Utah is a wild west wonderland … and the perfect place for a winter roadtrip.
Right now my Insta and Facey feeds are full of deep, deep pow blanketing the Wasatch and Rocky Mountains … which got me harking back to just over a year ago when we were enjoying similar conditions on an epic snowboarding roadtrip through Utah and Colorado.
First stop after a delayed flight in early January 2020 was a night in magical Moab, and a quick tour of Arches National Park the next morning. I cannot recommend Moab and Arches National Park more highly – it was truly spectacular, made perhaps even more so by the layer of brilliant white contrasting the blood-orange rock and sand.
In Arches National Park you don’t even have to get out of your car to appreciate the natural beauty.Park Avenue, Arches National Park.Garden of Eden in the fog, Arches National Park.The famous Delicate Arch without the usual tourist crowds.
After snowboarding at Telluride and Crested Butte (both deep in the Colorado remote mountains) we made our way back to Salt Lake City and Park City.
Welcome to Utah!Wintry wasteland high atop the Colorado Plateau, Utah-Colorado border.Does is get any more wild west-looking than this?Surreal scenery just off Interstate-70 at the Utah Welcome Center.Big trucks, big mountains, big sky.Speed-blur at 70+ miles an hour.Golden hour out the passenger window.Winter moon rising…
After getting our powder-fill in the Cottonwood Canyon resorts (Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude) as well as Park City, we headed north into the frozen white to see what Jackson Hole, Wyoming was like.
Little Cottonwood Canyon is a magnet for heavy snowfalls … and sketchy driving conditions. How’s this for a Interstate-80 roadside panorama with the iPhone!In winter it looks a lot like this on the five-hour drive north to Wyoming … but it’s worth the trip to get to ride Jackson Hole.Fog and early-morning light combined for a bitingly cold vision across the elk reserve at Jackson, Wyoming.This abandoned motel is not one of Jackson’s highlights, however. But I thought it looked pretty cool.Last light, somewhere on the lonely road in Idaho.
The little local club hitting the big time in print.
More than a decade and a half ago when I began this journey as a writer, photographer and online editor for snowboard and surfing magazines, I don’t think that would have I ever believed I’d have my work feature in one of the major golf magazines. Let alone that all the photos would have been taken an edited on the phone in my pocket! But that’s exactly what happened this month in the December issue of Golf Australia Magazine.
In late 2016 our family volunteered to help run the Tarnagulla & District Golf Club after the family that had being running it for decades wanted to take a break. It was a new adventure for us all – and we’re not even very avid golfers! But we just wanted to keep the course running, and keep it accessible for the community. Well, it’s gone from strength to strength … and we had the idea to help promote the club in the media.
“El Presidente” Liam Radich had the idea for an article, wrote a draft and included some quotes. I then put my writer/editor/photographer hat on, re-wrote it all into a new piece, and kept the majority of the quotes. I then sent the article and a selection of photos to various print and online media outlets. I was surprised to quickly get some positive feedback, and publication on the Aussie Golfer and Ausgolf websites … and then a three page feature in Golf Australia Magazine’s December issue! Needless to say, we were very excited to see our little old 9-hole course in print.
Please go out and grab a copy of the magazine while it’s still on shelves.
Golf Australia Magazine’s December Issue featuring Tarnagulla & District Golf Club Inc.
iPhone photos from deep inside Melbourne’s heavily-restricted life.
What a kick in the nuts COVID-19 has been! Looking on the bright side, Australia fared comparatively very well this year, but on the down side, Melbourne was forced to endure one of the harshest and strictest lockdowns on the planet. And I’m not gonna lie – it was tough. The mental stress of not knowing if things would improve, a police-enforced curfew from 8pm until 5am, being only allowed outside for 1 hour of exercise and being restricted to a 5km radius from home was extremely burdensome … and just draining overall.
But what it did give me was a greater appreciation for the everyday beauty in the ‘burbs less than 5km from my home. I’m fortunate that from Flemington there is a lot of great places nearby, and being restricted in my movements meant that I had to explore, by foot or by bike, a lot of places I would have normally bypassed. And of course I had my iPhone on me. Here is a selection of some of my favourite images from March until November (when we could finally start to get back to normal).
Some beauty in the ‘burbs … and a very empty CBD on the rare occasion I visited:
When we were permitted to travel further than 5km it was nice to by the water:
The Yarra River gets all the glory, but out west, the Maribyrnong has some real beauty:
And it’s funny, when you walk the streets, you notice so much more than when you zoom by in a car!
Photos from Victoria’s goldfields during COVID-19 lockdown.
