{"id":1449,"date":"2010-02-07T22:50:32","date_gmt":"2010-02-07T13:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-02-07\/1449"},"modified":"2010-02-07T22:50:32","modified_gmt":"2010-02-07T13:50:32","slug":"a-visit-to-the-makino-ski-area-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-02-07\/1449","title":{"rendered":"A Visit to the Makino Ski Area, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHitting the Slopes<\/span>\nMakino Ski Area, Takayama City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

Anthony has been wanting to go skiing ever since last year's YMCA ski\nexperience<\/a>, and finally yesterday the schedule allowed for it. Anthony\nand I took<\/span> off early in the morning for the almost-two-hour drive north to\nthe Makino Highlands, to the Makino Ski Area<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

I didn't intend to pull my camera out much, wanting to concentrate on\nactually being a parent<\/span> and helping him with the confidence-building\nexperience that learning to ski could be. But it turns<\/span> out that the 20\nseconds of total ski time he had during last year's YMCA event was enough,\nand yesterday he basically put the skis on and just did it. I ran along<\/span>\nside him the first time, but it was readily apparent that he could ski\nfine, so after a few<\/span> runs, I broke<\/span> out the camera. Yesterday's post<\/a> was the\nday's first picture. The one above<\/span> followed soon after.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>6400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Upslope<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

At first it was sunny and beautiful, but the foreboding sky made it\napparent that it would not stay that way for long.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>5000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nForeboding to the North<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

To say the day's weather was “dynamic” would be an understatement.<\/p>\n\n

As the sun disappeared, Anthony started a run,<\/span> and the following\nsequence was pretty much all I could<\/span> expect to get, photo-wise...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStarting His Run<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 27 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNear Approach<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 26 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nConcentration<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAnd There He Goes<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I had my Nikkor 70<\/span>-200\nf<\/span>\/2.8 zoom<\/a> in the car, which would have offered\nme a lot<\/span> more options photography-wise, but I was<\/span> too lazy to head back and\nget it.<\/p>\n\n

And speaking of lazy, this kid-centric place had no ski lifts, so you\nhad to actually trudge uphill yourself, except for a short<\/span> run in the\nmiddle of the slope where there was a peoplemover\ntreadmill-type thing<\/a> to bring people up hill.\n\nIt's called a \u30b5\u30f3\u30ad\u30c3\u30c9<\/span>\n(sankiddo<\/i>) for reasons I haven't<\/span> been able to figure out.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOn The “Sankiddo”<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 26 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\na minute later, still on\nA Storm<\/span> Blows Through<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It's just 100m long, but the slope is 5× that, so if you're older\nthan 4 years old and want any kind of real run, it's essentially worthless. It is faster<\/span>, literally, to ski uphill (I saw<\/span> a kid<\/span> do it) than to take the\nthing. And even if<\/span> you do, you have to continue trudging uphill yourself to\ncreate a run<\/span> of any meaningful distance. Good exercise, for some definition\nof “good” that my aching body today doesn't remember.<\/p>\n\n

Here's a shot looking back downhill, with Anthony heading off and the\npeoplemover thing in the background behind him.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 66 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLong Run<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The “urban clutter” backgrounds and repetitive nature of the event had\nme looking for different angles, so to speak, with the camera. Here's the best\nI could<\/span> come up with:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHappy Trails<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Oh well.<\/p>\n\n

Mother Nature helped me out by making the weather very dynamic. A minute<\/span> or so after taking the shot above, I heard<\/span> a terrible<\/span> racket to one side of\nthe slope... a building<\/span> with a wide<\/span> roof was getting pelted by something\nfrom the sky, and whatever it\nwas was \nheading my way. I'd never<\/span> seen\nanything like it. It was like<\/span> a mix<\/span> between snow and hail... big airy\n“rocks” of snow, mostly the size of peas, but some the size of\ngrapes...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 34 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“Snow Hail”?<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It was difficult to get a picture of them, having no hands free and\nbeing pelted the whole time. It was essentially<\/span> identical to small globs of\nStyrofoam in every respect but taste. Unlike the big, wet, heavy, fluffy\nflakes that we experienced\nin Gokayama Village<\/a>, these were quite hard, yet very light, and also\nvery dry. They didn't stick to anything... they bounced off whatever they\nhit, and rolled around on the ground, were blown by the wind, and tended to\naccumulate in footprint-indentations in the snow, where they remained all\nday. Very odd.<\/p>\n\n

