多くの人がご存知の通り、先週土曜日（2014年11月22日）に長野県北部は大きな地震に見舞われました。そして白馬村はその中心に位置していました。気象庁の発表では、地震の規模はマグニチュード6.7であったそうです。 まず初めに、今回の事があって多くの人からメールや心配の声を頂きました。皆さんの気持ちに本当に感謝しています。ありがとうございます。 Morinoのメンバーや白馬にいる僕らの友人は皆無事です。僕らのロッジやシャレーなどの建物についても何の問題もありませんでした。街やスキー場エリアでも、‘大きな揺れを感じた’という以外には何も変わった事はありません。地震は日本では珍しくはないです。僕らは皆無事！今回受けた被害は、ワイン一本とグラスがひとつふたつ。スキー場でもリフトや設備等これといった被害はありません。 では全く何ともなかったのかと言うと、そういうわけでもありません。白馬村の最も東側の地域では、古い家屋で揺れに耐えきれなかったものもあり、何軒かは完全に倒壊しました（下の写真を参照）。道路に亀裂が入った場所もあります。ただありがたい事に、亡くなった方はゼロ。火曜日時点で報告されている重傷者の数も4人と限られています（軽傷者の数は19人と報告されています）。 余震の数も規模も徐々に減っていて、もうあと数日経てば元通りの平穏な状態が戻るはずです。迫りくる今スキーシーズンへの影響も全くないでしょう。もちろん、継続して状況を監視していきます。 何か不安や質問があれば遠慮なく聞いてください！ ところで、今回の地震に対する日本の緊急対応には賞賛を送らなければなりません。迅速で徹底した対応は、被害者に冷静さと安心感をもたらし、損傷した道路やインフラ設備は地震直後から復旧活動が始まっています。 日本人全般についても一言。今回の様な困難に直面しても、彼らは皆落ち着いて、冷静に、威厳を持った行動を取りました。この国にはCNNに誘発されるヒステリーはありません！ 最後に、繰り返しになりますが、白馬の大半で通常の生活が戻っています。ですが、一部には今回の地震で壊滅的な被害を受けた人たちがいます。白馬村役場の報告では、27軒の家が全倒壊、17軒は一部倒壊、58軒に僅かな被害があったそうです。物置小屋や蔵も含めると、合計224の建物に被害がありました。 現時点では、こうした被害者の人たちへの救済基金が設置されたといった情報はありませんが、恐らく近くそういった基金が設置されると思います。そういった情報もまたお知らせしていきます。 改めて最後に、皆さんのご心配や温かい言葉、ありがとうございました。  

As many of you already know, last Saturday night (Nov 22 2014) Northern Nagano prefecture was hit by a pretty serious earthquake & Hakuba was at the center of it.  The Japan Meteorological Agency is calling it a magnitude 6.7 earthquake. Firstly, I`d like to say thank you for all the thoughts & emails we`ve received. We really appreciate your concern. The Morino crew & all of our Hakuba friends are doing fine. All of our lodges & chalets escaped without any issues, and indeed, most of the town, and the ski resorts, felt nothing more than a big shake….which is not entirely uncommon in Japan of course. We are all fine, and all we lost at the Lodge was a bottle of wine and a glass or two. No apparent damage at any of the resorts, the lifts, or anything else…. Not to downplay what happened however…. Some older houses on the far east side of the valley took it less well, and several were completely destroyed (see below), along with a few cracks in the roadway. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear any lives were lost & the number of serious injuries reported as of Tuesday were listed as just 4 people (with 19 people listed as slightly injured). Aftershocks have become less frequent & decreasing in intensity & should be a thing of the past after a couple more days. I expect that this will have zero effect on this upcoming ski season, but of course… we will continue to monitor the situation. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any concerns as the time gets closer…. !! I have to give big kudos to the Japanese emergency services` response to the quake. It`s been swift & thorough, bringing calm & confidence that the affected people are being looked after & damaged roads & infrastructure have […]

  For years i used to go back to Canada & try to explain to my ski friends the amazing experience to be had shredding in the Japan Alps….“It`s like heli-skiing in BC……..but off of lifts….& for 40 bucks a day!!” It sounded too good to be true & at best i got an “umhmm……..right” for a response. But “the word” (which the Scandinavians & Aussies have known for a while now) is definitely getting out in North America. Proof! Hakuba is the cover story of this Octobers` enRoute Magazine (which is Air Canada`s in-flight publication). Last February we had the pleasure of showing these talented BC boys some of Hakuba`s best restaurants, onsens, surrounding sites, & of course powder snow. The fruit of which is this lovely article that captures nicely, both the quirkiness & magic a trip to Hakuba has to offer….& great pic of Morino member Manami on the front cover! That was taken at Hakuba Highland Onsen (which has one of the best views in the valley) if you`re wondering.   Click below & scroll to page 79 or….Click here to go straight to the story.     Shirouma So is a lovely hotel near us with a private Onsen & traditional dinners. Ask us to book you in for either.

