end of the day.

Sunny Sunny Sunny!!!

This is how the sky was in the morning and still is a sunny blue sky day! Some people from Canada came here today to enjoy this beautiful day and go out snowshoe hiking. They decided to walk around Yokoteyama where, on clear days, it's possible to see even the Mt. Fuji. Hope they are enjoying the view right now!

Backcountry Ski Tour 2009, the end!

And those are the happy people who are enjoying the last edition of our Backcountry Ski Tour 2009.

We had 6 ski tours and one cancelled this year. Hope you all enjoyed a lot and see you next year!

Sunny Days!!!

This trail leads you to Yokoteyama, completely white yesterday afternoon

and this is Kumanoyu.

The Japan Meteorological Agency　expects sunny days...

Which is great, because yesterday the mountains were covered with a good amount of snow again and you just need to enjoy it in a sunny day! ;)

Saturday morning at Yokoteyama

Saturday started very cloudy at Mt. Yokote... These trees are between the Yokoteyama Sky Lift 2 and Yokoteyama Sky Lift 3.

And that's the view from Yokoteyama Sky Lift 2.

Saturday, March 7, 2009.

10:16 A. M.

Yokoteyama, Shiga Kogen, Joshinetsu National Park, Nagano, Japan.

Shiga Kogen Backcountry Ski Tour 2009

These are the Shiga Kogen Backcountry Tour skiers.

This photo was taken before they start, at the top of Yokoteyama, this morning.

Now they are still skiing anf enjoying this beautiful landscape.

Shiga Kogen Backcountry Ski Tour 2009

Today The Shiga Kogen Backcountry Ski Tour 2009 started.

It will happen more 5 times during March.

Backcountry tour starts at 10:00 A. M. and they ski the whole day, finishing at 17:30.

In this first tour, 57 skiers joined to enjoy this beautiful sunny day in Shiga Kogen.

Shiga Kogen inhabitants

These beautiful dogs live at the top of Yokoteyama, 2305 m. above sea level, at Unnjyo no Yado Yokote Sancho Hutte. It's a lodge, restaurant and also the highest bakery in Japan.

On cold days...

Tempura Udon an gyouza from La Foret, at Yokoteyama.

After hours skiing on the snow...

nothing better than a hot tempura udon!

This is how skiing in Shiga Kogen tastes... very Japanese!

Lots of snow!

A great day for those who were lucky enough to go out and enjoy the snow on Monday!

Fresh snow all day! Bad visibility but a great day anyway!

Pictures from Yokoteyama on Monday.

Conversa surreal no trabalho...

eu: Nossa, você não tem idéia da minha alegria quando encontrei a padaria lá em cima... era umas 9:30 da manhã, eu não tinha tomado café e ainda por cima tinha esquecido as luvas!

Japa: sem luvas? tava uns -7℃ lá em cima na quinta, não?

eu: acho que sim... mas enfim... imagina poder comer croissaint fresquinho e tomar um café quentinho de manhã, depois de 2 meses comendo arroz e tomando missoshiro toda manhã?!

Japa: ah... eu sei como é... sofri muito quando fui pra Áustria... sentia uma saudade da comida japonesa...

eu : Ah... então você me entende... e quanto tempo você ficou na Áustria?

Japa: UMA SEMANA!!!!

eu: UMA SEMANA?!?!?! Só isso!?!

Japa: Foi duro! Senti saudades da comida... só trabalhei...

eu: e nem deu pra passear? Ficou trabalhando num escritório fechado a semana toda?

Japa: não... tive que ficar esquiando na Áustria, a semana toda... foi duro viu...


PS: essa conversa não é ficção!!! Nem a padaria, que fica no topo do monte Yokote, em Shiga Kogen.... é a visão do paraíso pra alguém como eu: com fome, frio e saudades de uma comidinha ocidental :)

o pior é que o meu amigo japonês também estava falando sério!!!

横手山頂ヒュッテ, Yokote Sancho Hutte

Padaria, Restaurante e Hotel.
Lá você encontra pães fresquinhos, chocolate quente e refeições ocidentais... tem até Strogonoff!!! :)

Conhecida como a padaria que se encontra em maior altitude no Japão.








ah... e esses lindos Huskies Siberianos são os mascotes da padaria. lindos, lindos!

Yokoteyama Skylift 3

That's the view from the Yokoteyama Skylift 3, about 9:30 in the morning, last Thursday.



















And finally, the top of Yokoteyama. This is the lift house. You can see the lifts entering on the right. Also, this is a 2.3005 m above sea level ramen ya (Japanese noodles restaurant). Perfect to warm up after skiing for a while. There's a balcony from where you can have a panoramic view. It's said that in most clear days you can even see Mt. Fuji.

Between the 2nd and the 3rd Yokoteyama Skylift

Mt. Kasadake , symbol of Shiga Kogen and Japanese Northern Alps in the background.

More about Yokoteyama

http://www.shigakogen.jp/yokoteyama/index.html

http://www.yokoteyama.com/index.html

http://www.shigakogen.gr.jp/english/snow/ski22.html

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resortdetail.php?resid=261

Great chat in the morning

This Friday started with a light snow but the sun is shining from time to time too.

This morning I had the chance to talk with these nice guests.
She’s from Osaka and he’s Australian. They spent 5 days in Shiga Kogen and it was very interesting to talk to them.
Frank Hujber, has spent most of his 63 years-old chasing the snow season everywhere in the world. From Canada and US to many countries in Europe, he’s skiing everywhere and every time it is possible. Also, he worked as a ski instructor in Australia.
So, with this huge background, I had to ask him what is the best thing about Shiga Kogen, and he said here is the most beautiful place he had ever skiing in his life! In these 5 days, he and his Japanese friend skied through all Shiga Kogen. They completed the challenge card in 3 days and proudly exhibited they “Shiga Kogen ’08-’09 Challenge Master” pin. From all Shiga Kogen, he especially liked the view from the top of Yokoteyama, where they spent the last 2 days skiing.
Hujber skied in Shiga Kogen last year and enjoyed so much his stay that he wanted to come back here this year. Also, he told that he definitely will be back as soon as he can. Unfortunately, it was a short ride by bus to talk about his experiences in the snow field so, the last thing he want to say is remind us that life is to short so we all should enjoy it as best as we can, spending as much time as we can doing what we really love to do. He knows what he’s talking about!
It was really nice to meet them! And I hope to meet them again!