Forecast was clear that Tahoe was going to be blasted and the roads were going to be shut down for a while. I missed the last that happened but was able to go this time, so I hurried to get to Kirkwood before weather got too bad. That storm was unusual as I drove almost all the way with not even any rain and it's only in the last 30mn that I got some rain and then snow. I didn't complain and was happy to get over before it got bad:
Drive across the spur, was interesting:
Days 1-2: Shut down
The next 2 days were shut down, wind was so high (100 to 200mph, snow falling completely sideways) that kirkwood was not able to run any lifts and do any snow safety. This was kind of expected. During that time, the road in both directions was also closed, which was also expected. I went out on day 2 to get some pictures when there was a small chance things could open, but did not as the wind did not die down:
The kids tried to dig out the front door:
day2
they failed, this is what it looked on day 3 :)
The snow was relentless, it never stopped:
KW tried, but didn't succeed in opening anything on day2
I parked my car in underground parking so it wouldn't get snowed in :)
parking your car outside didn't seem like a great idea :)
this was the parking lot I got in, you could barely walk out without hitting your head
Day 3: Cartmanland Fluffy 4H Pow Day
Day 3, finally chair 6 opened at 11:00, the roads were closed so no one could get in, the snow was absolutely fantastic even if weather was super cold and miserable:
weather was blizzardly
nice board :)
I was able to snowboard all the way from the lift to across the street and inside the parking lot ;)
I also noticed that it was cold enough my car lost 8% charge
Despite the bad weather, these were some of the best runs I've ever had at kirkwood, especially as no one was able to drive in since the roads were closed:
Chamoix was trivial to get down, so much snow:
Day 4: Finally better weather, Wall opened
Day 4, finally the weather got better and it was possible to open more terrain. Sadly by then the wind had packed all that fantastic snow that was flying in my face the previous day. It's not like it sucked, but the epic powder day was already over:
the wall finally opened!
everyone flocked there :)
the path down from the top was all gone and burried
chair 2 needed a bit of TLC :)
I started the day with a fast run down 6, snow was firm powder but still smooth:
A different, down angle run:
The wall, eagle bowl to chair 1:
Day 5: Late bluebird, Backside finally opened
Day 5 finally had nicer weather, and the back side opened:
the wall seldom looks like this :)
people camped at chair2 2H early to get to the backside :)
I used the time to hike to Glove Rock mostly for fun, the snow was not that great anymore by then:
nice views though
riding the ridge was super windy, I then rode part of palisades
snow was pretty packed by then though
The ride was pretty rough, I got blown off the icy ridge a few times:
Then went back to the Wall and eagle bowl to get to chair2
rode down this, pretty rough on my butt :)
chair2 line had gotten a bit longer :)
it looked pretty, but backside snow is usually pretty packed
haha, good one :)
I went to find better snow
the cornice off the wave had been blown off by the wind, it was now a gentle slope. Had never seen that.
Fawn ridge was beautiful, as always
The first run was pretty firm:
This was my last, and best fawn ridge run, snow was much better there as usual. Good thing I had poles to get out of it, especially with the snowboarders that were blocking the path out:
After multiple fawn ridge runs, it was time to drive back, just as Carson Spur had finally re-opened:
While this year has not been an above average snow season, this storm made things a bit better. Turns out that sunday only had a few inches and might not have been worth the early trip, but it's always hard to say after the fact and I prefer to get through Carson Spur and stay at KW during storms. Thankfully I had a friend who had a condo there and was able to host me saturday night, saving me an early sunday morning drive:
got through the Spur just as the snow as starting to stick
I did a quick charging stop at jackson since I wasn't sure when I'd charge at KW, but in hindsight I could have driven there direct and arrived with 15% left (day drive, no headlights, no heat, warmer temps). Nice to see my car can still make it there in one shot when the conditions are good:
found this as jackson supercharger
Day 1: Sunday, a few inches
Unfortunately it was timed over president's day weekend which was a blackout on my pass, but given the price of lodging ($400/night), paying an extra day for a lift pass was ok-ish (but it used to be half price, now it's almost full price, $170). As a result, Sunday was not very busy since most passholders were blacked out. Only a few inches of fresh snow, but that was still good ;)
not very deep, but still nice
went pow hunting
finally could ride to the rock under the wall
Day 2: Monday, 18 inches
For the main pow day, we sure got the snow, but it was a bit too warm/wet and I could only sink a few inches, it didn't feel that deep.
not that deep like I said
not that busy for a deep pow day
the chutes were still a bit shallow
astill a sheet of ice
Despite the slighly hard powder, it was still a very nice day.
