enderzero
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Posts posted by enderzero
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Wow Alaska is a crazy idea. I have never really even considered that. Seems like it might be just as expensive as flying to Japan to ride for a week in Niseko - but I am game to at least look into it. I have a week of round mid-late Mar.
Big-Will - usually I am having a bit too much fun to fumble around with a camera, but there a few pics of Colorado here and some cali pics around the first page of my horribly designed homepage .
Donner Lake in the N. Tahoe region.
Mammoth
Mammoth
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Will do Sunrise - I hope you are doing well.
Fattwins - you should see the powder field that leads down into this canyon! Top notch stuff. Baker is a great little hidden gem. Many have heard of it because of its popularity in the early days of snowboarding, but I imagine few people have made it to sample the NW terrain and fantastic off-the-lifts bc. I guess it is just remote enough, equal distance from Seattle and Vancouver (and further from each than other good resorts). Anyone here actually been?
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Well since all it seems I am talking about is riding outside of Japan, I might as well make a thread.
Danz, Dane, and I are planning our annual trip to Whistler for a couple days around Dec 27-28ish. Just in case anyone is planning to be around those parts I wanted to extend the invite.
I have a pass to Mammoth this season but will be living in Santa Barbara. That means I will likely only be able to go on the weekends, and not every one at that. But if anyone is riding in California over the winter then drop me a line and maybe we can meet up. I hope to get a week at Mammoth the first week of January and somewhere around mid March. Maybe a few days in Tahoe as well.
I am always looking to meet up with old friends or to make some new riding buddies. I wish I could come indulge with you all in that precious jp pow - but it looks pretty unlikely this season.
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I seem to remember a great video of dane falling on that rail/those stairs in his jeans.
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You don't need a torch with med-high cloud cover at Niseko. The light from the open side reflects off the clouds and snow and is perfect for night powder runs. Def the best time I have ever had on a mtn after dark. mmmmmm
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Huh? Guaranteed? No that isn't covered in the price. There is just as much chance of a shitty day at Vail as anywhere else. But if you are on a vacation and fly there - what are you gonna do, not ride? I am sure it varies from year to year, but Japan strikes me as "more consistent."Quote:Originally posted by SubZero:
... but that’s still only $79 per day and almost guaranteed of decent snow conditions – still way cheaper than here at approx. $86 per day. (Exchange rate not really an issue.)
I am doing my regular riding at Mammoth these days. Their peak pass is a whopping $73. Don't go on peak days - too crowded anyway. There are still resorts around busy areas like Tahoe that have $25 passes. Baker is still just $37 peak. -
Anyone know if Luke (young Aussie dude - worked in Fatty's as well) who was hired as a gaijin park expert for 03/04 ended up coming back to do it last year? If not, did they get a new token "expert?"Quote:Originally posted by Yamakashi:
there has been talk for years about Niseko getting a superpipe. For the amount of amazing snow and wide open terrain, Niseko has the worst park/pipe. Its a shame really;but, I guess when you go there all most people want to do anyways is ride powpow.
As for urban - sure there are places all over Nagano-shi. Just go lookin around the city. Helps to have a car. I remember pointing out a lot of "sick" places with barok... not that we ever went back and actually "snowboarded" on any of them. -
It is possible to find the euro-american camaraderie you are looking for if you stay at one of the gaijin pensions and meet some people. You never know what mediocre "club" you might end up at. Of course, just a walk to a local restaurant or bar can turn into a pretty fun night out, even without all the expensive après options of the big village resorts outside of Japan. Is that Japanese? Well maybe not in a Kurosawa kind of way - but it is still a Japanese experience and certainly can be a lot of fun. It seems we all agree that "traditional Japanese experience" and "Whistler like village fun" are completely conflicting ideas. Decide where you want to go based on the mountains and not the "villages" and you will surely have a good time.
Arai has a village.
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Compare those with this photo Danz snapped on his day out at Baker this weekend.
