[steven]

I've climbed it before... it wasn't as hard as I had expected, but the last stretch kind of sneaks up on you. It's almost like you have to crawl up some of it. Climbing Tateyama is not something you can expect to do in the winter though... I think that's more of a summer thing around here. Those ice walls might've lasted until May or June this year to give you an idea of what I mean. I climbed it in late August and there was still a bit of snow left over.

There is in fact a lot of skiing in Toyama. I've heard it really varies from place to place, but there is supposedly some decent skiing (I know it's pretty cheap). You can find places with virtually nobody there. You're gonna hate me for this, but I've never been skiing/snowboarding here. I always seem to be a little busy during that time of the year (hopefully I can go this year). I did make some old school bamboo skiis last year though. I managed to go down a hill without falling over, which was an accomplishment to say the least.

If you make it all the way to Toyama during the winter, you might want to check out Gokayama (I think it's also called Shirakawa). They have old style houses there that they "light up" during the winter. There's a lot of cool stuff to check out here during the winter.