gaijindrifter

I've been looking around in my local stores (Himalaya and a small private board shop) and have tried on TONS of different types of snowboard pants but can't find any with a good fit. I'm 186cm with a waist/hip measurement of about 78/85 or so and all the pants I've tried of reasonable length have waist measurements of 100 or so. Even with a full base layer on I don't think I'm more than 95 even in the hip area. Maybe it's just the brands I'm trying, so if anyone has any suggestions for wear that is tall/thin friendly I'd greatly appreciate it!

It is a great place, but it isn't very wide and come weekends it's pretty packed. I remember even the jyokyuu getting a bit crowded as well and I had a couple close encounters with some rogue skiers. The tree paths are fun and there are plenty of walls/powder to play with so I recommend everyone try it at least once!

I'd hit it ...the button that is!

Originally Posted By: andylaurel I rode at least 4 days at Kawaba last season. It was definately one of my favorites. First time was exactly a year ago yesterday, yeah? 記念日ãŠã‚ã§ã¨ã†ï½žï¼ Wanna hit it up again this weekend? Does your ticket cover that?

Originally Posted By: Mamabear Your size will be in your favor - AFTER you stop falling over every 5 minutes. Well normally riding I never fall, assuming no one is 'distracting' my view That being said as of this year I've switched to a park board so I'm falling down every 5 minutes ago, though this it's while attempted sic trix And as for the height comment, it has almost nothing to do with board length and all to do with your c.o.g. and mine is absolutely boned, don't know how you 190cm+ guys do it, I'm already on the edge of beyond control! And my board is the shortes

Thanks for the positive reinforcement, but what do you mean by 'cat track'? I'm fairly new... I rode a 160 normal last year and it was just too much board. I barely have enough mass to push my current 156w into the snow, couldn't imagine a 165w... thanks for making me feel not so tall anymore! haha

Originally Posted By: rider69 Avoid the gondola from 9 to 12 and half 1 to 3. THANKS A TON! That's the kind of strategic information I need! But that being said, doesn't Happo open before 9? Is it safe to say that if I try my best to queue up for the gondola just before they start running that I won't have to wait long?

Originally Posted By: Korbzy im spending NYE around happo, i was told its not too busy but its nice and fun. Guess we'll probably be seeing you there then! And I heard the same as well, I have a buddy that used to be a snowboard instructor at Hakuba 47 and he was telling me that Happo is pretty sparce even on very busy days mainly do to how monsterous it is. He's gonna be coming up to ride with us on the 3rd as well, absolutely amazing rider!

Do you happen to know about how much of the mountain will be open come the new year? I read on here that there are some crazy long paths, including one about 8km, and I'd really like to hit some of that up!

There are some tall Japanese, but I usually board in the less populated areas where the crowd tends to be a little older... I would definitely like to see a Japanese as tall as I am trying to board, really curious as to whether or not he looks nearly as awkward as I do haha

Buddy and I decided to give Happo a try this year for NYE. We're looking into staying at 'The Lab' and doing 3 days of riding (31st, 2nd and 3rd) but will Happo be 'happening' by then? Seems to be getting a lot of snow now and is gonna be subzero indefinitely, but can I count on a pretty open mountain come the wee hours of 2010? Also, I've heard there are parts of Happo that are limited to skiers only, is this true? And if so, how many and how good are the paths closed off to me? And has anyone had any experience dealing with 'the lab'? Prices are incredibly cheap given the time of year.

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Originally Posted By: gaijindrifter Originally Posted By: thursday no, it's only 96% It's hard enough being around just one (my buddy's from the Gold Coast)... don't know if I'll be able to stand all that aussie-ness... where do you hail from GD? I'm American More specifically I'm from Detroit, Michigan, 3rd highest murder rate and in case you're wondering why we're not 1st or 2nd it's cause we're the 2nd fattest city in the country

Originally Posted By: thursday no, it's only 96% It's hard enough being around just one (my buddy's from the Gold Coast)... don't know if I'll be able to stand all that aussie-ness...

