2010: Year of the Powder?
Monday, December 28th, 20092 More sleeps until 2010!
We’re having so much fun with all the guests here at The Chalets at Country Resort that it almost makes us wish the year wouldn’t end. But we looked at the forecast and it said two things – more snow and more good times on the way.
Update from “Powder Paradise”
Santa proves guests not all naughty
As Christmas Eve drew to a close there were some worried guests at The Chalets. It seems they were a little worried as to whether Santa could find them under so much snow.Our Resort Manager, Geoffrey Deschamps, reassured worried faithful that Santa would indeed appear again. “We’ve resubmitted the GPS coordinates to the North Pole and updated our website (http://nisekocountryresort.com/information/how-to-find-us.html) to make sure everyone knows how to get to The Chalets… and Santa can find just about anywhere that has good kids.”
As always, Geoffrey was right and we were able to get a few minutes with Santa to share in the joy of the season. He mentioned that he planned to come back for a post-work ski on Boxing Day. Despite the Resort being 100% occupied, Geoffrey said that we would find a way to accommodate him if he needed a place to rest.
Concierge Corner
Last month’s tips from our ever resourceful concierge team received the most comments of any feature we’ve run (better than last year’s interview with Santa). They’re back this month with more tips to make your holiday a great one.
1. Get going with the leg exercises like squats and lunges now. With the snow falling like it has been, people are maximising their hours on the mountain. We’ve seen some pretty sore people on Day 2. (you can check out our special feature on this in Issue 1 on our blog – http://www.blogs.nisekoresortsgroup.com/).
2. If you’re bringing your own skis and board, it’s worth getting it tuned, but ask for the edges not to be too sharp. Chances are you’ve not been on the slopes for a while and it’ll take a couple of days to find your feet again and having sharp, extra responsive edges can actually do more harm than good. After you’ve warmed up, one of the stores here can give your edges the once over to sharpen them up.
3. The restaurant scene is heating up in the Village with a number of new outlets joining our old favourites. Take some time to talk to us about what you like and want to experience while you are here so we can point you in the right direction. We even had a private sushi chef in one of the chalets last week. It was delicious and a great experience for everyone. We love food almost as much as we love powder so challenge us to find something unique to your taste buds.
The Private Kitchen, our on-site restaurant, will be catering a New Year’s Eve dinner and has special menus for many days upcoming. For more information on that, contact the concierge team or stop in.
Until next time.
Looking for a winter break?
We’ve had a record December for bookings and have a good flow for the rest of the year. If you are thinking of a winter break, contact (steve.reck@nisekoresortsgroup.com) immediately for to see if there is availability. There are some open spots in January and we will offer a great deal for newsletter readers to take advantage of. We want everyone to feel the rush of thrashing through the powder so contact him soon so you don’t miss out.
Season Forecast – Snow, Snow and Snow
The forecast for January is much the same as December, vast amounts of beautiful powder for us to appreciate on the Mountain. It’s an exciting time to be in Niseko and we can’t wait to share it with you. If you’ve already been here this year, we hope that you are relishing the memories. If you are coming later in this season, we hope you are enjoying the feeling of anticipation as you read the snow reports. Either way, we want you to share the excitement we have for our little slice of heaven. We didn’t give Niseko the nickname of Powder Paradise, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure the name continues.
Our aim this year is to have even more fun than we did last year and we hope that you share that vision. If there is anything we can do to help, make sure you ask us!
We look forward to seeing you here!
The Team
As you know, the Lunar New Year is fast approaching. When the clock moves past midnight on Sunday the 25th, we will moving into the Year of the Ox. We’re not sure what that means for the burning issues of the day, but we do know what it means for The Chalets at Country Resort - 100% occupancy again!
As Christmas Eve dawned, there was a rumour on the mountain that St. Nick himself was in Niseko for some killer boarding before his big night. True to form, our favourite man in the Red Suit made an appearance. Those guests who were deemed to have been “good” were among the first to receive their gifts which ranged from Toboggans and Japanese games for the children to Japanese Royce chocolates for the adults. While Santa appeared to be his normal portly self on the Chirstmas Eve visit, he must have burned off a few calories in his adventurous night as he was caught on the slopes the next day looking a bit thin. He assured us in an exclusive interview (see below) that he did indeed sample all the cakes and biscuits that were left out for him and he thanked everyone for their epicurean generousity.
We had a great turnout with more than 30 in attendance. We ate and drank from both the local produce and some old international favorites (the French still make great Champagne). Anna, Hayley, Joel and Alex provided music, skiing and snowboarding movie screenings, good cheer and bad dancing for entertainment. A few of our guests bowed to tradition and created their own fireworks display before the staff shuttled the party goers into town for the torch run and officially sanctioned, professionaly fireworks display on the Grand Hirafu slopes.
This issue we were able to secure a Niseko exclusive with the Jolly Old Soul himself, Santa Claus. While he didn’t stay with us, we were able to sit down for a quick snack and a glass of Hokkaido’s World Famous Milk before he set off on his journey. As you can see from the picture, he enjoyed our little village so much, he came back for a ski after finishing his big day.
(that’s why it’s the beginning), but now it is in full swing. We already mentioned the 50 centimetres between Christmas and New Year and it just keeps coming. Here’s what Olle, a recent guest at the Chalets from Sweden had to say. “We work in Norway on the ski slopes and the snow doesn’t compare to what we’ve been getting in Niseko. Definitely worth the trip!”
Those are just a few of the great comments we get from the guests at The Chalets. We’ll be back next issue with more great adventures from Niseko. Until then, we wanted to leave you with a great shot of our Niseko Resorts Group vehicle fleet. Whether it’s an airport pickup, a delivery of you and your family to the mountain or maybe just an SOS after a few too many in the village. Our team are there to help.