peaker

Wow that is a mega cool find.

All the crampons that are pictured are for hardboots. Soft snowboard boots wont work.

Just looking at the other thread on the progression of snowboarding. Check out the video, "moments of pride" on this site. Extreme carving and mogul boarding is cool. http://pureboarding.kicks-ass.net/pureboarding/index.php?id=41&L=1

South or South Eastern facing slopes are the most dangerous areas in Niseko. That includes a large amount of the terrain you ride through if you ride back to the hanazono lifts from the summit which is the most popular "hike". As you head up to the summit the obvious bowl that you see on your right has been the site of fatal avalanches in the past. The safest line down is to follw the ridge line and avoid the bowl. Ironically that area is probably safer now than it used to be, thanks to the large numbers of people who are happy to blast in there and test it out on a daily basis. The compa

Im sure no one intends to cause offence but the topic of equipment and guides comes up because there are a lot of Aussies coming over each year that reckon they know a lot about riding powder and the right gear etc. but the reality is that lots of holidaying aussies have pretty limited experience and generally fit the profile for potential Mountain accident victims. ie. Highly motivated to ride powder High confidence in ability level Group mentality Limited local knowledge Limited experience Im not saying that the above is you, for all I know you could be a ba

why dont you like swallow tails? Only way to go in big pow In my opinion

Zao onsen is definately worth a look.

http://cpd2.kishou.go.jp/tcc/outlooks/outlook.html Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the outlook for temperature and snow. Doesnt really tell you much. Northern Japan looks normal, central Japan maybe warmer than usual.

That depends what you are into. If you are freeriding and dont spin and trick it up in the park and pipe very often Id highly recommend dee luxe le mans hardboots (you can unlock them for a soft boot feel) and plate bindings. they will never break and will last for ages. Ultra responsive edge control, great for speed and no nonsense air, take no time to clip in and out because there is no ratchet crap to deal with just one clip down bail. Super comfortable thermo moulded inner. Great for backcountry too.

Well you are all a bit early with this conversation as the Japan Meteorolgical Agency hasn't even released their long range snowfall forecast yer but if you watch this space you'll be able to get the geeky perspective as soon as its available. http://cpd2.kishou.go.jp/tcc/outlooks/outlook.html

Here is the scientific answer http://www.data.kishou.go.jp/normal-e/normal-e.html

Burton boards are ok but anything else by Burton including bindings is crap. Im not just Burton bashing here, I have had several Burton products which just didnt cut it. I even emailed burton and got zero response. I get absolutely livid when strap bindings break beacause its a safety issue. Comapanies shouldnt be allowed to get away with making shit bindings. Anyway I got my revenge by switching to hardboots.

what gear are you planning to take? I havent been to fuji at that time but Based on my experiences climbing in Hokkaido in late spring I would expect some fairly icy conditions up high. Good crampons and an ice pick are probably a must.

Yep on the good to bad scale that story is way down the bad end. There is always risk there even when you are trying to be careful. Thats life! It is definately a reminder to stay alert out there. By the way Love the sign off line powda tele

yes, quite addictive

No worries at all. If you want to use an advanced unit with map data youll need to look into whether you can download japanese maps onto your machine but the best bet is to go with a basic unit that displays your coordinates coupled with a standard (paper) topographic map. You can program your waypoints in off the map manually before you set out.

Carving on piste with an alpine set up rocks. I just got a new pair of de luxe Le Mans hard boots for carving. If only it would stop snowing everyday in hokkaido Id be riding my carving board on piste more. Powder is fun but you have to admit it slows you down.

The important thing to realise is that we are talking about minutes. You have a very short time to be rescued, you are absolutely dead if you get caught and your riding buddies dont have the gear or know how to rescue you quickly.

you may be thinking of makomanai subway station. Buses to kokusai ski jo and makomanai ski jo. otherwise sapporo station will have buses to most out of town places ie niseko rusutsu kokusai If you want to go to teine catch the bus from teine railway station. Basically its easy to go to a ski resort in Sapporo. Just front up at any bus stop and youll probably be able to get a bus to a ski hill. Do Make sure you have a ski or board bag, bus drivers in sapporo get realy pissed off with nude boards.

Havent heard of that and I cant see how it would help as a bag of sand will be buried along with you in all likelyhood. I have heard of an old technique using a long ribbon, in this case you attach the ribbon to yourself and hope that a part of it stays above the snow when the avalanche stops . Rescuers then dig up the remaining ribbon and hopefully you on the end of it. I wouldnt like to try it in this day and age. It sounds like it would be so time consuming that you would most likely be dead by the time they got to the end of the ribbon.

What would be the point of a blanket ban on snowboarding. Its the person riding not the equipment. Its just as easy to ski dangerously as it is to board dangerously.

The way you are going with the camera gear powda tele youll be webcasting your runs live before long. With gps position tracking off course. I know you are just waiting for waterproof arm mounted keyboards.

oh my god, Im having a geography orgasm!!!

link to long range forecast posted here http://www.skijapanguide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005091

Mate I used a couple of uniden radios on the same band (purchased in Australia, may have even been the same model) for a couple of years over here and never had a problem, I even tested them when I got them over here by talking to my girlfriend on the other side of sapporo city. I wasnt even aware of the bandwidth issue. I seriously doubt youll be locked up or anything. If you have rechargeable batteries youll need to go to the shop and pick up a transformer that fits the Japanese power sockets.