Firat run:
Day 3: Tuesday, 10 inches of fluffy pow
Agsinst all expectations, the 3rd day had the best powder. It was nice and light, a pleasure to ride:
not too many people
Chair 4 finally opened, it was worth checking out :)
the wave was pristine
I did have to hike back up to find a pole I dropped, took 25mn because of deep the snow was
Awesome snow:
Fawn ridge was stellar:
Day 4: Tuesday, 4 inches for the last day
The 4th day wasn't the best pow day ever, but it was still quite enjoyable and it was still fun to chase freshies for another day:
not much of a line
my watch told me I snowboarded too much :)
haha, one more day before I can rest :)
went to check out a wall chute
Still good runs:
By the way, this is why I why I get underground parking, getting this car out will be an hour of work with a shovel...
All in all this was a good trip, with plenty of enjoyable snow and kirkwood staff did an awesome job opening terrain timely, as well as communicating what they were doing. Thanks Ricky Newberry, the new GM, for running a great ship.
It had been about 1.5 years since Gareth did LSR/City at San Jose Civic, and it was great to see him again. As I always say "More Lasers Please" :)
Of course, it's difficult not to compare this show compared to the show he did 18 months ago, and I'll be honest, it was pretty similar. I was disappointed that the show was only 1.5h instead of the 2H I expected and thinking that it ended at midnight, but it was over at 23:30 sharp. Then I went to check my records from the last show and found out it was also 1h30 only and the only show that was 2H was the original Laserface at Bill Graham in 2018 which remains the best one ever that has never been topped.
Laser-wise, from my imperfect memory, the to SJ LSR/City shows were pretty simliar. The music changed of course, and I liked both, even if I loved "Bring out the lasers" dubstep mix that was in last time. Still, it had all the classics and a variety of genres, it felt like a good selection. Gareth did play some keyboards live, and Annabel got more stage with more singing that she did beautifully.
The big plus this time around was that Annabel was properly lit on stage and it was much easier to see her perform which was a great bonus:
thanks to my real camera, was able to get a few shots from the very back
However, the big plus from this time around at least for us in San Jose, was that Gareth did the show twice, and that was great news because it allowed us to see the show from the rear on the first night, and front row center the 2nd night, and that was definitely a very different experience (both worth doing):
Day 1
Thanks to Ulrich and Insomniac for helping the make the show happen:
like all insomniac shows now, thank you for the free water
Two of our local DJs played from 20:00 to 22:00:
Yeah Shane!
And Garath did 22:00 to 23:30:
one addition was the storyboard, nice
Most of the show from the rear:
Day 2
Back for more, this time, front pit...
different vantage point for sure, worth seeing too
Gareth was playing live
Gareth seemed to have a good time :)
end of night #2
Some of the show from the front
Thoughts/Suggestions
lighting on stage was much much better, so great to see Annabel properly this time around
Laser show seemed pretty similar than last time, very enjoyable but not to the level of the original laserface in 2018
1.5h felt short, consider going back to 2H?
people with VIP tickets had seats that were supposed to be reserved, but really they were not, anyone could go there making the extra price debatable
Thank you Gareth, Annabel, and all the tech guys who do the laser magic, for the great show!
