The Season So Far DISCUSS THIS FEATURE HERE

Well it’s just over half way through the season and a very eventful and sobering season it has been.

It started off with an early dump and great New Years skiing and has turned into the light snow season that was forecasted by the local Oji-san. I didn’t want to believe it but I guessed it to be true. On the bright side of the picture, although we have had a slightly lower than average snowfall with cold weather through January and warming in February, we have still received more than the North American ski resorts. This year has provided some great powder days and some very nice clear spells after good dumps to give use back country enthusiasts a chance to get back there for some sick pow lines. I think I say this every year but I think I really did get some of my sweetest turns in this year and had the fortunate chance to share those lines with many other great people that I am sure could say the same.

Although, we have seen some great days out there we have also had some great losses. I am sure most of you have heard by now about the death of a great person and snowboarding guru Craig Kelly. This was a very unfortunate and shocking loss of someone I have only had the pleasure of meeting on a few occasions in Japan and Canada. Craig was a true soul rider. He was not only a great rider and big mountain rider but a very spiritually empowered individual. He has influenced thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of snowboarders around the globe and was a great father and friend to many who shared his passion for the mountains. He fully respected the forces of nature and the power of the mountains and thrived off those energies which was represented in his riding, his character and his everyday life. Even with his great respect for the mountains it was not enough to stop the mighty power of the avalanche that took his life and that of six other back country tourers that were with him in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada.

Craig, we will miss you and remember you for pioneering a very worthy sport and lifestyle.

One other loss we observed just this last week end was that of Jeff Anderson. I only had the chance to meet Jeff at the start gate of this and last years Slope Style Event at Kijimadaira. Watching him ride was truly mind blowing. The airs and jibbing that this person pulled off was the result of skill and athletic dedication. The airs to rail that he did with such grace dictated respect and the honor of best style at last year’s event. Many who knew him talked of how giving and jovial he was and that how devastated they were with his sudden and totally unimaginable loss the evening after the second days Slope Style Event. His life was taken after falling four and a half stories through the center of a fire escape inside of the hotel that he was staying at.
  

  
It is so unfortunate and devastating that someone who takes such risks in his everyday passion and job go in such a way, but unfortunately we are all mortal and must remember this in our daily life whether at work or at play. Jeff, you will be remembered dearly by your soul mates and the thousands of supporters who marveled at you stunts on and above the snow.

I am sorry that this article has taken such a dark tone to start off with, but it is the unfortunate reality of life. I spend much time in the mountains doing what I love to do and trying to teach others some of the knowledge and skill that I have gained over the years, but no amount of training can dictate your own final judgment on or off the mountain. This is something that we all must take into our own hands and make the best choices that we can with the information and situations that we find our selves in. Let’s try to make well-informed and thought out decisions before even heading in to the back country and of course while we are in the mountains.

This year has been, over all, an unstable year for snow in the mountains of Nagano with the early snows, cold weather in January and this past month of warm weather with three rain events and many very warm sunny days. Those of us who live in the mountains have seen the south faces just get cooked and rained on which has caused big cracks and large slides. I personally would not purposely put myself on those larger unsupported south faces until most of that heavy snow comes down. The North faces have been bonding better than I had expected but we can still be concerned about instabilities lower in the pack above and below those rain layers as there are faceted grains with low cohesion around these layers. Just a few days ago there was a substantial slide in the Garagara Valley that was set off by two boarders that luck would have it were not buried, but could well have been.

Yes, this year is still a dangerous one out there if you do not use your mountain smarts. Be sure to carry emergency gear, know how to use it and choose terrain that is well supported with few terrain traps if you are the least bit concerned with stability or do not know how to evaluate the stability of the slope. We do not need any more deaths this season in the snowboarding world. Play it safe out there.

On a different note I continue to plug away at trying to get in resort off piste areas open around the Nagano area. My personal dream is to see more people in the trees and glades of the resorts rather than out in the uncontrolled back country. My reasons for this are easier rescue, avalanche control with in resort areas, increased skier/boarder visits to in bounds areas rather than back country and greater fun for all who will enjoy these areas. I have had some good response from the ski hills interested in pursuing an off piste policy. There has been a lot of friction, however, between those who seem to feel that rules are made to be broken and those who only know that these rules are in place and are unsure of how to change them or whether they need to be changed. I find myself in a hard spot as I know exactly why the people who enter these areas do so and I have been here long enough to understand the dilemmas of the resorts.
  

I personally feel that the mountains should be open and controlled before customers are allowed to enter and do so at their own risk. But it would seem that this is not the case. Patrol are unsure as to how to control dangers, how to make rescues in these steep treed areas and when and when not to open these avalanche terrain areas. Many foreigners and Japanese have taken it upon themselves to make these out of bounds areas that may or may not be controlled alright to ride. This is possibly dangerous if the patrol have not done what I feel is their essential duty to mountain safety; avalanche control work. They are also not practiced up for a steep tree run or cliff rescue. This needs to be changed and we need to work with the mountains rather than against them to get the sick tree and glade runs open.

If you can not restrain yourself from dropping in to a out of bounds area ask your self a couple of questions first.

So I know there has been a lot of friction, but ask your self who’s country you are a guest in and what are the rules in place where you are riding. Let's have fun, but lets not ruin the chances to open areas by causing an accident in one of these off piste areas.

Play smart and safe out there as there is still a lot of snow waiting to come down.