yamabushi

For this year's Hokkaido trip I'm thinking about making a loop through Tomamu, Furano, Asahidake, Kamui, and Niseko. I may skip Asahidake (did that last year, great pow but short runs/flat endings). If I have time I'll visit Rusutsu near Niseko. I'm mostly looking for powder runs, have very little love for groomed slopes. Around those areas, is there a resort I should pay a visit? Are there any I really would want to spend an extra day?

We already got 315cm in Hakkoda but it is still to warm for it to be the super fluffy stuff I crave (mid to low 20f during the day).

Where are you at? I'll be at a Montbell store January 1st (the traditional wife trip to the Morioka mall). If you are in the U.S., I can send it via USPS mail.

For cheap, the Sansou at the bottom of the chairlift is 6,000. This is where the Japanese mountain guides are, so if that's what you are looking for you pretty much are set. It used to be 6,000 all you can drink but the old man retired (the guy that built the place).I don't know if they are keeping that particular tradition... This is my take on the mountain guides. A lot of them basically show you the front of the mountain. This is not necessarily a bad deal, as it ensures that you spend your time riding powder and not digging yourself out of one of the many ravines and gullies. Still, if

Black diamond uses standard baskets. They are fairly inexpensive, I would stick to black diamond ones because of the quality (they are a pain in the ass to put in and take out). The montbell store is carrying extra large powder baskets. If you fancy the bottomless stuff, I would go for those.

My girl is 13, getting good at boarding, and has a perchant for powder (I wonder where she got that from ) Feeling that it is time for a real powder board to take her training to the next level, I set out to find a 149cm Malolo. Lo and behold for the current season Burton doesn't offer them anymore. I'm more a Fish person and in reality I was looking for cheap New-Old-Stock model but still, no more 'lolo?

I takes about 10 minutes to explain all the basic stuff. How long it will take your body to make it second nature is all over the place. Practice?

I went to Kurodake last year and it breaks my heart that I'm not coming back (too far away for a day trip). Going off piste under the gondola is not for the faint of heart.

Which one are you calling a beginner run, Tsugaike Kogen or Kagura Mitsumata? I'm looking at the topo maps for Tsugaike Kogen. Shiroumadake (2932m) which is one of the 100 most famous mountains of Japan is on that ridge. Does anybody knows where the helicopter drops you off? A geo location would be awesome

The point I was making is that, for these types of thigs, importation costs do not play that big a role in determining prices. My experience is that most Burton soft goods sell like hotcakes because of the fashion statement. Anybody that has been to a sports store here knows how big a fashion whore your average Japanese is (please don't take this the wrong way. Me, I'm a Oakley and Patagonia whore). When it comes to boards and bindings, the market is more competitive, hence the ungodly markup between the two categories.

Nah, just sloppy on my part. Funny enough that you pick only on the numbers that support yours. Care to discuss the $29 price tag of microsoft office in china? But, but, but.... I'm not the one making the argument with numbers. I was simply pointing out your totally incorrect and misleading US price comparisons. And I have absolutely no idea about China. My wild out-there somewhat outrageously reckless guess is that it is not possible to buy a legitimate copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2010 for $29 in China. But that's simply a guess, I really do not know. Whatever

Nah, just sloppy on my part. Funny enough that you pick only on the numbers that support yours. Care to discuss the $29 price tag of microsoft office in china?

Shit, another correction: The current price of the Japanese burton ruler went down to 35,700, the U.S. retail price is $199. One thing that I noticed is that boots, gloves and clothes have a crazy markup, while boards are not as bad. The aforementioned Burton Ruler markup is a bit over 225%, while the Burton Vapor ($1,199 vs 126,000 suggested retail) is less than 40%.

I would think so... It was at a Takeda Sports. I think we are talking about export items that have an inflated price tag. Can't export the house and certainly not the land underneath.

Nah, I'm just better at shopping on the U.S. Google up Microsoft Office 2010 professional. Click on shopping instead of web search. The first two prices listed is for $189. For the Japanese price this is what I saw at the store. And I was also wrong with the price of office in China, it is $29 bucks. This is what makes things hilarious; there is very little software black market in Japan so the price is 47,163. On China, because otherwise it would not sell, they get rewarded with a $29 price tag. How about the Burton boots? $200 on the U.S. retail price, 47000 Japan retail price.

You guys need to befriend somebody stationed here. We get access to USPS mail. Just saying...

Really? Microsoft Office Proffesional 2010. In the good old U.S. o A., $189. In Japan, around 50,000 yen, or $642. In China, where they have to compete with the black market, $10. Hardware is not software but the point is; the cost of doing business has little to do with this. They figure out how much people on a given market are willing to pay and that's what they charge. Funny enough, the price gouging happens on clothes and accesories (boots, jackets, gloves). The snowboards are priced a lot more sensibly. My $200 Burton Ruler boots sell here for 47,900 or $615. I have seen B

This year I would like to add a back country helicopter trip to my been-there, done-that list. Anybody here done it? Is there a particular destination that is worth the expense? Any company you would recommend?

Got my reservations, damn it I can't wait! Had a Japanese speaker do my ferry reservations to move the car. The lady at the other end was freaking out because I didn't speak Japanese. Did she think I would try to drive my car up the passenger ramp? Usually you need to be there 30 minutes prior, she told us to be there hour an a half early. Sure... There are some nice cheap hotels up there. Most places with two meals were under 9,000, room only starting at 5,800. If I like it I may do it again in April

Also, the day ticket is listed as 3,600 yen. Does that cover both the gondola and the chair lift at the top?

Anybody been up to Kurodake this season? I plan on snowboarding Kurodake Thursday and Friday. I trust the place will be open for business those days? (they don't get a lot of traffic and I think they close for most of Jan/Feb). I'll then cross over to Asahidake and do another two days there. Any info will be welcome. I plan on looking for a guide once I get there. I'm sure the hotel staff will be able to point me in the right direction.

I used to ride a long snowboard (174cm) and I religiously wore a helmet while on it; riding it without it through the trees was a deadwish. Every time I switched to a shorter board, I religiously took it off. If it was on my head, I tended to overcompensate a lot and ended up conking trees and branches left and right. When I get home I'll see if I can post a clip of me hitting a tree at full speed. It was awesome

This year I plan on processing all my shots and clips in record time. Hopefully sometime before Thanksgiving

pictures or it didn't happen

I'm going to Asahidake and Kurodake March 16~20. So far is looking good. The town at kurodake has a good number of hotels. The one I'm staying at (got the info at work, sorry) starts at a night 5,800 without meals.