I had heard about Unkonscious several times, but a festival across the world in the middle of my snowboarding season, wasn't super appealing for timing reasons. That said, FOMO kicked in and I was able to align a snowboarding trip in Hokkaido, Japan just before, making the "quick 7h plane hop" to Bangkok more appealing :) and jetlag less of a bitch :)
One big plus of Unkonscious is that they make your trip worth it, as while the main festival is really just 2x 12H days (or 2x 16H with the indoor after party on day 3 and 4), there 2 days with pre-parties and 2 days with after parties in Bangkok. That's a great idea and it made for a pretty intense 6 days, not for the faint of the heart :)
Travel, Where to Stay and Weather
As to where to stay, the first 4 days are not super close but close enough that I elected to stay at the main festival hotel for the first 4 days, and then downtown bangkok for the last 2 days, which worked out well enough. You can easily get rides with grab or bolt and they were plenty cheap by western standards. For that matter, Thailand is reasonably cheap for westerners, making the festival affordable overall.
Also, for those who haven't gone to Thailand, people are super nice and welcoming, although many have limited english, so having google translate on your phone is a must (and it works well). Also knowing how to use google maps to voice out a location and show it written in Thai (as you should not expect Thai drivers to know how to read Thai locations in roman characters).
Carrying my LED outfit and all the batteries through Japan along with my snowboards was extra work, but worth it. As expected every venue during Unkonscious was cool with it, no one gave me a hard time and honestly all the venues were happy to have extra party spirit:
If you ask, yes, it was hot as balls, and it was warm and uncomfortable to wear, haha. I wore more comfortable clothing during the day that LEDs would'nt do much good anyway (it got dark enough around 18:00, so that was 6 hours with more reasonable weather and temps):
We also got lucky that we didn't have rain, which is always a possibility.
So, 6 days, let's go for it:
Day 1: Pre-Pre-Party @ Tappia Floating Cafe
The first day's venue was very interesting. Floating café was pretty cool. They had a fast boat that did rounds back and forth from the pier and took you to the floating café which was definitely a unique venue. Party started at 16:00 and went until midnight (or maybe a bit past):
after a little while, the sun set and it got dark:
The bar had plenty of alcohol, food was more limited and it took long enough that it felt like it came from a restaurant on land and was brought in via the next speed boat:
one Thai specialty is the 1.2L bucked of alcohol, saves time :) (and reasonably priced)
switched to my night outfit
great to see Richard Durand again
Video summary of the day:
Day 2: Pre-Party @ DAM Pattaya Beach Club
Day 2 was a different pre-party at a different beach club. Nice beach location and 2 DJs playing, one on the beach and one indoors:
light clothing to deal with the weather :)
The food options were good, but unfortunately required some fake paper money you had to buy in one place, then exchange it for a voucher, which finally got you food:
same thing with drinks although they were reasonably priced
buckers were popular
that's what the fake money looked like, and it could not be exchanged back or used from one venue to the next.
Before long, it was darker and cooler, so I was able to change and light up a bit:
brought a few lights :)
even got a chance to take that picture Ferry Tayle and I missed a few times :)
haha :)
Indoors was fairly decent for a beach club:
and we got an XXXL set from John 00 Flemming
Video Summary of Day #2:
Day 3 & 4: Main Festival Day 1 & 2: Alexa Beach Club
Finally this was the main festival. The mainstage was honestly pretty simple, it wasn't huge, definitely smaller than lumi mainstage and almost on par with stages 2 or 3 at lumi, but honestly it was big enough for the location and crowd. The entire event was not huge and that what made it nice, cosy and homely, I did like that.
Yeah, so it seems to be a Thailand thing, non refundable fake money you have to buy to be able to then buy things (which was still 2 or 3 more steps depending on what you needed, way too much work IMO). Not a fan...
note that the fake paper money from the previous day looked different and couldn't be used
hopefully contactless credit cards and phones will be allowed for direct pay in the future
Merch store that was reasonably priced:
The festival was then split in 2 each day: 12:00 to 16:00 was the pool party which was low key and easy to get in and out (security wasn't really there yet). Other bonus is you could order from the bar and restaurant from the full drink and food menu and pay with real money (which became not possible at 16:00 once the real festival started). Once I figured that out the first day with great disappointment of having lovely drinks on the menu being rejected as "not available until after the festival is over", I learned the lesson and got them during the pool party the next day:
nice to chill by the pool, listen to music and sort festival pictures :)
and a great time to chat with DJs too
nice and chill
nice beach too
pool party day #2:
working hard, or hardly working? :) Nice to relax for a change
haha, nice outfits :)
by day2 I figured out how to get real drinks
as well as very yummy food
By 16:00, the main festival started with mainstage and the psytrance stage on the 2nd floor of the building which had AC and that was nice because outside was definitely hot:
You could pay for VIP lounge areas:
The views sure were nice:
awesome sunsets
The psytrance area was nice:
And yes, it eventually got dark. It was super nice to just be able to walk by to the room and change:
Richard Durand did another killer set
a few of us brought kandi joy to the party :)
Craig Connelly was next!
