The Skiers & Snowboarders Thread

[Quickstatus]

My skis are 80mm underboot

i suppose you have your own boots?
What runs are your favourite at perisher?
What ski do you have, weight height?
Do you find it easy to turn in the thick snow you sometimes find at perisher?

It is no so much about wider skis
Technique mainly, then equipment
Ive seen skiers on skinny skis masterfully shred a powder field.

If you are at the stage of experimenting on different skis, then leave your skis at home and just hire

 

[Seat0B]

Just stumbled across this thread...think I might become a regular here!

Popping over to Japan in a couple of weeks for my annual Japan ski holiday. I've given up on Perisher thanks to the ridiculous lift prices.

Will be skiing Hakuba (2nd time there. 1st time was 2024 and concentrated only on Tsugaike)
2025 - Akakura Onsen
2024 - Tsugaike
2023 - Nozawa Onsen

Have skied Switzerland many moons ago but have been lobbing down to the Aussie alps (pretty much the NSW resorts only) for 40 years, with a few gap years when kids were too young & money tight.

This year I am going to take my own skis mainly just as an experiment to see how well I handle the public transport with a big, long bag plus my other luggage! (Yeah I know about black cat/takubin but I don't want to wait a day or 2 for my gear to arrive at my accommodation).

Q for the peeps already over there...I know they're getting a massive dump right now. My skis are 80mm underboot. Freshly waxed. I'm only an on-piste skier (sorta good intermediate, almost advanced) but I'm thinking they may be too narrow for the fluff even on piste. Happy to leave mine at home & hire wider skis if that's the consensus.

As an aside, I have seen a few instas/tiktoks of lift lines at Niseko. Like 15 to 20 mins wait! One of the main reasons I'll always avoid school holiday times, even try to avoid uni holidays too.

I would bring your own skis and only rent powder skis if absolutely needed. My skis are 88 mm under foot and I’ve never needed full on powder skis for on piste skiing, although I’ve never had powder above mid thigh (I’m 165 cm tall)

The on piste conditions in Furano are excellent and you would not need wide skis here at all at the moment.

 

[Seat0B]

Also you can get a liner bus directly from Haneda airport to Hakuba which makes transit with skis easy. Book in advance. And if you are going elsewhere after you ski, use black cat to send the ski gear directly back to airport and just allow 30-45 mins before check in to collect your ski items.
A ski bag will be quite the challenge if you are planning to use Shinkansen or other trains.

 

[Youfah Mizzum]

i suppose you have your own boots?
What runs are your favourite at perisher?
What ski do you have, weight height?
Do you find it easy to turn in the thick snow you sometimes find at perisher?

Yep - own boots. Always take them.
Perisher I like Sidesaddle and Zali's, rollercoaster (early morn before it gets too chewed up, The Screw, Mother in Law, the one down Interceptor chair. Back 15/20 years ago I'd do Olympic and Kamikazi, also Zali's with a bit more speed and grace than I do now lol!
Ski's are 80 x 159. I'm only about 164cm tall.
Yep -easy to turn in the late afternoon porridge but I really prefer the early morning crispness with that crunchy ice 0.5mm on top of the corduroy. But will ski in basically all conditions as long as it isn't dangerous, sticky and slushy.

I would bring your own skis and only rent powder skis if absolutely needed. My skis are 88 mm under foot and I’ve never needed full on powder skis for on piste skiing

That's what I am thinking.

you can get a liner bus directly from Haneda airport to Hakuba

But takes forever too, I have heard 5 to 6 hours with stops along the way, possible holdups with weather conditions etc. At least the shinkansens are faster.

if you are going elsewhere after you ski

That's my dilemma. I am going purely to ski. Land at HND - go direct to ski fields and ski. Then leave and fly home. Only gone for about 9 days. Just a week off work. I don't have time to wait for black cat so I'm travelling with gear.
I've already booked all transportation from HND to Hakuba and back again which includes shinkansen. Have been on them plenty times before so I know the luggage issues, space wise. That is partially why I wanted to take my skis-kinda as an experiment to see how well I handle it. I am expecting a minor hassle but just how much is the test.

I think I've got my answer - 80mm should be fine.

 

[Stealthflyer]

Just stumbled across this thread...think I might become a regular here!

Popping over to Japan in a couple of weeks for my annual Japan ski holiday. I've given up on Perisher thanks to the ridiculous lift prices.

Will be skiing Hakuba (2nd time there. 1st time was 2024 and concentrated only on Tsugaike)
2025 - Akakura Onsen
2024 - Tsugaike
2023 - Nozawa Onsen

Have skied Switzerland many moons ago but have been lobbing down to the Aussie alps (pretty much the NSW resorts only) for 40 years, with a few gap years when kids were too young & money tight.

This year I am going to take my own skis mainly just as an experiment to see how well I handle the public transport with a big, long bag plus my other luggage! (Yeah I know about black cat/takubin but I don't want to wait a day or 2 for my gear to arrive at my accommodation).

Q for the peeps already over there...I know they're getting a massive dump right now. My skis are 80mm underboot. Freshly waxed. I'm only an on-piste skier (sorta good intermediate, almost advanced) but I'm thinking they may be too narrow for the fluff even on piste. Happy to leave mine at home & hire wider skis if that's the consensus.

As an aside, I have seen a few instas/tiktoks of lift lines at Niseko. Like 15 to 20 mins wait! One of the main reasons I'll always avoid school holiday times, even try to avoid uni holidays too.

I’ve enjoyed being able to switch out my rental skis depending on the conditions. Yesterday it was crispy but no new snow, so narrower skis were great, whereas I switched them for wider skis this morning after the overnight dump. They also freshly waxed them for me on request. It’s been interesting experimenting with different skis for the changing conditions. The rental place is very happy to switch for free and recommend appropriate skis for the conditions.

I don’t know about Niseko, but the Nozawa Onsen lines aren’t lengthy this week. Most of the time it’s been a minute or two if that. Around ski school drop off, pick up times, the Hikage Gondala line can get a bit lengthy, but it’s more like 5 mins.