2025-2026 Ski season thread

[MarkO]

Just got back from Japan last night. It was part of a Japan/Taiwan vacation, but we squeezed in a couple days at Shiga Kogen. It's on the Ikon, so my lift tickets were free, but cost $57/day for my son (adult window price). We essentially had the entire mountain to ourselves skiing weekdays. The lifts and hotels are a bit dated, but you can't beat the price. $200/night for a hotel room on the mountain that included a full buffet breakfast and a 7 course dinner. We stayed at a traditional Japanee lodge, so we slept on futons on the floor. They had a nice natural fed onsen in the lodge which was nice to soak in after a day in the deep pow. It was an overall awesome experience, and we'll probably go back next year. The only thing that sucks is the 12 hours of a flight, but when you add it all up, it's a better deal than skiing out west and a waaaaaay better experience.

As for the snow. Not sure if they average as much snow as they've been getting this winter, but they got dumped! If you're not used to skiing deep, deep pow, Japan might not be for you. They do a good job grooming, but if you duck into the woods, or seek the higher elevations, do not stop! But if you do, do not get out of your skis! The pow is so dry and light you will sink down to your thighs. 

[Boston Bulldog]

Had the privilege to hop around New England this past weekend to sample the Mid-January snowpack in various locations of NNE and CNE. We began with a Saturday morning in Pinkham Notch. Dreams of a high alpine romp along the eastern ravines of Mt. Washington were quashed early Friday morning as MWAC issued a Considerable avalanche risk for the zone, citing highly reactive slabs present across all easterly aspects. This elevated rating persisted into Saturday, and with new snow loading on the slabs it was clear the snowpack would be touchy. Nevertheless we decided to poke around the zone, test the snowpack in safe locations, and make a judgement call from there. Honestly I knew it was unlikely we would successfully push into the alpine, but saw value in dusting off avalanche safety protocols in preparation for future missions.

Arriving at the base of Hillman's Highway we were greeted by hollow "whoomphing" beneath our skins, likely emitting from buried collapsing onto further buried layers. This was a sign that not only could a slide occur up high, but it could step down and release older weak layers deeper in the snowpack, generating a much larger avalanche. My party dug a pit, found reactivity, and turned around - opting for a scratchy but safe run down the Sherb.

Good thing we turned around when we did. Just to the north Tuckerman Ravine came alive at around the same time, ripping a large natural slide under Chute which stepped across multiple weak layers... exactly what we were worried about.

Our backup plan was to investigate the Gulf of Slides, hoping that the SE aspect was shielded from slab formation. Unfortunately Main Gully looked spooky and unskied despite several groups in the area. We backed off once again, this time enjoying a much softer ski on the dynamic GoS trail as a consolation prize. Later in the day the Gulf of Slides underwent a small natural Avy cycle, once again reaffirming our decision making. 

 

With the high alpine of the Presidentials a no-go, next up was an even more dangerous endeavor: Killington on MLK weekend Sunday. Ropes dropped for the season on the top pitch of Devil's Fiddle, offering boot top powder and pillowy drops through saplings - a welcome reprieve from the human slalom taking place elsewhere at The Beast.

Solitude could be found on Monday. A favorite stash of mine, bathed in views of one of NH's most underrated monadnocks, brought some low angle powder turns (and steeper loud powder) just off the Interstate. A moment of bliss before I too had to join the holiday traffic conga line south back into the flatlands.