And closing set by John 00 Flemming
Day 2 had more DJs and more fun:
yes, sunset again :)
fans were a lifesaving device, I can't describe how much I was sweating :)
But the big surprise of day 2 was the fire juggling which was stellar:
Festival Day 1 Video summary:
Festival Day 2 Video summary:
main festival afterparty
Both nights had an indoor afterparty from 00:00 to 04:00 if you wanted more. It was a nice indoor room:
main festival fun pictures
Many pictures were taken :)
wait, what happened here? :)
awesome to have met Katie Sirisinha, one of the organizers
Day 5: Post Party @ Venti Bangkok
Is 4 days enough? Of course not... After the main festival was over, 2 more days of after parties in Bangkok. After party #1 (day 5) was at Venti Bangkok, a nice club:
great to run into Somna who had just arrived
Rinaly did trance that night
and then Markus Schulz took over
Venti Bangkok Video Summary:
Day 6: Post-Post Party @ Eden Bangkok
Day 6! Last day! One last club, Eden in Bangkok:
Damn right, 6 days!
Rinaly was back for techno that night
awesome to have finally met Andy Moor
and that was it, finally over, 6 days!
Well, not quite over, Srangkun Sirisinha, Unkonscious co-organizer, went to play more tunes across the street, more trance still :)
And then it was finally over, time to run back to the room, pack, and go to the airport for a long trip back home to San Francisco
Eden Bangkok video summary:
Thoughts/Conclusion
Thailand doesn't have drinkable tap water, and no water fountains were provided at any of the venues, although none made a big deal if you brought your own water (or you could buy theirs of course, except for het first 4 days where you first had to buy the fake money)
Yes, those who know me know I don't like money or wristband credits that often fail and are completely unnecessary anyway. I hope unkonscious considers just accepting contactless credit cards, tap to pay, and phones.
As noted above, Alexa Beach Club (main festival) had a great food and drinks menu until 16:00 but those went away when the festival took over: the food and drink options went way down and fake money was required
It was a lower budget festival, and so what? People complain other festivals are too expensive, Unkonscious is definitely cheaper and we had heaps of fun with the DJs who came, even if a fair amount of them palyed multiple days (which honeslty I had no problem with). I loved the way it was, no need to change anything.
Should you go? Would I go Back?
very simply: yes, you should try to go if you can, it's definitely a unique festival and quite enjoyable in its current format. I'll admit that for people in the US, it's a long ass trip, but if you don't like winter, it's a good excuse to go visit Thailand which is a lovely country to visit anyway
organizers were super nice, do care, and it shows
security was more than reasonable at all venues, it was actually minimal and that was refreshing, it sucks to have to deal with airport or worse than airport security (that's you, lumi) when you're travelled across the world and paid quite a bit to have fun, have a good time, and honestly the risk level doesn't warrant over the top security
the festival being smaller in size (not in length) allowed for meeting the DJs more easily, which is always lovely
the attendees had a great vibe which of course made sense for a trance festival, but always feels great wherever you are around the world.
Thanks to the organizers, DJS and everyone who made the 6 days happen!
For our last day in Hokkaido snow, Kiroro has just gotten a lot of snow, and it was a godo time to visit to enjoy the powder. It was reaosonably busy, but even if the parking lots were full and we had to go to overflow, the resort didn't feel very crowded and never had to wait long for a lift:
the weather alternated between sunny and snowing, all day
I wasted some time trying to see how to register for the sidecountry gates, as was required last time I came, but that was 7 years ago, and now they ask you to register with some Hokkaido backcountry office on the internet which seemed fairly time consuming if you just wanted to do the in resort sidecountry as opposed to exiting in places where you'd end up way out there.
the maps are worth paying attention to, lots of tree areas and powder fields
yes!
