peaker

Thats interesting. There are a lot of "cracks" around in Hokkaido this season. We had an early winter so the first snow was quite heavy and wet in many areas. This flattened bamboo which usually acts as an anchor. In many areas Ive been in Hokkaido this season Ive seen large cracks formed by snow creeping on a smooth layer of bamboo. I could see down to the gound a few times! As spring approaches and more water penetrates the snowpack Id say we will have to be very careful around these spots. Perhaps the crack at annupuri is caused by the same thing.

I wouldnt say offensive is fair ocean but I dont mind winding you up a bit. Its just that I cant take your posts seriously. You always get on here and carry on about how you know better than ski patrol and try to justify totally ignoring the guidelines but at the same time you admit to knowing very little about mountain safety. Im happy to hear you are now interested in reading up a bit. Ski patrol are also very helpful Ive found. Try going into the office with a proper map and asking where they recommend. I know youll say you dont want to hike blah blah blah but if you want to ride in so

Yeah Ocean maybe you could come up with a code word to yell out when you're stuck under the lift, that way we'll know its you and we can start throwing stuff. riding under lifts is lame but trying to promote it on the internet is beyond stupid.

If you want to ride undr the lift you have to be prepared to accept the consequeces. This sounds like an extreme case but the patrol has to consider everybody. Little kids riding the lift who might decide to follow you. Somebody might drop something (eg board/ ski) from the lift onto you. Is there sufficient clearance under the lift ect. Everybodys done it but hey dont cry like a big baby when you get caught. Riding under the lift is usually lame if you ask me.

I should clarify what I meant by begginers. I mean begginer pipe riders not beginner snowboarders. I wouldnt imagine riding the pipe would be much fun for an absolute beginner snowboarder. As long as you can get down the pipe at about the same speed as evrybody else I dont care where you want to drop in as long as you wait your turn. Resort managers should make sure some kind of sensible queing system exists. Last year I went and rode the Makomanai pipe the day after the world cup. Everybody was up there, massive crowd. Most people were pretty good about queing but there were one or two c

Superpipes are pretty good for people learning to ride pipe. Nice big smooth and even transitions. Smaller pipes tend to be a be a bit too vertical too quick making it hard for learner pipe riders to hold an edge. Let em go in the center if they want they are probably getting just as stoked as the more experienced people dropping in. If they werent having fun they wouldnt be lining up there. Everybody was a begginer some time. (by the way I have no problem dropping in.... or waiting for learners to have a go.)

Ive told my story on here before. Cant remember the thread but if you search my posts youll find it.

Montoyas WHERE question is an interesting one. Lots of people like to duck the rope and ride a bit of powder at the edge of the course and its probably not that dangerous but in boarding things tend to progress. Soon you want to ride something better. Riding out of bounds just near a resort can be dangerous for a lot of reasons. A few things to watch out for near resorts.. 1. Powder panic riding. this occurs when a large pack of riders rush to shred an out of bounds area. The object is to be the first to slash as much powder as possible. Usually nobody is thinking avalanche and nobody

The cheapest beacon Ive seen in Japan is the pieps opti four. I got mine for 19000 yen. Its an old style analouge beacon so you need to practice with it to learn to use them well. Expensive digital beacons are much easier to use but hey Its better to ride with a cheap beacon than no beacon at all. Remember you should plan to never use your beacon because they are just a back up when bad decisions have already been made. Up to 20 percent of avalanche victims are killed in the slide itself so dont think a beacon is a magic force field. But as the other guys said Its your life we are tal

Wendy, Its Difficult to give a simple answer to that question because there are a lot of factors that make the right conditions for Avalanches. The snow, weather , slope aspect and angle and you the skier or boarder. You should consider any area outside a marked trail to be a potential avalanche zone and be prepared with the right equipment and training if you want to ride there.

Dont wear cotton clothing when skiing. This includes underwear. It will just get wet and make you cold. Polypropelyne thermals with no undies OK!

I was up at niseko for a few days. Got back last night. Strong winds especially at higher elevations persisted for several days. Very windy last night in Saporro. Id be very careful on wind loaded slopes up there today.

