WOW What a Day

 Early to rise. We are doing ok with the time change with the only anomaly being we wake up really early. Usually between 6:30 and 7. It has some advantages though, breakfast is from 7 till 9 and the lifts open at 8:30. The daylight time here is a little weird, the sun comes up around 7 and sets around 4:30. It takes a little getting used to to have it pitch black at 5:30 in the evening.

Another day on the slopes. More fresh snow! They have a lot of specialty equipment for moving snow. Small, relatively,they look like mini Zambonis with teeth, 



snow blowers then there are front end loaders with specialized blades and then there are these:


It seems we hit the perfect storm! Apparently today is the Monday of a long weekend, the wind is high so many of the lifts are closed, there was an accident on the highway to Hanazono so the road is closed. The result is;
- one lower lift at Annapuri running, we met some people from our resort coming back from there at around 10, who said it not worth going
- no buses are going to Hanazono
- the crossover runs at the mountain top that allow access to the other resorts are inaccessible
- Niseko Village has only lower chairs running
So …. Everyone is going to Hirufa! So ….. all the buses are packed going in either direction (like riding the C train out so you can have a seat coming back). We wait over an hour before we cram onto a bus, cold and weary.

Hirufa has a number of chairs and 2 gondolas running. Really long lift lines but we are here, sort of like skiing in the 80s at Sunshine. The snow however is glorious. Lots of powder, great groomed runs, reasonable visibility. There are moments though, when the blowing snow is so thick you can’t see anything. One minor drawback is the number of beginners here. There more lower level skiers than anywhere I have been. Makes you keep your head up! 
The little black mass between the gondola station and the other small building is the lift line masses.



They have night skiing on a good portion of the hill but with the wind we give it a pass.


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