The first run down the chair was very good:
the gondola to the other peak had a short line and did take 15mn up each time
beautiful trees
anti wind gates
did I say nice trees? :)
Seems that most people didn't really register and just took the side country gates in a way that you end up in the resort at the end, but in one of them, if you turn the wrong way, you could end up in unhappy places (like snow hike out which could take hours)
You definitely have to pay attention to this map once you get out, especially for teh elevation linea and the river in the middle that you can fall into if the snow collapses:
I did have my beacon :)
some signs, but no real warnings about the river that will try to swallow you at the bottom
the hike at the top of the gondola can be as long as you want it to be, but make sure to drop on the left side
While the side country was good experience, it also could get you in trouble, especially as you end up on top of a river with multiple holes, some big, and others where the snow could collapse and you fall in the river, no good:
it was very easy to end up in one of these, they were almost everywhere
After 6 different side country runs, the day was over, and time to get back:
Defintely a great experience, but it's a no screw around zone, you can really get in trouble once you go side country at Kiroro
We definitely were lucky with snow and being able to choose resorts based on snowfall, did help. Nice powder at Rusutsu when we went.
Rusutsu gives you 5 free days if you have an epic local pass, but those 5 days are consecutive
Rusutsu Day 1: Great Bluebird
nice drive to Rusutsu
I didn't know the terrain so well, my first ride down the gondola, I was afraid of getting stuck at the bottom, but actually it was fine
always hard to gauge if it will be downhill the whole way, I was worried the gondola line had an uphill section lower down
ran the gondola line a few more times, it was excellent
While I really like flow bindings as they are easier to get in and out, they fail in too many different ways. Thankfully I learned my lesson and carry an entire spare emergency binding in my backpack:
kind of sucky that such a thick cable can snap
there you go, emergency backup binding installed
will fix this later, spare cables were ordered and sent home for when I get back
Back on the slopes to esplore the rest of the resort:
Rusutsu Day 2: Windy Post Storm
Knowing that a storm was coming, we went back the next day for more fresh snow, although the resort was half shut down for half the day due to too much wind. Thankfully the back of the resort did open later in the day, but the wind damaged the snow on some aspects of the mountain. Once we figured out where the good bits were, we went to enjoy that good powder ;)
snowy drive to rusutsu, but the roads stayed open
only a few lifts were open in the morning, Mt Isola was too windy
people showed up for the pow day, thankfully we already had a ticket thanks for our epic pass and skipped the ticket line
The gondola run was really good:
eventually Mt Isola opened up
And the tree runs on the correct face of Mt Isola (way from sun and wind) was also quite nice:
and after a bunch of rides, it was time to get back. Yes, there was night skiing, but that didn't really seem worth it after the great powder we had all day:
Defintely got lucky with Rusutsu, great snow even if the terrain isn't super steep in many places.
It had been 7 years since I was last in Japan for snow, time flies. This time around, it snowed every day, although more than half the days were too windy and only a few bottom lifts opened, especially on day 3 which was a bit frustrating due to the lack of open terrain. The snow was just really good all around, and even if it was not meters of it, the powder days felt very nice and no ice underneath.
For US people, Niseko gives you two days for free with Mountain Collective (you have to go to some office to get them) and then half off. At half off it was about $30 a day to ride all 4 mountains, i.e. super cheap.