As for Drakes, One of the bindings I snapped was a Drake (heel strap). Still under warranty. Higuma, I agree that It wouldnt be a big deal If the things showed signs of wear before failure but what we are talking about here is plastic components they dont crack beforehand they simply snap off. You just shouldnt be allowed to sell bindings that can do that. Im carrying spare parts with me on Backcountry trips now.

Hey freak, Check out www.niseko.ne.jp Its in japanese but to find the map click the third box on the menu bar at the top left of the page. You can also look at web cams by clicking on the menu at the bottom left of the page. "Strawberry Fields" (note: only foreiners call it this) is located under the bottom lift at Hanazono this is on the far right of the Hirafu trail map. Enjoy your trip.

I dont think your friend was too wrong. Heavy snow is great for begginers in my humble opinion.

Snobo, Your last comment illustrates my point perfectly. I realise things wear out espeially with the punishment we dish out to our boards but the kind of failures Im complaining about are things that could really work you over. Imagine your binding poping on take off at that third jump at teine. Your leg would be twirled like a piece of spaghetti on landing. If we were talking about brakes on a car there would be no question every one would be recalled and they'd have to redesign it. The quality is just not good enough. I've noticed a lot of gear seems to break after what I would say wou

I'm dissatisfied to say the least about the quality of bindings. I've snapped numerous bits of several different brands. The bindings that Im talking about here are not cheap Im talking about top end models. On My last pair of Burton bindings I snapped both a toe and heel strap.(Not at the same time) On each occaision a quick repair was immpossible due to specialised hardware etc. Next I went with Drakes, once again heel strap snapage! (still under warranty too!). Just last weekend I was out with a group, one of the guys snapped the heel strap insert bit not the main strap. Again expens

This came up in another thread. I thought the local rules at Niseko were brilliant last year. Anybody know If things are going to be the same this year? Any changes to the system?

The opening words of my last post were aimed at creating a less confrontational tone. After all I thought that was what we were talking about, getting into confrontations. Ocean If you want to talk about whether more or different terrain should be opened Im sure Id agree with you but I was thinking we were talking about the range of acceptable behaviour when dealing with patrol. I get that you want to go out and have a fun day riding fun terrain without any hassles, that makes sense, but your not going to do yourself any favours by getting into a fight with Patrol. Your profile says youve b

I enjoy exchanging ideas here and I think often people tend to take an extreme point of view just to stimulate discussion on the board. Thats pretty cool by me. With that said Ill go ahead and make a few comments on Oceans last post in this thread . Ocean says he wants to ride "safe and fun" in the resort. He doesnt want to equip himself with saety gear. But the patrol guy is a "shithead" So whats the story? are you taking control of your own decisions or are you asking someone else to provide the "safe and fun". You cant say its your party if your in somebody elses place. If you wan

I didnt suggest that you "prepare for battle" Ocean. I simply suggested communicating your opinion in a way that is more responsible for the Snowboarding community as a whole. I do have a bit of a problem with people acting like clowns because it reflects on other snowboarders and in some cases other foreigners. Some people are claiming that the resorts have no right to stop you riding in certain areas. There is certainly a case to be made for the right to access public land outside of resort boundaries but if you are moving in an out of the resort on a regular basis things might be differ

actually I did finish the avalanche story. You mean you didnt read it Miteyak!! I dont want to get into a fight about this but Ive been in Japan for a while and a lot of people take advantage of the system here. Pulling the Im special, Im a foreigner card is totally lame. If you want to change resort policies ect thats fine but why not do the job properly, learn Japanese and write or speak to the management. Youll get more respect and get a lot more done than being confrontational and making an idiot of yourself.

So I take it all you big "just say no" heroes are completely able and prepared to self rescue when you get injured skiing out of bounds. How about just saying sorry and next time go somewhere you can ride the kind of terrain you want without pissing everybody off and making a complete w***er of yourself.

Theres no end to it Doc.

So where was I.just about to drop. Now dont get the wrong idea. This little ridge thing a the top of the slope wasnt big or intimidating I just pointed and went. I got a bit of air as expected but as soon as a hit the snow below the drop it all went wrong. Everything just collapsed. It was like falling into a bear pit or something, you know the big hole covered in leaves and twigs. It just goes crack and down you go. Any fantasies you have about boarding out of it just dissappear. Its sudden. Next thing I knew I was in what was like a current in a river. I stuck my board out and tried to stop