Taking advantage of the 24 hour dump of snow, it seemed like a good time to test the coverage higher up the mountain.
After sleeping through my alarm and missing my meet up with MikePow, who had set off by himself 45mins earlier skinning straight up Niseko Mt Resort Grand Hirafu, I had to play catch up and find Mike.
Hiking up the Alpen course, 19 November 2012
The Green run and beyond with a nice new coverage of snow, 19 November 2012
Towards the top of the Green run I heard someone in the distance woo-hooing and sure enough Mike was already getting his first face shots of the season skiing down Kokutai. Luckily I caught his attention and he kindly decided to stop and join me for another hike back up top the Ace Hill rest house.
Mike skinning past, 19 November 2012
Underneath the Ace Hill rest house, 19 November 2012
The snow was surprisingly good with a coverage of around 50cm – not bad for 24 hrs!
Gliding through his turn, 19 November 2012
A face full of snow, 19 November 2012
Great snow, 19 November 2012
Mike in the zone, 19 November 2012
Mike getting deep in it, 19 November 2012
Undoubtedly the best pre opening first tracks snow either of us had ridden in Hirafu.
Mike stoked, 19 November 2012