The ratty looking glove I have in the photo above, by the way, is from a\n$5 pair I found<\/span> at a Home<\/span>-Depot-like home center here in Japan, with slits\nacross the thumb and two fingers to allow you to pop your fingers out when\nyou need a good<\/span> grip on something, such as camera controls. They're\nextremely useful and I've used them for a couple<\/span> of years, though the slit\non the thumb could have used some reinforced stitching. Still, for $5 it's\nhard to complain, especially since I saw<\/span> the exact same pair of gloves\n— absolutely<\/i> identical except for the labeling — at a camera<\/span> store in Osaka<\/a>\nfor $50.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, the freaky snow hail storm eventually passed. 10 minutes later it\nwas a conventional<\/span> everyday whiteout.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nA Touch<\/span> of Snow<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Sometimes a storm would blow through with a lot<\/span> of snow but no wind, and\nsometimes with a lot<\/span> of wind. This particular time was of the “lot of wind”\nvariety.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJust Trying To Stay Upright<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

But whatever was happening weather wise was always sure to change soon,\nand indeed, it let up and he was off...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRun #723<\/span>\nor something like that\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRiding the “Sankiddo”<\/span>\nas wind whips up the background\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The weather kept me fascinated the whole day. Sometimes the wind was\nvery localized, like a little<\/span> tornado, and you could occasionally see\nlittle dust devils (snow devils?) the width of cars walking across the\nslope. But sometimes<\/span> it was horizontal like a localized<\/span> freight train of\nwind. I could<\/span> see (the effects of) a line<\/span> of wind cross the slope from the\nside and absolutely plow into a group<\/span> of folks on the peoplemover thing,\nalmost blowing their ski poles out of their hands, yet those standing 10\npeople in front or behind didn't feel the slightest breeze. The line of<\/span>\nwind moved slowly downhill while the peoplemover moved even more slowly\nuphill, and I could<\/span> watch the intersection of people and freight-train wind\nwalk down the line, surprising each person in turn (since they couldn't see\nahead, they had no idea the magnitude of what was coming).<\/p>\n\n

Sometimes a localized gust would hit a tree,<\/span> instantly deneutering it of\nevery spec of its accumulated snow, turning the invisible wind into a big<\/span>\nmoving, expanding mass of particalized snow plummeting across the area.<\/p>\n\n

Sometimes a localized gust would hit a rooftop,<\/span> instantly clearing it\nwith a loud<\/span> woosh<\/i>, yet five minutes later a two<\/span>-minute bout of\nhyper-intense localized snow might leave it completely covered with a good<\/span>\ncentimeter of snow.<\/p>\n\n

The weather was great. I really<\/span> enjoyed it.<\/p>\n\n

Meanwhile, the peoplemover thing continued at its glacial pace...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEnd of the Line<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/22, ISO 1800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRiding Again<\/span>\nthis time during a more convential snow storm\n<\/div>\n\n

All this was great, but it wasn't the highlight of the day....<\/p>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anthony has been wanting to go skiing ever since last year's YMCA ski experience, and finally yesterday the schedule allowed for it. Anthony and I took off early in the morning for the almost-two-hour drive north to the Makino Highlands, to the Makino Ski Area.<\/p>

I didn't intend to pull my camera out much, wanting to concentrate on actually being a parent and helping him with the confidence-building experience that learning to ski could be. But it turns out that the 20 seconds of total ski time he had during last year's YMCA event was enough, and yesterday he basically [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}