Tachypsychia
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Posts posted by Tachypsychia
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Very similar to me. Then you have gear and pack weight on top of that.
Dont go shorter than 170 with your board, you will thank me one day lol.
I ride a few different boards all of which are 180, its easy to throw a big board around when you are our size and the float you get is insane.
Awesome, that's what I'd figured. I have a few boards lined up, just waiting to see which one drops in price a bit over the summer then I'll jump on it, or maybe several =-)
Just keep in mind that if the guy in Hakkoda doesn't have proper training, he is just some guy showing you around. You are placing your life in his hands so I would want to be able to trust his decision making skills in avalanche terrain. You can also learn more about safely moving through avi terrain by spending time with an experienced and qualified guide.
While you are waiting for winter I would recommend reading Bruce Tremper's Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain.
I've talked with him and done some research into the qualifications necessary. He's actually a really awesome guy, has done a bunch of snow analysis and avalanche training, etc, but he's going back to the states in the fall, so he won't be out there to guide me. He did say he'd hit me up when he came back later in the winter to ride, but it'd be a buddy ride as opposed to a guided tour. I've got a few names he reccommended me (locals that speak great english) plus some others to look at.
I'll definitely get that reading material. Sounds similar to the cold weather training I did while I was active duty out in Washington State.
I'm about to send you an email with some information.
Thanks David!
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Whats your height & weight Tach? Sorry if you posted it already.
6'2" and about 225lbs now. I have about 20lbs of volatile weight that I hope to loose on a Japanese diet though...
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Gah. Wish I could test ride some, but I'll just have to go of everyone's reccomendations. There's a surf/snow shop nearby but off season , I doubt they'll have anything
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Me likey da slash! and 300bucks is very reasonable.. I love the graphics on the 2013 edition. Has a ruler on the board to measure how deep the powder is! Of course it'd be easily covered up on Hakkoda.
Man, decisions decisions....
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Its hard to keep track
I love how you write a wall of text for just about every response. Gives me a lot of options and stuff to research! I definitely want a powder specific board. Seems like that's mostly what's going to be near me as I'll be just 20-30 minutes from Hakkoda. I'm certainly not against going to other mountains as I'm sure I will from time to time, but logically it seems that the ungroomed powder is going to be my natural habitat, so I want to soar where the sky is right for me!
I'll probably also get a park specific board, but that depends on the resorts and what they have available. Looks like I need to disappear for a bit and research the boards you mentioned..
I'll also see what the airline will charge me on oversize baggage. Can't be much worse than shipping it seperatley. Plus you look like a total BAMF carrying around your board everywhere you go. As if I won't get enough attention being gaijin in Aomori.
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Looks like I might have to forgo a Fish and pursue a Barracuda instead! As heavy as I am it seems the better board for me and what I'm going to be doing. It'll have to be a 169cm for sure for my size.
Anyone care to explain the process of getting a board over there a little more detailed? It looks like I need to either ship it before I go, or bring it with me, and I don't know if the airline will allow it/it's worth bringing at that point.
Thanks for all the excellent advice so far guys.
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Oops! Sorry about that David! Just finished a 12 hour shift.. Kinda tired...
Anyway, the guide guy I'm looking at is an american rider that takes you on the Hakkoda and shows the sweet spots apparently. What certifications.licenses do you think are necessary?
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Awesome awesome advice guys.
Seems the overwhelming opinion is to buy and bring. I can't belive the market is that bad that you'd save not buying in country! I definitely need a board suited to powder, but I'll still bring the freestyle board over. Its some kind of forum board. Cant remember the name
So there are brands that I *cant* get shipped to me in Japan?! Brand Import Restrictions sound ridiculous....
This one kind of hurts my head. So I need a longer board cause of my weight., I see sites like shipto.com that comes up when I google mail forwarding service. This what I need to look into when shipping a board? What mailer services would you reccomend?
I'm getting super stoked for this season already.
Looks like I'll keep shopping, but for some reason I feel like I'll have a few more boards than I need (again)
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I don't want to shell out full price on a fish if I don't need to, but I'm a big guy with a big foot, so I need a 162cm wide I think. Any ideas on a good place to get a used board? I notice that this forum doesn't have a market place...
Thanks for that ava class info. Sounds like a good refresher.
