As we’ve stepped into April, although there is still more than enough snow left on the mountains and piled up in the lonely forgotten corners of the sidewalks, it’s changed. It’s hardened, gotten worse, and it has an edge to it now. I’m still talking about snow, not a gritty zero-to-hero story. Two weeks ago, the situation wasn’t quite as dire but similar. And you don’t wanna ski on jaded, street-tough snow. So a bunch of us in the area decided to go on a quest.. a quest for one last place to ski for the season. A place only heard of in legend... where the snow is pure and white and fluffy like a freshly-groomed Bichon Frise. And that place... was Kurodake! I’ve posted from other pictures from an area known as Sounkyo (use the searchbar on the side to search “sounkyo” for a refresher) but it’s a region to the SW of me tucked away in a huge mountain cluster. And one said mountain in the mountain is Kurodake! It’s got an interesting ski setup: the ski area is actually pretty close to the top of the mountain. First you ride a ropeway cable car up to the ski area, then a normal chairlift to the top of the ski area. Sometimes the ropeway leading up the mountain is closed due to the high winds that can whip through the valley, which means that although it’s a very well known ski location, it’s sometimes a bit risky to plan trips there. Combining all that with the fact that it’s.. Hokkaido... and the ski area (and the side country a little off the beaten path) is full of amazingly deep fluffy snow! And not many people there despite of it! This was my first time going, and let me tell you: the hype was well-founded. It was probably the most fun I’ve had skiing ever so far! I’m not a great skiier, or even a good skiier. Really only started actually skiing for real last year, and I’ve essentially plateaued at the point where I usually manage to go down the mountain without falling down. But I managed to follow the rest of the group off the piste (groomed ski path) and into the side country which was mostly unridden and full of fluffy deep snow! Which... well my skis are kind of old and a bit more like racing skis than powder skis, so I kind of sunk through the powder like a hot knife through butter... or, snow, actually. Don’t need much of an analogy there I guess. But even still it was amazing. We sort of found a path down a little valley that we rode again and again, dodging trees and branches, falling down in fluffy snow (only a couple times!) and just generally having a blast! Like see? Look! Doesn’t this look awesome!
Well if it does, good. That’s not me though. Pretty obviously. That’s Matthew, who is actually a very good skier. But even a fundamental beginner like me had a blast. I’m really looking forward to going back to Kurodake in the future. Perhaps next year! For now though, I think it’s time to hang up the skis, sit up in bed, and watch the