Also looks quite expensive compared to 70~100$ GoPro HD mini cams x_X

Originally Posted By: thursday I'm 182 and my weight goes from 75 to 82kg. And I feel short at Niseko. I've never been but my buddy and I ran into a couple Airforce guys that say it's 99% Aussies up there, I take it that's about correct?

Originally Posted By: Mantas I'm in the bean pole club too. I'm 186cm at 80kg. A couple of the guys I ride with are taller than me. We look rediculous in a crowd of Japanese. I feel ya! My buddy and I were the only two foreigners on the mountain making it even more awkward. I think the Japanese know to steer clear of us though, haha~ Though I think there is one pretty big advantage to being bigger... more force equals bigger sprays And as for board size, I rode a 160 Rossignol standard with last season and it was just too big for me and it felt like driving a boat. The shorter b

My buddy and I the other day came to the realization that we are massive compared to 99% of the boarders we see in Japan. I was wondering if there are any other freakishly tall big-foot riders out there and how you compensate for your over-wellendowedness And for reference I am 186cm/66kg and my buddy is around 194cm/85kg and we're both riding 156/7 freestyle boards. Do we just gotta get lower? More prepatory power squats? Pilates?

I actually have a Bonfire set I used last year but no longer need for sale if you're interested

It was an amazing day considering how weather everywhere else had been. The whole mountain (including the drive up) was caked in 30-60cm and all along the trails was 60cm or so deep powder. There was a 4:1 ratio skiers to boarders, but ironically enough my buddy and I went the whole day without incident and only once did we ever have to wait for more than a couple minutes to ride the lifts. There were only two park items out (1m tall box and a barrel) but the runs were plenty wide and you had to look very very hard to find any grass even. Unfortunately, it started getting warmer as the d

i can't stand how global warming is such a fad in this damn country... everyone has completely forgotten the last thing that Japan's people were 'united against'... but screw politics, off to kazawa for some NATURAL SNOW!!!

Decided about monday I was gonna go to Kazawa this weekend, and come this morning I walk outside to massive raining (north Saitama) and upon arriving at school I checked the webcams up at the ski-jo and it's not just blizzarding, and heavenly white geri blast is being unleashed!!! So pumped!!! Anyone else in the north Kanto region gonna be out? I vouch it's definitely a worth-while place to visit! Cams are on the front page http://www.kazawa.com/snow/index.html SJ#4 edit: Edited link to webcams, hopefully added to our site soon

how much did that run? i'm definitely interested! and though i don't plan on doin any riding/filming at the same time, i do occasionally listen to music when i board, but only when the traffic is light and i always use very 'airy' ear buds so i can hear everything around me

Not trying to be all 'Sonny Bono' but my buddy and I are thinking about filming at some hills this winter and putting together a compilation as it's our last season boarding together in Japan and we have a hell of a season planned (starting the year off in Hakuba, ending with a week long trip to Niseko). I recently bought an Olympus 6010 tough which is as water/cold/drop proof as I'll need to take boarding, but we're worried about my buddies camera. It's a simple Sony DV camera (small handheld deal with a handstrap and all that) and though it's been through some pretty outrageous filming (We u

Originally Posted By: JA Originally Posted By: The Skiing Lawyer Those one man lifts are scarily small though. Do any one man lifts have any lind of safety bar? I can't recall seeing one. And, is there a one woman lift? Yup, right in my lap haha~ couldn't resist! bud no worries, I'm not sexist, I think there should be a one woman lift as well and it'll queue up just as bad as your toilets I'd assume boom on a roll!!!

*UPDATE* As of late last week, my buddy has officially DUMPED his girlfriend. Unfortunately, I still have to face the fact that it's just not economical to go out to his every friday to get a ride (so I'm still in need of a lift from time to time ;P) but I'm very happy he got rid of that wench. This also potentially means we're back on for Hakuba over NYE so if anyone else is out in the area let me know and we can party up!