Damn... It has been an incredible early season at Baker . I wish I was enjoying it with him. But the good news is that he is fully healed after a scary and early end to the season last year.
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Thx for the advice all. I went ahead and bought the tix. So I will be in Geneva from Dec 1-4 if anyone is around that area. I am a little worried about snow cover but looking at Tignes right now.
Let me know if anyone else has any ideas.
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What's up all? How have things been around these parts lately? Winter is quickly approaching and I wanted to tap into the wealth of skiing and snowboarding knowledge that is snowjapan. I hope you excuse my long absence.
I am currently studying for the semester in Prague (yup, for those of you who don't know I gave up the bum life to finish my degree - this ain't so bad either). I leave here Dec 22, but I am seriously hoping to see a little Alpine snow before that date. Prices are super cheap to fly from Prague to Geneva (€100 return) - if I buy it by tomorrow. The dates I have available is the weekend of Dec 3-4.
Should I go? Is it just too early to be worth it? Basically any decent riding is really worth it. Oh man do I want to be on a board!
Assuming I can get some snow under my feet, where should I go? What is easy to get to out of Geneva? Is it stupid to stay in Geneva - should I find a hostel out of town? There is a slight chance I might have a place to stay in town. How hard is it to commute (only talking about 2 days)? Of course I have heard of Chamonix - but is it really the best? Is there something better for early season, easy of access, terrain, price, etc?
(Yo is barok still around here? If so, you remember that girl from Nova that used to talk about Chamonix every day we rode with her!?
I'll never be able to think of that place without that coming to mind.)Finally - anyone riding in Switzerland this winter? Looking for someone to ride with from Dec 3-4? I would love to have someone to make some turns with.
I already checked out this thread which had some good info. Bobby - how was your trip?
Aight y'all. I hope everyone is having a good Fall and getitng ready for the season. I don't know if Danz has been around here bragging but resorts in the Pac NW all opened this week! Way to make up for such a rotten season last year.
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Markie my boy - this is quite the yarn, but I am afraid you need to either work on your brevity, or your typing skills. The suspense is quite literally killing me
Sean - How are things goin buddy? I detect a change in handles. Am I to infer the passion has subsided? My sympathy man - I hope everything is going well.
Ahem - while the topics so stealthily being discussed here are of two unquantifiably different subject matters, I do think it is fair to mention that timetables are difficult to depend upon when you are hitch hiking from Nagoya to Hiroshima. I do apologize Ocean for our miscommunication. It would have been interesting to meet up. I did make it to Matsuyama a number of months later and absolutely loved the city. I imagine if I ever found my way back to Japan for any significant period of time I would prefer to live on one of the Southern Isles. Life seemed to have a generous pace to it that is quite different from Honshu.
This seems like a good time to mention my gratitude to all of the great people I met via this forum. Some of them remain close friends and riding buddies today. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have met so many genuinely cool people and had so many great times. Browsing through these threads has reminded me of a number of those. It is unfortunate that sometimes we cling to the negative events of the past, even when the good times far outweigh the bad. I like to think I have tried my best to keep it positive and keep it real.
Also a big thanks to Andrew and the SJ guys/(gals?) who made it all possible and have kept the poor English speaking saps up to their ears in that sweeeeeet nippon powder for so many years now. Damn I miss that stuff!!
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An artistic rendition of this thread. Glad to be a part of it.
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CoCo-ichi's Chicken Katsu Ka-re. 4-kara. 300g. Optional cheese. Lotsa the mysterious pickeled ginger stuff.
Kintaro - throw a banana in that shake of yours and you will really have the ultimate milkshake.
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Just goes to show that all of nature's creature know how to ahve a good time in the great Northwest.
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I find it hard to believe that the general attitude on this board or the general attitude towards Americans in Japan is overwhelmingly negative. I have never been attacked for being American. Maybe the general attitude towards loud-mouthed, ill informed, quick to jump off the handle Americans
is a bit negative. Who would imagine that?! The university system in America is one of the things that we as Americans can be really proud of. I think it is awesome that people come from all over the world to attend universities here. I think it is too cool that my good friend Dims is coming to America, attracted by the idea of doing research at one of the top institues in the world. That is what a "leading world power" (or whatever) should excel at. Instead we have what... the most military bases? nukes?