Well, it’s been a long time between blog posts … and the world has definitely changed! Melbourne began a COVID-19 lockdown in late March, before a gradual easing at the start of winter. And after a calamitous second wave of infections, right now we’re (hopefully) at the tail-end of a second, even stricter lockdown.
My wife and I were fortunate to be able to spend many weekends (when we could travel outside of Melbourne) at Tarnagulla in central Victoria. I spent some time exploring the bush fires trails on my mountain bike. Here’s a few iPhone images.
It’s a beautiful, peaceful part of the world … and we can’t wait to get back there.
Loddon River at Newbridge, VictoriaLoddon River at Newbridge, VictoriaTarnagulla Rainbow above the Wesleyan Methodist church and Poverty Mine poppet head.Broadway, Dunolly.The view from Mt Moliagul.Tarnagulla Track.The track up to Mt Moliagul. Worth the trek for the view…Murderers Hill, on the road between Tarnagulla and Dunolly, where a double murder took place in 1857.One of the sand-scrape greens of Tarnagulla & District Golf Course in the dusk light. Tarnagulla bush track.On the banks of the Loddon River, near Poseidon Reef. Two guys were in the news a couple of weeks ago because they dug up a $350,000 gold nugget right behind those far trees on the left. Read about it here.Bendigo’s grand court house … doing it’s best Parisian impression.
Jetstar Asia Magazine – Snowboarding and Skiing in Japan: Whether you have just one day or more on your itinerary, hit up Japan’s ski fields to get your winter fix.
After my two trips to Japan in early 2016 I was briefed by Jetstar Asia Magazine to produce a travel article about snowboarding and skiing in Japan. My words and photos ran as a four-page feature article in the October 2016 issue of the inflight magazine for the Singapore-based airline, which is seen by 350,000 passengers each month. As a bonus, I was pleased to be able to sneak in a photo of myself and Mary G, and also of my brother into print. Please take a read of the text from the article, and I hope it inspires you to travel to Japan too…
POWDER PERFECT
Whether you have just one day or more on your itinerary, hit up Japan’s ski fields to get your winter fix.
The Land of the Rising Sun is every snow-lover’s dream: think consistent dumps of light, dry powder, terrain that ranges from the easy to the epic, as well as world-class backcountry riding and ski runs through the trees. And with easy bullet-train access from Tokyo or Osaka to some of the best skiing on Japan’s main island of Honshu, the only decision you’ll make is: how long is your snow holiday going to be?
SUPER-EXPRESS DAY TRIP: GALA Yuzawa
El Rad enjoying the view.
If you’ve only got a weekend in Tokyo, you can still fit in a quick day trip. GALA Yuzawa is located roughly 200km north of Tokyo and is famous for having its own bullet train station at the base of the mountain. In fact, Japan Rail can transport you in high-speed style from Tokyo station to the resort in just 75 minutes. Step off the train to rent some gear next to the platform, collect your packagedeal lift pass and then walk straight onto the gondola without leaving the building. How’s that for instant gratification?
Once you’re set up, you’re sure to love what’s on offer: Yuzawa has beginner, intermediate and advanced ski runs across its 17 pistes that can all be accessed by 11 lifts. You can also buy a combined lift pass to access two connected resorts – Ishiuchi Maruyama and Yuzawa Kogen – for even more variety. The top of the resort is 823m higher than the base, giving you a plethora of vertical metres to ride. Plus, Yuzawa receives almost 12m of snow on average each winter.
So next time you’ve got a spare day in Tokyo, grab a bento box breakfast on the early shinkansen (bullet train), hit the slopes at GALA Yuzawa by 8am, then celebrate back in Tokyo with yakitori and Asahi beer in the alleys next to Shinjuku station (after changing trains at Tokyo station). And for ski novices, GALA Yuzawa has a snow sports school with English-speaking instructors.
Nozawa Onsen is arguably Japan’s most picturesque ski town, particularly when it dumps.
SHORT SNOW TRIP: Nozawa Onsen
If a day isn’t enough to satisfy your snow craving, Nozawa Onsen provides the ultimate Japanese snow experience over a few days. It’s about two hours from Tokyo by bullet train and bus and is the quintessential Japanese ski town. It is one of the largest ski resorts in the country – an all-in one resort where the runs funnel back to a quaint, historic village. A maze of laneways hides more than 100 traditional restaurants, as well as bars and Western eateries. It was the famed 13 historic soto-yu public hot-spring bathhouses that attracted visitors to Nozawa before Austrians introduced skiing to the locals in 1912. Now, it’s the snowboarding and skiing that keep the town buzzing in winter.
Beyond the historic temples and shrines, tucked among the towering cypress trees on the edge of town lie almost 300ha of skiable terrain and 50km of runs with a huge kilometre of vertical drop.
