montoya

how is it on non-powder days? Quote: Originally posted by dizzy: yeah, montoya, i have a 04' TB Winterstick, went through a lot of hassle to get the board, but i like it. it's stiff but it response really well on powder days. if i were 10-15 kg heavier, this board would be perfect. i'm 63kg, 168 cm. the board is 172. i'd love to try the severe terrain

another good one is Neil Hartmann, he's based in Hokkaido I think.

Sound like I am also looking around for a similar board (spring-tours on steep technical corn), I have been eyeing the Tom Burt and Severe Terrain from Winterstick. Stiff and big sidecut radius should help with edge grip. Quote: Originally posted by le spud: I am sniffing around for a board for (it sounds dicky) steep and technical. The kind of descents where lots of speed is not wanted, rather the objective is controlled turns in the right spot at the right time.

hey FT, congrats!

looks like the news is out... http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0710/TKY200607100283.html http://www.araimt.com/

Came across this on ttips, might be of interest to some here. Helps to point out the difference between ski mountaineering and backcountry skiing: http://www.telemarktips.com/FSexumLinda.html

I've heard of a few guys using JP maps on the US Garmin models, I haven't done it myself but this might get you started: http://b-cliff.com/dougu/gps.html Quote: Originally posted by Kumapix: I'm not sure that the american ones are able to read jpn maps perfectly. Obviously Garmin doesn't say

nice one toque, happy to see you bag tsurugi. great pics as always! btw is that someone's tent in the lower-right of this photo? Quote: Originally posted by Toque:

nice trip, good to see you're still out there bagging some lines. just wondering, what happened to EBC and dizzy on the way up?

links should get you started: http://www.shinshu-online.ne.jp/livecam/kamikochi/ http://www.mcci.or.jp/www/yarigatake/live.htm http://www.mcci.or.jp/www/yarigatake/aruji.htm http://www.mcci.or.jp/www/yarisawa/aruji.htm http://blog.goo.ne.jp/yarigatakekatanokoya/ http://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/pc/live/html/live_01.html http://www.mcci.or.jp/www/minamidake/index.htm http://www.karasawa-hyutte.co.jp/

good stuff to review from the yuki-center website: http://www.yukicenter.or.jp/infosnow/index.html for ex, data for Yuzawa is here: http://www.yukicenter.or.jp/infosnow/local/yuzawa.htm

out of that list, there are 3 mtns that I would love to hike up/ride (Hiuchi-gatake, Aizu-Koma-gatake, Sumon-dake). Too bad we can't access Shibutsu from that road also. Quote: Originally posted by SnowConnection: I've not heard bc skiers go to Okutadami. There is a long mt route from Tadami to Aizu-Asahi-dake(1,624m) to Aizu-Koma-gatake to Hino'e'mata. Oze, the south of Okutadami has Hiuchi-gatake*(2,356m), Hira-gatake(2,144m), and Aizu-Koma-gatake*(2,133m) accessed from Hinoemata. The north of Okutadami has Sumon-dake*(1,537m) and Asakusa-dake*(1,585m) accessed from Koide

article in NY times about La Grave and Doug Coombs: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/sports/othersports/17ski.html May 17, 2006 Skiing Beyond Safety's Edge Once Too Often By NATHANIEL VINTON LA GRAVE, France, May 15 — Many skiers who brave La Meije, a 13,068-foot peak that towers over this village, pack ropes and harnesses so they can lower themselves onto the steepest runs or rappel when the descent becomes treacherous. Most carry beacons that emit electromagnetic signals in case they need to be dug out after an avalanche. No boundaries or patrols keep skiers fro

I haven't been to Tsurugi yet, but it looks pretty gnarly. Maybe one these days.. http://bluecliff.jp/report/2006/03/index.html (click on day 5/4)

I would start hiking various stuff this summer to learn the terrain and develop your mountaineering skills. Look for places you can easily access from Tokyo, such as Tanigawa-dake, Tairappyo, etc.

recently finished this book, some of you might find it pretty interesting: "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/0393326152/503-0816030-1212762?v=glance&n=1000 explore various aspects of risk-taking (in mountain-climbing, skiing, etc) and why some people are just better at it than others.

not sure if it's current, but check out the "路線バス時刻表" http://www1.princehotels.co.jp/naeba/snow/bus/index.html#rosen

just curious, from where were you able to skin up on the hike-in? from Yoko, or Tokusawa?

I think we'll never do Kamikochi with tents, it's just too long of a hike-in for us. by the way found an aerial-photo site recently, pretty cool. You can see the Karasawa valley from here: http://mapbrowse.gsi.go.jp/cgi-bin/airph...m=7&size=normal Overall J map is here: http://mapbrowse.gsi.go.jp/airphoto/indexmap_japan.html

nice one. Karasawa is definitely the place I most want to visit next. did you see much debris from the 4/27 snow? I guess most of the new stuff had slid by the time you were up there.

sure, if we head up there again I'll be sure to let you know! Quote: Originally posted by Toque: Thanks Let me know if you are going into the Karasawa or Tateyama If you want the company

yep, that's the one http://www.gosenjaku.co.jp/english/hikingmap.html

most people were walking on the snow-covered river after Tokusawa, you could skin from there no problem. from Kamikochi to Tokusawa I'd say there's about 40cm-100cm of snow on the valley bottom, so if you were willing to pick your spots you could probably skin next to the trail. this month is busy work-wise so not sure what's next. would like to do Karasawa eventually. some other places we're interested in are Hakuba, Tateyama, and various mountains in Niigata like Makihata-yama, Tairappyo, Sumon, etc.

I was thinking we should've brought our splits since we could've skinned most of it up. But I had no idea it was gonna snow that much, and it is pretty heavy to carry on a non-snowy trail (which is what we did last year). The valley-side from Yarisawa lodge to around Omagari is pretty steep, and there were loose-snow slides all over the place Thurs and Fri. On the ride down on Friday I could see several places where debris had overrun the trail up. Quote: Originally posted by snowglider: great pics mate, that valley is massive! the one with the all multiple avie debris lo

Next day, unfortunately there was a 2-5cm wind slab due the howling winds the previous night. We waited for a few hours, but the snow was not warming up enough and we were pressed for time, so we changed plans and would just ride down to Yarisawa. There was enough snow that we ended up riding just past Yarisawa lodge. I think total vert ended up being 1200-1300 meters in all: Resting at Yoko on the hike out. There were lots of people heading up to Karasawa, hopefully we will too next time.