Maybe you would have had a more positive response if you had approached this issue like, "Hey have you guys noticed that a lot of the athletes in the Olympics went to school in the US? Pretty cool to see, huh? I wonder if this comes from a desire to study at the best universites... or just to ride the best mountains?
" ...or maybe not.Now that is funny.Quote:Originally posted by Plucky:No wonder you and O11 get along.
Actually "Dear Britain" (pfff) doesn't suck at snowboarding at all... he just sucks at videoing himself.Quote:Originally posted by Plucky:I've seen pics and footage of both DB and O11. they suck. simple as that.
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btw - thx Ocean. 2nd time you've complimented my musical taste in this thread.
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You're a little bitch.
If you want lessons on how to be the cool guy standing in the back bobbing his head, trying not to look like he likes the band too much... ask Goemon.
You get that CD player fixed yet or are you still stuck rockin the wheels of steel?
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Teh Image Mastar!!
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A couple of the bands (Modest Mouse, Deathcab) are from Seattle and I have been following them for some time. The Postal Service and The New Amsterdams have band members from other bands I like (Deathcab and The Get Up Kids, respectively) so I wanted to check them out. Mad Villain I read about and then downloaded. The Other stuff was recommended to me by friends (Mr.Sparkle included). I have checked out bands rec'd by people on here (Manda, NoFakie, snowboard_freak), surfed similar artists/influences on allmusic.com, and just taken chances downloading bands I have heard of. I also occasionally find bands by seeing them randomly live. That doesn't happen too often but I am usually quite partial to bands I discover that way.Quote:Originally posted by slimeypete:
I have never heard of any of them. Just out of interest, how do you find these groups in the first place? I'm all open to new music (I want to find more stuff actually), but can't spend hours aimlessly sampling stuff.
Anyone that thinks they would like a band that mixes Seattle Emo sounds with 80s New Wave Synths should definitely check out The Postal Service. Their album is truly amazing. -
It was well before my time but he had a pretty extensive career in movies with 59 listed on IMDB. But I think he was also a bit like a Japanese talento, appear on a number of talk shows and playing parts in things like soldier interest stories during the war.
...I never thought I would end up sounding like such a Reagan fan. bleh.
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You nailed it mikazooki. Fortunately, summer doesn't usually last too long in Seattle. Actually, short shorts are definitely a thing of the past. Just try to find shorts without cargo pockets these days. BTW - that is a killer avatar man.
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I am certainly no fan of Reagan politics... but I thought we we putting aside the politics for now. But Reagan was also a very successful actor and talento from his time very much well known before he entered politics.
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Yeah, you are missing your Pimp folder. Just upload some Slick Rick, some Barry White, maybe some Snoop Dogg and it will be happy again.
Riding in America this season
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
I was just thinking that if money and time was no option and I could whisk off to anywhere to snowboard for a couple weeks then it would most likely be Niseko. I just love it there. The powder, the people, the vibe, the ease of access.
I dig the riding in Hakuba too, of course - especially powder days at Cortina. But Hakuba is all spread out and just doesn't have the same allure for me as Niseko. Maybe part of it is that when I rode in Hakuba I was living in Nagano-shi and had to do the drive everyday (except occasional few night stays). There is a certain feeling of seclusion that comes with living in Niseko (I should say Hirafu I guess). It takes a bit of effort to make it there. It is just you, powder, a bunch of people there for the same reason, and a trailer to grab a beer in. I have done day trips to Hakuba from Tokyo (which is stupid... but possible).
I don't mean this as a dis on Nagano at all. But if I had to pick a favorite overall place to spend some time...
So is the Snowbeds versus Chalet debate still raging around these parts?