Niseko Day 1: Annupuri and Niseko Village
The first 2 days, we stayed in Annupuri at Niseko Grand Hotel. There were few places left, so that's the closest we found. We took their morning shuttle to the slopes:
my partner in crime, Arturo
ticket prices were quite cheap by US standards (got 2 free days with mountain collective and half off for the last 3 days)
lots of side country gates
gate 11 by niseko village was also fun
riding pizza box chairs on the way back to Annupuri :)
doesn't feel super safe, but better than a tow rope
the Annupuri G1/G4 gates were nice, but you quickly get to a valley with tracked terrain
Niseko Day 2: Grand Hirafu and Hanazono
The next two days, we went to Rusutsu as the forecast showed good snow there, and the 4th day we came back to Niseko after moving to the fantastic pension island. The only downside of that location was that it was a bit far from the slopes, but the shuttle bus made it ok although it didn't quite get you there in time for first chair. Close enough though, the pension was Koko-san were so nice that we were super happy there:
morning gondola line
windy day with rotor cloud on top of Mt Yotei
beautiful day
gates were open, G5 took you to the Hanazono base
this was the posh base for people with too much money :)
2 or 3 chairs to go back up and cross back to Grand Hirafu
with 2 chairs only and a short hike, this side country took you back
this was the posh base for people with too much money :)
2 or 3 chairs to go back up and cross back to Grand Hirafu
with 2 chairs only and a short hike, this side country took you back
When it was sunny, it looked nice:
Side country run with good snow, still:
Niseko Day 3: Grand Hirafu Mostly Shut Down Blizzard Day
Day 3 was too windy, very few lifts were open. The gondola line was very long as a result:
not many pictures, visibility was not good due to wind, it was kind of a blizzard
Nice side country with powder faceshot:
Niseko Day 4: Windy Grand Hirafu and Hanazono
A bit more opened on Day 4, still very windy, but you could get a bit higher and cross over Hanazono:
morning gondola line, although it went faster due to less wind and higher gondola speed
the gates were weird, some closed ones were routinely ignored while others were really a good idea to respect
the work to get that powder was not really worth it, and it was not very steep in most places
beautiful views
but the weather turned quickly again
Two nice sidecountry runs, one with sun, one with show falling:
Niseko Day 5: Better weather, all mountain
For our last day, the top lifts were unfrozen and we were able to go to the top:
lnie for the top lift
The avalanche gate near the top had some really good warning cartoons. They were poetic sounding (maybe even haikus in japanese?), and they should actually be more advertised, The warnings on getting stuck in crevaces and riverbeds, were wery on point, especially at Kiroro where you can really get in trouble when you go side country:
you could hike all the way to the top, but it was a 45mn hike that didn't feel worth the time and effort
being able to take gate 4 for the first time, was nice
After that, I went back to Niseko Village and gate 11, which is alledgely a triple black diamond, but didn't feel that hard:
makes for a nice picture, though ;)
Nice clouds to end the day:
farewell niseko, we had a great time
One sidecountry run off gate 4 that finally opened:
And a loast one from gate 11, the supposed to be triple black diamond that was only single black:
After 24H in Tokyo, flew to Sapporo and barely made it with my snowboard as the airport staff was overachieving in finding things in checked in luggage that they didn't love on the plane. Taking my spray on wax (no propellant in the 100mg container) was a bit over the top, though :(
met Arturo there to join us and drive to Niseko
food food as always
Arturo won wasabi roulette :)
Hokkaido and Niseko especially gets reliable snow, and it actually snowed every day we were thee, not huge amount like in tahoe, but enough that it was fun:
After 2 days in Annupuri, we moved to the main Niseko Village base and stayed at the wonderful Pension Island and with wonderful Kako-SAn:
she is adorable and took great care of us
The food trucks close to our Pension, were fun dinner options:
did I mention it snowed almost all the time? :)
we also did a sit down dinner at a somewhat expensie restaurant we actually had been to before
my own google maps review said it was overpriced and not that great last time we went, but we did enjoy it more this time around
After 8 days around Niseko, Rusutsu and ending in Kiroro, we drove to Chitose to be close to our plane back out the next day:
managed to use enough of my japanese to order food in a restaurant which spoke no english at all
last breakfast before heading out
We had great snow, here are the blog reports on snowboarding:
Once in Haneda, I checked in my snowboard for my trip to Sapporo the next day, which was a bit of a hassle but saved me from carrying the bulky bag across Tokyo.
missed out on a cheap haircut :)
I decided to base myself in Shinjuku for that short time, because fun things:
Did a quick hop to Harajuku:
Harajuku is known for a special kind of fashion
After that, I went to a language exchange café to chat with locals:
And went out for dinner:
hahaha, can't argue with that
yum
The next morning, went back to Harajuku and Meiji Jingu: