mitchpee

I've never lost a ski and I've never used them. I've had to look for skis before, and it's not fun but almost always works out.

Hey Mike Get at me when you are around Niseko! Would love to take some runs with you.

The Black Diamond deploy has been what I have always used. It's compact, light, and structurally sound. Can't get much better than that.

Hmm with my experience and most people I know, analog is actually faster to pick up a signal. So Ortovox F1's actually pick up the signal faster and respond faster there is just the pause with the beeps that the tracker has to refresh for anyway. So in that respect, they are pretty similar. My recommendation is if you get analog, just practice with it. It takes a certain skill but when you get good with it, they are just as good as digital. I found my buddy in about 70 seconds with an analog.

Hey Neck, I've had an Avalung since the prototype days and originally they were reinforced around the tubing house where the newer ones in colder temps would freeze and crack easier. Is it just discoloration in the tube? Are you able to blow into it and feel it come out the vent? That is what really matters. As long as that works you will be a-okay!

Heh, got a couple buddies in there

If you look at the sport and how it was started (a factory in a van) it seems that Jake Carpenter Aka Burton has lost almost all touch with the sport. The very lifestyle it emphasizes is completely hypocritical now. Oh well, glad I don't snowboard

No, having been to Jake's house and seen how much he has I would never desire to own as many/much stuff/things as that guy does. I would much rather deliver a quality product and further a sport that I believe represents a very positive embracement of life.

As someone in the industry... What this realistically states is "we want to be able to sell goods at overpriced margins in foreign countries so we can gain higher profits off the name we built"

Did you change brands between the two? I don't know of any brands that make larger fitting gloves on purpose. Since unused space in a glove contributes to colder fingers, it would not work well for them. Basically the more compact and insulated a glove is, the warmer it will be. If there is open space in the glove, it's more area your fingers have to heat. It should be the difference in brand or model, I don't think there's a difference in size for skiing/snowboarding specific that I have ever heard of.

Yeah MB! Let's take a lap or a few!

Pete good to see your name man. We will have to do some pow slaying this season. That said go with something 3 Layer. Gore tex or event is optimal but other 3 layer systems work pretty well too. Not sure what your monetary range is looking like but a gore tex shell and light down insulator would be perfect! Plus it's something to wear on those rainy China days.

I didn't know Jamie other than a couple times skiing, but I would have to say he has some sort of training. He was a professional skier and spent 99% of his time in the mountains. They probably didn't have rescue gear, but I am sure he had avalanche training.

Well today a lot of us were getting after the new snow in Utah and there was a lot of complacency. Everyone (myself included) seemed to think that since we didn't have much of a base for big avys to happen. Our group was wrong, and most everyone was wrong. Due to major windloading and a terrible first crust layer, we had some of the most slippery terrain I've seen. Today Jamie was skiing close to us when he set off a slide that carried him over a long pitch of rocks and some cliffs. Over 15 different sizable avalanches were reported today and others left people injured and humbled. Hopefu

I wanna get in on the Afgan action. They got 7000m mountains! This has been a serious trip I have wanted to take for a long time. I just need to find some people with good backcountry knowledge and some extra change.

It's more entertainment than anything now. Hard to take anyone seriously when the voting for American Idol takes reign over who has an influence over who actually has an influence on our lives (congress too not just the president).

Weight is going to be the most important factor in ski sizing, then ability, then height. The heavier you are the longer/stiffer you need the ski to be in order to provide a stable ski experience. Like Mike said you don't want something with a 125mm underfoot that probably wouldn't suit your needs. However there are a lot of skis around with a 90-100 underfoot that would do just fine on the groomers. Skis have become very good with hybrid rockers that allow you to hold edges well and still ski the side powder stashes. Ideally something shaped and around 90 in width would be perfect. Most

You will have to skin out anywhere from Goshiki. It's worth it though really good terrain. However, if you are not wearing a beacon I would highly suggest not really going out there. It can slide and it is pretty steep in parts. You can also get further out than anticipated if you don't know where you are going to where it will be hard to get back or impossible without hiking gear. It's very easy from any Niseko resort and Moiwa is a bit further but will work. Annupuri will be your best bet.

I didn't see any McD's, KFC etc.....prob some in Kutchan though. Not that I know of. No major American fast food giants there. It's kept pretty well Japanese.

You mean that's not normal in the UK?

I'll keep it quiet for you just went there one day....pretty easy to do when you live 1 mile from it.

Richie as DiGriz (as Jim said) BD restaraunt is good! I would recommend Jyuu (okonomiyaki) as well. Super tasty Japanese-like pizza. I absolutely loved that place. Niseko Pizza is good but SUPER expensive for what it is. Umm there's a couple places in Kutchan which are pretty good as well. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g1025639-Kutchan_cho_Abuta_gun_Hokkaido.html I can vouch for ezo seafood, soooo good!

I helped a friend a little bit brew beer, it's an interesting process. My roommate and I just barely finished bottling the wine we made all summer. We grew the grapes in our back yard and voila! 5 months later we have wine aging in bottles that tastes really good. I was shocked at how good it actually came out.

I just watched some footage of the tsunami for the first time since seeing it on the news in Japan. Instantly I was reminded how incredibly powerful nature can be. We can build walls, dams, levees, etc. But above all, nature rules. I still have a hard time believing anything that bad can happen to a country like Japan. I guess it goes to show there is no universal fairness. The Japanese people have done such an amazing job at bonding together and cleaning up some of the more devastated areas which, in itself, is a testament to the good reputation of the culture that I constantly preach ab

I've done it twice. It's a really fun peak but it gets pretty steep. If you haven't done it before I would say it would be okay if you have quite a bit of experience in the backcountry. On the wrong day it could definitely slide. I wouldn't worry about getting buried since it's hard for stuff in Japan to break that big, but if some of it carried you into a tree really fast it could leave you in a bad position. With that said, the fall line is somewhat even but not exact. From the peak I would ski straight opposite from the side that faces Rusutsu. That side sees the least sun. has the best