17 Jan - alpine powder

Such consistent powder from higher up all the way down. We were on Happo (so were many others, and it is heavily tracked down the main routes to the north from lower elevations). Today was a good group: local backcountry lady, Chika-san, our friend, Shoji-san - who runs Tengu Cat in Hokkaido. Their friend and nice guy, Greg Johnson (ACMG Split board guide from Canada) and his friend, Anna, who told me she has been sled boarding in British Columbia for... along time... and is now getting into splitting. Three splitters, two skiers, great snow and good stability with fair weather and no wind. You get a few per season, this was one. We skied easier terrain that on other days is not so easy from a stability perspective. Mume is still mostly untracked for a nice few hundred, but Oshi and Gara are wrecked, so the total Happo vert is not in good shape. The south aspect was baked. This leaves plenty of shorter lines in the wider area, and plenty higher up. Any one been through the waterfall?