Blair

Hello again All lifts are in the final stage of maintenance at ARAI MOUNTAIN & SPA. Operations are set to begin from Saturday, Dec. 14th 2003. ARAI MOUNTAIN & SPA's village centerpiece is it's heated plaza, that accommodates all ages year round in a spacious European "piazza-style" atmosphere. I'm looking out at the snow falling here right now! Thanks again Blair.

Hi there Thank you very much for all the questions. I'll answer them in random order: 1. ARAI will open on the set date of Dec. 14th; 2. I have yet to try boarding, but do ski throughout the season. I ski either when I'm helping to guide guests or assisting the ski patrol with setting up the mountain following a big dump (All hands on deck!); 3. ARAI gets so much snow because it is a coastal mountain. The Siberian winds blow off the sea, hit the mountain and dump on us. Thus, it was necessary to build the only heated plaza in the world; 4. In 2001 Kogenashi # 1

Hi there No I haven't driven the machines you saw in the article yet, but am hoping to have the chance at some point. It's pretty amazing how much grass that machine can cut. Look for the next volume of the setting journals on snow japan around about mid november. Thank you for reading the setting journals on SNOW JAPAN. Blair. Blair.

Hi Rach The devil is in the details. There are different types of insurance for different resorts. Some policies do not cover personal liability while others do. If the accident occurred at ARAI and a report was filed with the patrol, then personal liability as well as injury insurance applies. If an injury results in hospital admission, there are also funds available to cover daily costs at any hospital in Japan. The manager that explained this to me said that of the 600-700 resorts in Japan, only 20-30 have coverage such as that explained above. So, the answer to

Hello The way I understand the explanation I received is that, with the exception of those caused via poor driving, accidents that occur within the boundaries of the resort are covered.

I understand that with the purchase of a lift ticket, liability insurance is included. If a guest has an accident(within the proper resort), which is reported to and written up by the ski patrol, then the insurance may apply.

It is a double whammy. First, our snow programs had to be scaled back from early April. Secondly, our closing date has been moved up to May 6th.

I work here year round.

I work for the resort.

I'm very happy this subject is continuing to be discussed. One of the last things I want to see again in my life is a partner of somebody who skied out of bounds and did not come back. The survivor not only has to try to come to grips with the fact that they'll be going home alone, but live the rest of their life with the unpleasantness surrounding the situation. One of the key points mentioned in this forum so far that ARAI agrees with is that industry standards need to be implemented. We have gone so far as to organize conferences of the world's avalanche experts in Nagaoka,

Thank you very much for reading the article and discussing it. I've felt for years now that we need more dialogue on the issue. Please understand that there are some mountains that you can safely ski out-of-bounds, and others where you cannot. ARAI is a mountain where you cannot safely ski out-of-bounds. Imagine the feeling of going to a ski resort with three friends and returning only with two. Also try to picture what it would feel like knowing that your intentional action had harmed others. Is endangering the lives of others really worth it? Blair.