For authorised tree riding (skiing through wooded areas), head to the top of the resort where a large section of forest is accessed by two lifts. Being that high means the powder stays light and dry and the trees are powder-coated a shimmering white.
If fresh, groomed runs are more your thing, Nozawa has wide leg-burners, steeper high-speed runs and winding forest trails for all abilities. You’ll find one of the better terrain parks in Japan, with small to large jumps, rollers, some rails and a fun half pipe. If you don’t ski, explore the labyrinth of shops and eateries in town and the picturesque shrines and temples nestled in the forests nearby. Then, don a yukata (traditional dressing gown) and geta or zori (clogs or sandals) and stroll through town to take a steaming dip in one of the famous Nozawa onsen.
Radman and Mary G getting lost in translation at Cortina.
A WINTRY WEEK: Hakuba Valley
A world-class ski destination, the Hakuba Valley, three hours from Tokyo, has been attracting serious snow lovers from all over the globe for at least 70 years. With more than 200 runs, including some of Japan’s steepest, and 140km of pistes accessed by 135 lifts across 11 separate resorts, it’s easy to see why some consider it the jewel of the Japan Alps – and then there’s the huge 14m of annual snowfall.
Happo-One Ski Resort is the main resort in Hakuba, and it provides all levels of skiing and snowboarding, as well as abovethe- tree-line alpine terrain and The Happo Banks Snow Park. Head to the top of Happo: a 30-minute hike up the ridgeline gives you backcountry options for kilometres down to the valley.
The view atop the Alps is mesmerising, and the endless powder turns on offer are hypnotic. Book yourself a mountain guide with all the backcountry avalanche gear and you’ll be in for a day you will never forget. Afterwards you can kanpai those powder grins and goggle tans with an icy cold beer from one of the traditional pubs, or izakaya, in Happo Village.
For some of Japan’s best tree riding, trek to the Hakuba Valley’s northernmost resort, Cortina. It’s a bit more out of the way, but that generally means fewer crowds – except for when fresh flakes have fallen. Cortina has a full-access tree-riding policy.
If you’re not a skier, you can still imagine you’re Eddie ‘The Eagle’ by taking in the dizzying view from the top of the 90m and 120m ski jumps at the Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium. Take the easy option of a chairlift up to the museum at the giant structure that was built for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Or, take the hundreds of stairs up and down, and afterwards a steaming bowl of ramen cooked in the natural hot spring water at Happo Bijin will taste even better.
CULTURAL EXCURSION: Matsumoto
If your legs need a break, take the local train from Hakuba station one hour south to the 16th-century castle town of Matsumoto.
From the station, cross the bridge to Nawate-dori, a picturesque laneway of traditional wooden stalls along the riverbank, and try some of the local delicacies and treats. Soon, you’ll spy the towering black-and-white wooden tiers of Matsumoto-jo in the distance.
A slice of Japanese history awaits with a visit to Matumoto Castle.
Construction of the Matsumoto Castle began in 1592, and it was saved from destruction during the late-19th-century Meiji period when Japan went through modernisation. There are only 12 Japanese castles that survive today, and as well as being the oldest, Matsumoto is also one of only two with five visible floors from the outside with a secret sixth level hidden inside.
Look for colourful koi fish as you cross the shimmering defensive moat to enter through the wooden Black Gate and into the fortified bailey. Don’t be too startled if a costumed samurai greets you with a flick of his gunsen war fan and presentation of his jumonji yari spear. Even if you want to give your legs a rest, be prepared to scale the steep and narrow wooden stairways to climb through each lowceilinged floor inside the tower. You’ll glimpse the surrounding snow-capped mountains from one of the 115 archer’s and marksman’s slits – but to feel like a real lord, climb to the highest level and imagine life as a conquering clan. Reality will likely set in as you head back to ground level but by then you’ll be ready to conquer the pistes again.
El Rad trying (and failing?) to blend in with the locals on the train.
GETTING THERE: Bullet trains (shinkansen) and express trains depart from Tokyo Station in the centre of the city, as well as the nearby Ueno Station, to all destinations in Honshu. Express trains run from Tokyo Narita Airport to both Tokyo and Ueno, and you can purchase all train tickets at the station counters as well as at the airport station counter.
To find train timetables and plan the quickest trip, visit hyperdia.com
The fastest way to get to the Hakuba Valley is a 90-minute bullet train to Nagano, then a one-hour bus to Happo Village. You can also take express and local trains to Hakuba train station.
Hot tip: Consider purchasing a Japan Rail Pass from japanrailpass.net to save money if you’re going to be catching lots of trains.
And below is how the printed article looked. Click on the images to see them larger…
RadMania 