andylaurel

I just got my 11/12 Slackcountry UL and it's made in China. I also have a 09/10 DH2 and it's also made in China. They're high quality and they ride well, so I don't see a reason not to buy one.

So my new board arrived in the mail the other day. Thanks Rakuten. I have a strange habit of sticking with brands and not trying new things, so based on my love of my '09 Ride DH2 I chose my new powderboard, the Ride Slackcountry UL. It's kind of hard to get anything over 160cm here in the J, so I was stoked to get a 161cm for 56 000 yen delivered, despite the retail price being 84000. It sports Ride's high rocker profile and has a twinnish shape. It's an extremely stiff board, and on account of being a rocker board, it floats really well in the powder when compared with my lowrise ro

So despite a forecast for rain today, I decided to take my chances and head up for Kurodake's first day this year. They held an opening ceremony at about 10 am, and stopped the lift (note; non pluralized to indicate there is only one) to ensure that EVERYONE was there to watch. After riding the ropeway to the top, it was snowing and conditions were generally quite good. There was about 30 cm of pow but the 2 pistes were groomed so you had to chance it through the mountain bamboo. Good points: It was open, it's an hour from where I live, parking is free. Bad points: There is one pa

While I totally understand Burton's stance toward gray marketing, it sucks that I can't buy a snowboard big enough for me in this country. If anyone knows where I can get a Ride Slackcountry 164 in Hokkaido, let me know.

Hamutai in Furano. A match made in heaven.

It hovered around zero all day, so there was powder to be found, albeit slightly heavy. This morning a blizzard was forecast, but I awoke to the sound of raindrops! It's raining rather heavily here, but it's forecast to turn to snow later in the day. I hope Kurodake gets enough to open this weekend!

Today was my first day on snow this season, and I'm quite pleased to report it was a good one. After solid snowfalls Sunday night through Tuesday, Furano was able to open a portion of the Furano Area, with the Spies, Sailer and Shirakaba courses open. With just the gondola servicing the upper slopes, and one pair lift in operation, lift queues were long and the runs were short, but getting to sample November pow made it entirely worthwhile. Apologies for the Iphone photos. Next time I'll take my camera. Hopefully the blizzard forecast for tomorrow dumps enough

It's puking snow in Asahikawa (takasu). We've had at least 30cm at town level today. It's been heavy all day. Fingers crossed for first lines at Furano or Kurodake on Wednesday.

I was kind of hoping the snow forecast for Monday/Tuesday is enough to get Kurodake open. That way I'll be riding this Wednesday the 23rd, which is a public holiday.

My apologies for my lack of intergoogle skills. Thanks goes out to Klingon for his '/rant' which is no way could be seen as an over-reaction to my heinous faux pas. This reminds me of the time in Star Trek when Darth Vader kills a storm trooper with his mind due to a really minor slip up.

Did my post get deleted?

jyajyaaan!

My GF has one. It's nothing short of amazing. She has one through AU KDDI and the base price before calls is about 7000 yen a month, which is all you can use data. Considering my phone bill is 2300 yen a month, I'll stick to what I'm using.

Map updated. As forecasted, big fat flakes started falling at about 8.30 this morning and fell through to lunchtime. The temps are hovering around 5 degrees, so the snow is melting as soon as it hits the ground, but it's nice to know it's on the way. Kurodake has a 10cm base layed down, and Asahidake is looking pretty white on the web cam. Snow is forecast through to Thursday, with heavier snowfalls on Tuesday resulting in a build up at town level. Furano is due to open Nov 19th (this Saturday) and I fully intend to be there.

Winter's here!

It's snowing!!!!!! Yatta!

I switched to mine 3 weeks ago because I had some free time, but with snow forecast for today through Thursday, the tire shops/gas stands were overflowing with people changing tires yesterday.

Beautiful morning. Sunny skies, frost on the ground. Hokkaido at it's finest.

The sky is turning a sickly shade of crimson and the ground is opening up to reveal the fiery depths of hell... up here in Asahikawa...

November 18th at 2.43pm is the official time and date at which you may switch to your snow tires. Heavy penalties are imposed on those who flaunt the law and switch earlier.

frost on the ground this morning, but a forecast high of 12... temperatures to fall dramatically on monday.

When I watch footage of the republican presidential candidate campaign, I literally feel frightened for the future of the world.

yuki mark for asahikawa monday, tuesday, wednesday next week!

good gyoza in Utsunomiya.

The Art of Flight by Brain Farm and Libtech snowboards. The same people who brought us That's it That's all. Just amazing. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kh29_SERH0Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>