yamabushi

Over here we grow 'em big. This is the ropeway building. The gondola car is to the left just outside of the shot. By this time of the year the base is usually still going up. Right now it has lost about half a meter :'(

This year has been weird as hell in Aomori. December was the driest I have ever seen. Then January came with a vengeance; it looked like we were aiming for a record year. So far February feels like we skipped straight into March. Right now all the soft snow is gone, and even the top of the mountains is getting crusty. You never know, a crazy storm may come in any day now dumping a meter of snow overnight, but it could as well not happen.

Originally Posted By: muikabochi Does look a bit like Zao! Got any wider images of the area with those juhyo trees yamabushi? Not of that area. Here is a shot at snow monsters on the other side of the mountain:

Damn, private messages are not working... I was planning on going with friends that changed their minds at the last minute... So, I just emailed black diamond tours and another company to ask them if they had any tours available for before/after March 10~14. If I were to hook up with somebody else that has back country experience, I would be willing to just show up in Asahidake and look for a local guide. My Japanese is crap, but between Michi-ni mayoimashita, Tasukete!, and abunai!, I have the bases covered Heck, outside of that weekend in the middle, my schedule is pretty fl

Did you try more aggressive angles? If you get used to them it may be all the clearance that you need. Also, are you actually having problems, or it just look funny? An inch of overhang is not much, and unless you are engaged in extreme carving not worth worrying about it.

I'm using a Black Diamond pole, with a piece of hardware from Homac that I rigged into a camera mount (been meaning to post pics of my setup for some time now). The great thing about Black Diamond poles is that they stock replacement parts even on the models that are out of production. Last year I broke the bottom shaft on that pole, the replacement shaft cost me $14.95. I'm gonna be in Tokyo March 10~14, and I'm still trying to make it to Asahidake sometime in March. If i'm here, I'll be happy to hook up. Keep in mind that things are looking rather warm; it would be more like spring back

What boot size do you wear? What angles are you running now?

Damn, looking at the weather forecast it looks like the soft powder is going away. Here in Hakkoda we have been experiencing March weather for the better part of february . No biggie, time to break out the snow shoes and start dropping the bigger mountains on the back of the range Last Saturday it was magical; 30cm of new snow after a dry spell. If you knew were to find it you could be on over a meter of drifted fresh powder. Good memories, good shots with the gopro-on-a-stick. The videos will have to wait (it takes forever to process those) but here are some snaps. Some day I'll remem

The Mullet and the Fish are two different monsters. The Mullet seems to be closer to a Malolo. The need to ride switch on a Fish is not that great; the tail is so short that flipping it around is easier than you would imagine. For tree runs the fish wins, hands down. The level of control is outstanding. Worrying how a Fish handles grommed slopes is like worrying how a mud crawler handles a race track. People that worry about that need to sort their priorities first, and then pick their board.

If you know somebody on a U.S. military base, you could send it Priority mail for about $40, and then black cat it to Niseko for less than that...

Dude, they are about to die. The outer shell of the laces is part of what makes them strong. Order a pair of laces right away. The trick is to harden about an inch of the tips with crazy glue, that way they will be easier to push through. If you can't get it in, and your local burton rep can't get it in, you can send them to Burton Japan and they will be happy to give it a try.

I'm still trying to figure out how to best use this camera. Heck, I'm still trying to figure out how to edit videos. This season has been unreal, I haven't seen so much snow since 2005~06. Unless we get an unusually warm spring, I'll be snowboarding June 1st

I'm playing with my new GoPro camera, mounted at the end of a pole. Here I was filming holding the camera about a foot above the board, on a mellow run through a Hakkoda forest. Aye? Nay?

The neoprene ones I have tried didn't fit that well. I'm afraid to buy a more expensive one online just to end up paying more for something just as bad

The fleece mask I use is fine until the end of the day, when I pretty much have to crack it apart to take it off my head. It still sorta works, as in the ice cast keeps the wind from shredding exposed skin. For fluffy powder days, what works for you?

Figured out a way to cut a chunk of the video. I'll see if I can collect enough clips to make a 3-minute mash-up. In the mean time... http://www.snowjapan.tv/sjtv/video/Hakkoda

Originally Posted By: Jynxx UWAUAAUUAUAAUwwwooooo looking forward to see the GoPro vid. please ! did you get out? hope you did. What board are you riding? haven't figured out how to edit videos yet. The board is a Burton fish, as evident by the outstanding level of flotation it is providing for most of the ride the snow was just to my waist, that just hapened to be the deep end of the pool. Nice thing about that spot is that it was next to the trail everybody else was stomping. Getting back to the shallow knee-deep powder was easy

Over four meters of snow in 7 days... Nothing in Hokkaido has as much snow... Yesterday's shot (gopro camera at the end of the stick) If you'll excuse me I need to go to the nearest Montbell store for a Life is good T-shirt

Over meter and a half (61 inches) of fresh snow since yesterday, with more snow every day for the foreseeable future. The weather is fine now

Originally Posted By: Soft Landings Yamabushi, I heard a rumour that at Hakkoda the resort has guides that form groups and you can ride with them (for a fee). Apparently you meet in the car park first thing in the morning? Do you know anything about this? I think just about all the hotels around the mountains have 'guides'. The problem is that, guiding in Japan is not regulated, and in the past the safety and competence of the local outfits has been put into question. I would recommend the folks from the Sanso hotel; those are the guys I see all the time. The hotel has a website.

If the chairs are too slow for your taste, you are welcome to bypass them and walk up hill. I guarantee you do that if you do that for the first few runs of the day you'll have nothing but gratitude for the slowest one on the land

Originally Posted By: Jynxx It´time. Had a pinched nerve in my lower back for the last 4 weeks. Bloody frustrating but good reason to prep my body. If you ask me (I know you didn't but I'll say it anyways) the #1 exercise for the off-season is barbell squats. Done correctly, they will cure any and all back pains. Look up stronglifts 5x5 for a good beginners program. Today's picture may not look like much but I'm sure it will bring a smile to anybody that has been here, the Mokosawa snow bridge. It forms at around 175cm base, and it is the exit route to the Mokosawa run (one of the

Some of my non BC buddies that are coming up on Saturday are whining that with the windchill, the temperature at the top will be -7.5F (-22C). I swear, kids nowadays...

You would be amazed at the amount of energy a snowboarder is willing to spend (swimming motions, duck walk, the frog leap, clawing like a ghoul out of hell, jump jive 'n wail) just to prove to skiers that it can be done Funny thing, the first time my non-BC snowboarder friends see me boarding with poles. They don't think is funny anymore when a few quick jabs with the poles get me over the hill or across the flat. If I know what's coming, I'm not afraid to pull them out

I read an article a while back about how the geishas were pretty much pricing themselves out of business. With the way the economy is going, not that many folks can afford their services.