montoya

Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: Second 50 cm one day snow fall and a group of 5 skiers go again off the back of tsugaike. breaking the rule about 3cms per hour of snowfall. not only had the new snow not settled it was sliding on a sun crust. Fattwins, how do you keep track of cms of snow per hour? Just eyeball/guess it? Are you referring more to snowfall the past few hours, or as it's currently falling?

From more web-surfing, found these threads that might be of use to someone: http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=5 http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=4756&forum=1&22 http://www.couloirmag.com/articles/avy_index.htm http://www.bcaccess.com/bcaproducts/tracker/tracker_practice.php

Been thinking about getting some beacons for myself and some friends soon, here's a few links for anyone else interested: Ortovox http://www.ortovox.com/ Barryvox/Mamut http://www.barryvox.com/index_e.html Backcountry Access http://www.bcaccess.com/ Life-Link http://www.life-link.com/ Survival on Snow (SOS) http://www.sos-find.com/ PIEPS DSP interesting review: http://www.skipatrolbc.com/beacons.asp Still trying to learn what to look for in beacons, so was wondering if anyone has advice here.

some place with great resorts and mountains, like France or Italy..

I heard some good things about Millet, though have never personally used any of their stuff. Has anyone here??

are the roped-off areas at Hakuba 47 prone to avalanches? or are the patrol there more concerned about people crashing into trees?

Just did a quick search for Lowe Alpine on Japanese google, but links are slim. Anyone know any stores in Kanda/Tokyo that carry it?

Not sure how applicable it is to you, but some years back at a Japanese company, was in a similar situation as you (big chunks taken out for nenkin, etc). The 2nd year there, I told them I didn't want to pay nenkin, so they changed my contract from regular shain to some special type of keiyaku-shain (or part-time arubaito? I can't remember), and they were able to avoid the nenkin stuff. Worked same hours doing same work, but just with a differently-worded contract.

Quote: Originally posted by Toque: For North Face you have to watch out. They have a line of outer layers that is crap and then a line that is excellent. So just because it has the TNF logo does not mean it is good. Interesting, can you give specifics about what NF line to avoid, which you recommend? I was thinking about getting new wear pretty soon...

So you like the Malamutes more than the Salomon's F-series? Currently debating which of the two to settle on...

This website could be a good reference for ya: http://www.bootfitters.com/

could be that you're leaning too much on your back leg, which could be putting pressure on the rear to whip around.. (not sure if you had meant the "forward lean" of your bindings...)

about 5-6 hours is the max I can give to full-on, really intense work (eg programming, design, etc). any more, and I'm burnt out for the day. During a usual day, have a mixture of 3 fairly intense hours, with the rest of the time more relaxed or slacking off..

If anyone is interested, ICI-Sports (Shinjuku, Kanda, etc) is having a sale 1/23-2/29. They're a mountaineering/yama-ski shop. Unlikely to have snowboard gear, but should have lots of other good stuff: http://www.ici-sports.com/

interesting articles: http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CollegeandFamily/Raisekids/P37245.asp http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/family/kids/tlkidscost.asp it estimates costs of around $170,000 to raise a child up to the late teens (not including college), for a middle-class family in the US not sure if it would be cheaper/more expensive in Japan...

I'm originally from San Francisco/US, and love Mexican food, but lots of my J-friends don't like chili for some reason...

Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: Went to Nagano andd skied happo, tsugaike, Nozawa and the backside of Norikura skijo. Wow what a week the ARAC course was killer thanks Dave, lots of good info and good people too. Am also thinking of attending the Evergreen Avalanche course in Feb or March. Would be really interested in hearing about what you think were the more important things you learned there. Did you have to purchase a beacon and snow-shoes beforehand, btw?

from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/15/sports/othersports/15SKI.html Over-50 Crowd Can Keep Its Edge By BILL PENNINGTON Joe Nevin, a former Silicon Valley executive turned Aspen, Colo., ski instructor, has a question: did you ever notice that 80 percent of skiers ski only 20 percent of the mountain? That 20 percent is the groomed, intermediate and relatively safe part of the trail system. It is where most weekend skiers, especially those with older knees and important Monday morning appointments they cannot miss after an unintended back flip in the moguls,

Am also thinking about new boots, the new Burton SL-6 looks pretty nice. Very light-weight: http://www.burton.com/Burton/gear/products.asp?productID=49

It hasn't seemed to snow that much the past few days, but today/tonight it looks like a good dump in the Yuzawa region. Considerations about terrain aside, does this type of difference in snowpack stability usually increase the probability of an avalanche??

From reading the article, so it would be much safer to ride the ridge, than gullies beneath (speaking generally)?? Still studying up on avalanche 101.. That's something I wondered about when I see people in the BC at Kagura (they usually seem to be descending on the mountain ridges, instead of barelling down the valleys below): http://www.interq.or.jp/world/suji/mr161.html http://www.page.sannet.ne.jp/ma_honda/mountain/010227/010227.html

Quote: Originally posted by woywoy: Me and two mates had a top day riding pow at Kagura all day on 30th Dec last year. We rode under the lifts, through the trees, hiked out back and had no trouble with patrol whatsoever. I hadnt ridden at Kagura before but my mates showed me around and patrol seemed remarkably relaxed. Anyone else had experiences in Niigata like this? In Niigata, have ridden Kandatsu, Gala, Kagura, Naeba, Joetsu Kokusai. I think Kagura is the only place that has a fairly laid-back patrol, like you've described. Maybe that has something to do with the fact it used to be a y

For Skiers, Is Bigger Always Better? By CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON ANOTHER winter Saturday morning leaks into Scott Hunsaker's bedroom in Boulder, Colo., and with it, temptation. Should he ski Vail today? Copper Mountain? Breckenridge? Mr. Hunsaker, 45, the vice president of a Web-based health-care training company, corrals the family into the van and steers toward None of the Above: Eldora Mountain Resort. With its modest 680 acres and 1,500 vertical-foot drop, it is bite-size compared with the marquee resorts nearby. But the chairlifts are just 20 miles from home, the Corona Bowl has the ste

"For Skiers, Is Bigger Always Better?" http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/travel/escapes/02INDY.html?8hpib basically describes how some smaller resorts in the US are creating a niche for themselves. Hope their J-counterparts are taking notes..

another interesting article, this time about east-germany demographics: "Shortage of Women in East Germany Causes Turmoil" http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031226/lf_nm/germany_east_men_dc For those of you living in Japan's countryside, any ideas how similar the situation is as described in this article?