JuniorStubbs

Instructors are always a bit hit and miss I've found, very much a 'lucky dip'. You don't know until after your lesson whether you've just wasted half a day and a chunk of money. Good luck. All the instructors that i'm working with at Niseko Village are either CASI/CSIA 2, BASI 2, AASI 2 or better qualified. Also will are all taking SAJ 2 and 1 exams in the next two weeks. If you are unsure of the quality of your instructor, just ask the ski school about their level of certification. good luck. Also been up the gondola at Niseko Village - its shut to the public still - nearly enou

for the 32's try US online board shops, and take the hit on delivery/customs. the-house and backcountry are two ggod shops. Or search 32's website for Japanese dealers.

for the 32's try US online board shops, and take the hit on delivery/customs. the-house and backcountry are two ggod shops. Or search 32's website for Japanese dealers.

It will be hard to buy boots specifically for your instep. A more viable solution would be to buy some new boots, and then get see a specialist to make you the correct liner insert that you require for your instep. When buying board boots, here is a golden rule: Take the inner liner out, put you foot in the outer portion of the boot. If you can fit more than two fingers between your heel and the boot, the boot will be too big - even if it feels comfy with the liner in. This is because with prolonged wear, the liner will expand into the outer boot, and the fit will cease to be suffici

Thanks for the advice about the board bag people. One question though; whats the cost of a takyubin service for a board bag 165x30x20 about 25kg's?

My flights into and out of Japan I booked as part of my northern hemisphere trip with STA travel. London - Tokyo (nov 15th) Tokyo - Auckland (april 17th) Auckland - Vancouver (april 19th) Calgary - London (may 23rd) P.S. going to Auckland saved me 400 quid over going direct to Vancouver from tokyo. Those flights cost 1200 including all taxes and booking fee. My flight from toyko to sapporo i booked via a Japanese travel agent in london on (number 105 I think) Great Portland Street near Oxford Circus tube. Search for JAL or ANA and find their U.K.

Thanks very much for the advice. I was really starting to tear my hair out over this problem. Cheers so much.

reading this i'm doubly stoked, as it snowing in London right now as well. Snow London October, weird.

Where should I look for information about having my board bag couriered from Tokyo to Niseko? Help. ahhhhhhh

Booked a domestic flight from Haneda to New Chitose on tuesday, cost £78. All was well until about two minutes ago when out of idle curiousity i checked JAL's baggage policy for domestic flights. Apparently I can only take 10kg of checked luggage. I'm screwed. I'm looking into another option my end, but wanted some informed opinions from you guys and gals. Do you think/know of, a way to book excess baggage and save being shafted on the cost? For example Ryan Air allow you to purchase space for a ski bag. Has anyone else encountered this problem before, and if so how did you ge

Pedalling sounds an aweful lot like what I as a CASI instuructor would refer to a steering. This is the process of adjusting the radius of a turn once the turn has been initiated. Under the CASI system, we are taught to teach people by initiating the turn with upper body rotation. However the more advanced the turns, the less pivot(also refered to as rotation) is needed, and more sterring is used. I think tha trying to teach beginners to turn with no rotation will hamper their development, as the are likely to lack the correct balance requied. This is why rotation is used in beginner

one inch = 25.4 mm's or 2.54cm's One metre = 39.4 inches.

Here's alist of some of my fav's, both obvious big choices, and some potentially lesser known ones. DC Mtn Lab 1 and 1.5 Optimistic, That, Picture This, Thanks Brain, by Think Tank productions From Russia with Gloves, Warren Miller's Off The Grid (just for the massive cliff drop), Sandbox, Flavour Country (essentially sandbox 2, Time Well Wasted (essentially sandboax 3), Montreal, The Right Wrong, The White Album Between those one of them should take your fancy. My favourite would have to be Sandbox films's Flavour Country, or Thanks Brain by Think Tank films.

One thing people can do to minimise their exposure to the currency conversion suffering, is to change money on the commercail market via a brokerage firm instead on using a bureau de change. They will get a much better rate, but will need to change several thousand dollars (in the UK its usually £5,000 min) Commission will be a small amount, possibly even a nominal flat rate fee. Not everyone is planning to take or spend that kind of money, but it may help some people

dude, thats really cool. how did you stumble upon that?

Thats my pre-season as well Emilia. As for superstitions I will be riding the first run of the new season switch, as that was how i finished the last run of last season - trying to go for the pick up where you left off idea.

Sorry i don't know why the link didn't work. The site was msn's own weather page and I just typed in Niseko as the location. As for the questions, my undergrad degree is in Politics but about one third of the credits were Philosophy options, so I guess asking questions is really in my nature.

Just wondering if the any of the rain that is predicted to fall in the next five days, will hit the mountain in the form of snow? That is to say will the freezing point be low enough altiude wise? below is a link to the weather forecast to which i'm refering - apologies if this is not allowed, no offence was intended. I know that updates are available on SJF but the most recent one is a week and a half old, so I just wondered if anyone that is actually on the ground has any observations. I'm just bored, at my computer and curious.

I was self taught, thouht i was alright until i started taking CASI instructor training. Man was that an eye opener. learning from pro's that teach people to become pro's was amazing. Lessons are a must if you want to optimise your ability. You can not be the most gifted balance or ability wise, but have great technique and become a great rider through taking lessons. You can become better than those blessed with more natural ability but that ride say, open shouldered and counter-rotate their turns. Also its easier to learn good habits first, rather than learn to forget bads ones as

Just wondered what prep people have left to do for the coming season? Also do people have any pre-season habits or superstitions?

I'll be arriving in town on the 19th of November, and leaving on the 16th of April.

My boss has said to me that the opening day for Niseko Village will be the 20th if snow conditions allow.

Does anyone know what the opening dates for the various major resorts are this season?

kinda have an unfair advantage here, and i'm off to Canada in april and may to sit more exams, looking for 140 for the season. did 117 in Banff last year, and three days at a tiny local hill in wisconsin.