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We climbed in April. No real nasty weather to speak of, but about two feet of soft pack snow from the season. Looks I definitely want to refresh my training.
To be sure, I definitely don't want to do any boarding out there alone. It's also more fun out there with people who share the passion.
I found a guy who lives out in Misawa that does guided tours on the cheap (used to work for Burton I think?) So I'm definitely going to hit him up this winter.
I did a little more research into the boards. Without any other input, it seems like I want to get a Burton Fish. From what I can find, it's a great powder board, but doesn't give up a lot on groomed slopes, which I'll have to go to from time to time, as my wife does like to snowboard too.
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Awesome advice guys! Thanks for taking the time. I figured I'd get everything I needed here off season, but didn't think things would be more expensive in country. Good to know.
It'll probably take a few months to build enough rapport with the townies to go out on the slopes.
ippy, when you're talking about the avi course, you mean where they bury a beacon in the snow and you have to find it and use your poles to poke in right? I did one back in 2010, dont know if the training would be any different 3 years from then. We studied the pack, talked about how to walk on the ridge, caused a mini-avalanche and the like...Is it a required course with a license or something before you can get out on some mountains? Or if I felt that I was adequately trained I could forgo it?
I guess I don't know enough about split tails and when they're used (thought it was for deep powder in backcountry) but just about all the videos I see of riders on Hakkoda have them. Figured if it was the norm, there was a reason for it. If it's cheaper to pick up one here, than I'll definitely do that.
I think I'm confusing split tails with swallow tails.
I'd want one of these for off piste Hakkoda yes?
Not this.. A split tail.Don't want to seem lost in the sauce, but all my snowboarding exposure has been restricted to the resorts where everything is pristine and you rarely see anything but a freestyle board.
The wife is going out a few weeks before me to get everything setup, so I have a great opportunity to purchase things here in the states and send it to our address there.
Thanks again.
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Hello All!
I'm moving to Aomori this August with my wife to live in Japan for a years under the JET program. While she pursues her passion as a language teacher, I'd like to do the same, one being snowboarding. I've lived in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina for several years during college and enjoyed the moderate snow seasons and decent ski mountains. While there were a few venues within a 30 mile radius, there wasn't much but park made snow, and groomed slopes. Each run maybe lasted 2-3 minutes tops even the few black diamonds we had and there was no off-piste or backcountry to speak of. Because of that, I only have the basic snowboard gear. Board, bindings, boots, jacket pants, gloves.
Ever since we got assigned to Aomori, I've been doing research on the region, and one of the first (and probably most exciting) things I discovered was the multitude of slopes in Aomori alone, not to mention Hokkaido nearby.
Hakkoda-san has taken my interest for a few reasons. One, its going to be the closest one to me and two (three, four...) the amazing slopes! The more footage, videos and reviews I read about the place the more astounded I am and stoked to go there. Of course, the problem is that I have no gear for backcountry boarding, and have no idea what is required. I consider myself a mid-intermediate to advanced boarder, but I have no off groomed slopes experience. I want to be sure to take things slow this season.
I've climbed a few 14k ft mountains in Colorado before, and know about the proper ava-gear for that, but what should I start investing in if I plan to make Hakkoda-san my second home this winter?
I don't think my old board is going to cut it anymore but should I go for the split tail, or can I get by with another all-mountain?
Any advice from someone in the area or who does back-country boarding on the regular would be much appreciated!
Mutsushi Kamafuseyama Anyone?
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
So my wife and I finally got our specific placement for JET. It wasn't what we were hoping for in Aomori-ken as a more central location but we are still stoked! We'll be moving to むつ市 (Mutsu City) in August.
I tried doing some research around for the local slopes, but I get zero information from google (Even images!) aside from the one review for it on Snow Japan (how about that?!) from 2002... Searched in japanese too but didnt get much either. Main website for the city also says zero except for operating hours and ticket prices. Even the forums here only mentions it once in a "Where is this?" thread.
So I turn to you guys! Anyone here visit kamafuseyama at all? I know its kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but I was hoping someone here might have visited it that could provide some input. SInce it's going to be a short ride away, It'll probably be first on my list out of convenience. Depending on when we get a car, I'll be making the longer trips across the prefecture, but until then, seems this one will have to do.
Thanks!