The leaves are starting to change color, the night-time air is getting cool…….it must be September.  Which means, it`s time to let our daydreams drift from beaches & sun to backcountry lines & deep powder turns…..the season is less than 3 months away after all.  And if you like your powder extra deep, there are few places as consistently so as Myoko Kogen – the relatively undiscovered powder mecca just 1 & 1/2 hours North-West of Hakuba (& only 3 hours from Tokyo).   Myoko`s got a great thing going on & we`ve just got ourselves a lodge there. Myoko Morino Lodge is currently under some big renovations, so more to come on that soon. In the meantime, get your powder fantasy fix by watching these videos that capture the Myoko thing nicely.  

January 2014 will go down as a good one……really good in fact.  Overall snowfall was slightly below average but we had a healthy base from December & it stayed cold with plenty of fresh top ups. All this combined, meant for great powder on supply nearly every single day of the month. This was captured nicely by Morino long-timer “Olav the Viking powder destroyer”. His 2 weeks in Hakuba this year saw plenty of perfect snow as evident by this video edit of his stay………and just to hammer home why he comes back to Hakuba year after year i`ve included his 2013 edit too.       Here`s to a good February….It`s been a slow start but it`s looking to improve real fast.

Last year`s February was one of the more epic in recent memory. Cold temperatures & non-stop 20 to 30 cm top ups  made for a month of relentless blower pow. This was captured quite nicely by the lens of Nate Cahoon in his short film for Dubsatch Collective titled “Hakuba”. Have a watch……..& here`s to plenty more blower Pow! Hakuba from Dubsatch Collective on Vimeo. Packed with travel bags stretched at the seams, Sam Cohen and Zach Halverson board a jet plane headed across the world in search of the powder paradise they’ve only dreamt about; Japan. There, the two meet up with fellow skier Bryce Phillips to explore the notoriously mystical Japanese forests and pristine upper alpine. Get ready for a trip of a lifetime with “Hakuba” from Dubsatch Collective. Filmed by: Nate Cahoon Edited by: Nate Cahoon, Sam Cohen Photography: Scott Rinckenberger Skiers: Sam Cohen, Zach Halverson, Bryce Phillips Location: Hakuba, Nagano, Japan Thank You: Craig and Matt of the Morino lodge crew! morinolodge.com Salomon Freeski salomonfreeski.com/us/
 Backcountry backcountry.com Facebook: facebook.com/dubsatchcollective Follow us on instagram: @dubsatch @natecahoon @sammocohen @zachhalverson @brycephillips @scottrinck

Fitness may be low at this time of year, but enthusiasm is high….a couple friends of Morino snowshoed up Cortina the other day for a few turns in the 60cm of fresh pow.  And with more snow in the forecast next week, the folks of Hakuba are getting in the mood indeed. To get everyone else feeling the early winter excitement, here`s Part 2 of the photography of Scott Rinckenberger from his time at Morino Lodge last February. In this group of photos Scott cpatures one of the things that makes Hakuba so darn special….the trees, the light & the abundance of fresh snow. Enjoy! It`s worth checking out Scott on Facebook @ facebook.com/scottrinckenberger ….to be continued.  

Fall is fading to winter here in Hakuba with some significant alpine-snow forecast in the coming week. So, with kick off for the coming season only a few weeks away, its time to start getting in the mood for the deep Hakuba powder. ……..and a perfect way to do that is with the photography of Scott Rinckenberger from his time at Morino Lodge last February. Scott`s an avid outdoors-man who turned to photography as a way to fund his non-stop outdoor adventures…….& it turns out he`s pretty darn good at it too. His enthusiasm for adventure is matched by an exceptionally gifted eye for all things mother nature. He`s a very gifted photographer as evident by the following pics that capture the essence of mid-winter Hakuba. Follow Scott`s adventure & his stunning photography on his Facebook page – facebook.com/scottrinckenberger   ….To be continued.