Welcome to
The Lodge At Annupuri
One of the best-kept secrets in the Niseko area, Annupuri is nestled on the western side of the giant Niseko United ski fields. Because there is very little accommodation available in the area, Annupuri has been off the radar of most visiting skiers and boarders. Annupuri is what you think of when you think of powder snow paradises at their best: beautiful natural scenery and lots of fresh deep powder, with close access to the mountain. Annupuri remains the last bastion of perfect uncrowded deep powder snow in Niseko.
Latest Annoucement
A brief respite.
The snow has eased off a bit the last few days and Annupuri has experienced some rare bluebird days, the warmer temps also helped the snowpack firm up enough for a few recon missions into the backcountry. Xmas day in particular was an epic with perfect blue skies and deep pow in our nearby stashes. Since then things have been a bit more sedate and restricted to the groomers for some speed runs but if you were creative enough like young Noah Grant below you just built a kicker in the backyard and sessioned it when you felt the urge! Check his oldman in the background bummed he's not hitting it too. Big dumps on the way mid week so stay posted for developments.
It's still dumping!
The last 24 hours has seen a classic Hokkaido storm bucketing snow in the Annupuri region and depths of a meter of fresh were recorded all over the off piste areas and it was one of those "Bring ya snorkel days" for the opening of the quad chair at Moiwa. The Gentem boys were all over it and nailed the first few chairs worth of clean lines. There are untracked stashes all over the place and other than the chaos of the masses at Hirafu it seems like late January crowd wise.
With a pretty big fall of snow predicted for tonight (20th) and continued snow right up till Xmas day we are of and rolling on one of the better looking seasons for a long time. Check out the pic below of the lodge this evening to get an idea of the snow depths … at the base!!!!
DEEPER.
White Ave in Annupuri (the street Annupuri Lodge is in) has certainly been living up to it's name the last 24 hours and as you can see from the photos below it's deeper again than yesterday! The whole mountain has started to fill in and sharp defined edges are now being replaced with fat rolly- polly coverings of snow. We sent our first expeditionary crew into the bowl today and an hour or so later when they paddled out the report was "Nearly" so hopefully this and some of the other exciting runs should start to open when this current storm eases off. Snow is forecast for the next week and there is an epic dump due Friday night so if you are thinking about heading to Japan this season the gate is open and the "Powder Express" has reached the station!
BOOM It's here.
Well the powder express has come slamming into Mt Annupuri and the snow has been pounding down for 48 hours now there are all sorts of options starting to present themselves and riding was as much fun as it gets, today (Tuesday 15th December) was the day of the year so far and hopefully an indication of what's to come. Pics coming tomorrow!
Neck Deep At Annupuri Lodge!
Check out the images below of Annupuri Lodge "Kingpin" and one of Cornel Irving Luckyfinger's last living descendants Matt Naiman checking the snow depth after last nights dump. If this is any indication of what the season is going to do we are in for a beauty! Most of the lifts were on hold due to snow and high winds today but the run that were open were great. Stay tuned for more updates as it gets deeper.
Puking!
Well the weather system that was bringing rain to the region has gone cold overnight and it's dumping snow like only Hokkaido can looks like a foot or so last night and still churning, should be an update and pic and vid later in the day for you to check out.
Film night fun!
All the crew from Annupuri Lodge got a break from the pre opening grind to attend the Niseko launch of "Car Danchi 4" and "Signatures" at the Niseko Village Hilton Hotel to say it was a huge night would be a bit of an understatement. The crew in attendance was solid and lots of the ex-pat workers and local Japanese people from the area we representing.
Car Danchi 4 takes a bit of a directional change from the previous movies in the Franchise and it's clear the films creator Neil Hartman (Of One Films fame) has used the benefits of HD to change the whole look and feel to a much higher end style. Some of the films characters are lost in this film though and the previous "gritty" appeal of the Car Danchi films is gone and is replaced with high gloss action shot mainly on bluebird days.
"Signatures" was also premiered and the audience was pretty stunned. This film was shot entirely in Hokkaido during the 2008/2009 season and contains a broad pulled back look at all aspects of the snow culture and some of the best powder sking slow motion you are likely to see. Taro "TT" Tamai has one of the best snowsurf sections shot in recent times and the whole tie in between the essence of riding and Japanese culture becomes very apparent during this part of the film. The cinematography in "Signatures" is first rate and captures the Island in a manner that makes it clear there is a lot of love in the project.
Both these films are essential buying for any snow freak so hit Google and find out where to get a copy.
We have thrown in a couple of images from last night showing Dave from Telo Island Lodge with a few of the Car Danchi stars and double fisting a couple pineapple and vodkas. A great night and lots of fun.
The "Thaw" before the storm.
Well the season is off and rolling and it was an epic start day at Annupuri the team from the lodge managed to get the first lift and first lines on the Mountain for the season and it was like being dropped straight into some sort of Playstation snow game. There was some great knee - deep blower up high on the runs that were "Officially" open and some even better stuff in a few harder to reach sections. These epic condies did not stay for too long though and we have had temps as high as 12 degrees for the last couple of days which has seen the snowpack harden up and really bind together and the roads have been quite a challenge with plenty of ice. The warm weather wont be with us for long though and models are showing a steep drop accompanied by some great falls of snow as we lead into the weekend. With 5 days till we take official guests here's hoping it's deep and cold so the staff can get their fill prior to our first guests. Hopefully we will have a video report to kick off our snow journal after the next fall.
In the mean time check out the pics of opening day. The first one is the gondola staff getting a final prep talk before launch, the second is our logistics manager Rianna Huebner a long way from her desk on day one and the third is our van being delivered to the front door.
It's OPEN!!!
Well it's a bit of a surprise but the Hokkaido snow machine has blasted to life and all across the mountains there is lots of FRESH seems as though about 1-2 feet dropped last night (20th) here in Annupuri and this morning was interesting as we had to dig cars and steps out from under the blower. Word is that Hirafu has opened today and that Annupuri will be open tomorrow. We should be out there across the next few hours so standby for an "On- the -slopes" report.
A foot of fresh!
If you were in the village of Annupuri the last couple of days you could be forgiven for thinking winter was in full swing. Thanks to a slow moving low pressure system there has been over a foot of snow in the last 24 hours and as this goes live it's still dropping. Warm weather due later in the week will probably melt this lot but hopefully it's a sign of things to come for the 09/10 season. All around town people are working flat-out stacking firewood and changing snow tires for old summer tires and there is a real air of excitement.
For the past month we have been busy preparing the lodge for the coming season removing summer screens from the windows and getting the snow depth poles up. We have also refurbished the hot tub and bathrooms and given all the rooms a tweak to make sure all heaters are going at full speed. The kitchen is also prepped for the chef to step in and weave the magic on food and our bar is dusted down and ready to go. The guys at STC have launched the product this week so make sure you lock in before we are sold out. More frequent updates will start from Nov 25 so check back then for all the snow go from Annupuri.
Book Now!
Check the schedule and book now! click here!