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JuniorStubbs

SnowJapan Member
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Posts posted by JuniorStubbs

  1. 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 enough snow to open it up, will probably be open after the snow this weekend.

  2. i think if you can fit 2 fingers into your boot you would know already that it's too big for you!!!!

     

     

    I think you mis-understand me. Remove the liner. Put the outer part of the boot on. Now measure the gap. If you can fit more than two fingers between your heel and the inside of the outer part of the boot - regardless of how comfy/tight the boot might feel with the inner liner in, the boot liner will expand and your boots will become too big.

     

    This information was provided to me by an instructor in Canada that has been riding since 1988, and has ridden with one of - if not the greatest - boarder ever, the now late Craig Kelly.

  3. 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 sufficient. This will result in heel lift, bad performance, and wasted money.

     

    Hope this helps.

  4. 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. travel agents, and call in and see one in person. It will take you a while, nut if you bring all you documents, and are patient you can get wicked deals.

     

    my internal flight cost 78 including all taxes, fees etc.

     

    If you need any more info Private Message me.

  5. 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 get round it?

     

    Ahhhhhhh, please help. Departure for Japan is two and a half weeks away.

  6. 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 turns as it help with correct alignment and ensures good balanced body position.

     

    High spped turns such as intermediate or advanced carves, have almost no rotation element in initiating the turn. This is because the initiation phase of the turn is combined with the completion phase of the previous one. Strong steering using the lower joints, allied with angulation and un-weighting (either up or down depending on the level of the rider) are the main tools of the rider for riding at speed.

     

    Does this help at all?

  7. 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.

     

    Hope this list helps.

  8. 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

  9. 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.

     

     

  10. 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 i have had to do. Here are a list of my riding faults that i used to have:-

     

    Hips forward (towards nose) shoulders back (towards tail),

     

    Open shouldered/ not looking directly over the nose of the board,

     

    Counter-rotation of heel to toe side turn (movement of lower body before upper body,

     

    Handbag (back hand forward perpendicular to the board),

     

    no angulation during carves/ inclination only (meaning no flex of the lower joint to create pressure over edge, leading to impared board perfrmance)

     

    and finally bent/hunched at waist. All those problems were the result of copying my mates.

     

    I don't want to sound like an advertisement, but i seriously think lessons are worth it.

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