Plucky

Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: i wouldnt say that he invented extreme sking but he was one of the founders of the N.A. movement. Understood. "Doug Coombs basically invented extreme skiing. There were others......" I may have overstated that, but DC was instrumental in propagating the movement. He started one of the first Heli operations in Valdez and basically 'discovered' that area. Where are the extreme skiing championships held? My favorite is still Plake. Just a true original I actually started skiing because of him.

spud - are you actually moving to Germany? I know we've had our verbal spats, but I'd love to meet you in person. I'm actually a decent guy and I've been working on the defensiveness the last couple of years I'm very jealous of your trip! More pictures are in order......

SerreChe - I can do that route turn for turn in my head, but there aren't many who could do it in reality. Doug did it. Thank you for sharing that. Doug Coombs basically invented extreme skiing. There were others, but he pushed it just as much as anyone else before all of this 'X-treme' BS became hip. He didn't need nose rings and tatoos and eyebrow piercings or crazy clothes. **** the the so called 'extreme' guys today. He did it out of love for skiing and the mountains. And he did it on classic skis. He did it because he enjoyed it - not to make a buck. He did because he thou

Sounds like an incredible trip! I hope you have a great time! Quote: (glaciers with lifts on them, open almost all year round) I'm curious - what areas are you talking about? I'd like to hit them up this Summer if possible. I'll be really close to the Alps for the next three years and would like to ski as much as possible. Have fun and be safe DB

I just donated enough to buy his kid some skis It's actually really easy to do through PayPal (follow the DougCoombs link above). Yes, there may be better things to donate to, but this is something that really has hit me. I have a lot of friends in the guiding and climbing industry and I know what they and their families go through. The family is hit the hardest, but the community in general also takes a hit. I know I feel it. Toque - be safe out there. Do you ever think it will just catch up to you one of these days? Not you in general, but just in general....

R E S P E C T

http://www.dougcoombs.com/

R.I.P. Doug Coombs. Man, what a blow. I saw this thread the other day but just didn't know how to respond. I searched all of the Alaska newspapers and didn't find anything about this tragedy. This is by far the best response I could come up with: YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN DOUG! Another horrible ski tragedy occurred at Mammoth Mt in California the other day. I used to frivolously launch over fumaroles at Amihari in Japan. Nature is not to be taken lightly. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=special_coverage&id=4061879 Sometimes I do push my limits

Man, what a week this past one was! My well and septic tank froze up. Not something I was planning on dealing with while trying to prepare for a move halfway around the world! I got a few more details on my move. It turns out I have to make a 3 year committment for the job - bummer Now that I'm less than a month away from moving, I'm getting really excited! Sanno - thanks for the advice! I just want to head to Kitz, well, because it's Kitz! I'll do a lot more exploring of other areas next year and probably have a better grasp on what's available. So, it kind of sounds

Quote: Originally posted by veronica: Plucky you get way more snow than Japan? That must be quite a lot! I'd be interested to know more. (Sorry if you've gone through that elsewhere). It all depends where you are. I'm 50 miles south of Fairbanks and we only have 6 inches on the ground. If I ride 20 miles upriver, we're talking 5 feet of snow! I skiied 2 feet of freshies last week at skiland. Had a blast! It's been a cruddy year too. My buddy who lives in the AK Range had over 30 feet of snow by early March. It's subjective. Here's a pic of Skiland - the farthest north chairl

Weird that double posted. I can't wait Markie. It's going to be fun. I feel the same trepadation as when I moved to Japan. I'm going in to something completely unknown and foreign. I think a lot of us on here know what that is like How are you doing markie? Have you gotten up to ski much this season?

Quote: Originally posted by Markie: Plucky, haven't heard from you for a while. SO you are moving to Germany. How good is your German? When you say "I'll be back here in a couple of years", do you mean Japan? I took 4 years of German in HS and 3 years in college. I can understand it, but my speaking skills aren't that good right now. It will come back. I used to be fluent. I'll be back to Alaska, not Japan. However, I will go visit Japan as I have a lot of good friends there! I'm just happy for the opportunity to live in Europe.

There are two types of skiers/boarders: 1) Those that stay on the groomers, i.e. 99% of the people in Japan. 2) Those that explore. I think FT and Toque know what I'm talking about. I got caught in a huge avie last week while skiing Pedro Dome. I'd show you pictures, but my camera is still burried Yes, I'm lucky but I've been in worse. PS - BOOTS. Get a good pair. Front entry. You'll go from a gaper to a ripper in an afternoon. If I hear anybody say 'skis' I'll slap 'em. I learned on 220cm K2's and I'm only 5 foot 11 I'm now own 185 to 200's - depends what

I would have to say that the 'resorts' in Canada are some of the best in the world. Japan gets some great snow, but the places I went just didn't take advantage of it. Yes, I'm a Hakkoda whore, but I'm not supposed to talk about that here I was supposed to go to Kicking Horse in two weeks. My plans have changed and I'm going to Alyeska instead. Either way, I won't be on any groomers!!

Quote: Originally posted by schinken: It's been a very good season here in Austria. But concerning powder days, Japan wins. Schinken - where are you at? I realize I'm not a popular guy around here, but I'm actually very easy to get along with and I can ski pretty well I can't wait to visit Austria and ski!!!!

I'll be a couple of hours north of Munich. The first thing I do? Skiing in Kitzbuhel I've already made plans. Any of you in the area? I'm keeping my place in Alaska and I'll be back here in a couple of years. This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

We've had a cruddy year, but we still have way more snow than Japan will ever get! Alaska rocks!

This was a different day and a bit colder. We were 30 miles out and it was -25F. We decided to turn around and head back when I looked over and saw the full moon rising (two weeks ago). It was so cold that I had a hard time using the camera so it is a bit out of focus. We didn't get back to my place until it was dark. The full moon was up over the frozen Salcha River and I really wanted a picture. By this time it was -35F. I got on picture off before the camera froze up, as well as my fingers. Damn it was cold! I've been working my ass off to get in shape lately - main

It’s been a while, but after having the knee reconstructed this past fall, I’ve been out of it for a bit. I just thought I’d share some ‘snow’ things that I’ve been up to here in Alaska. I haven’t been able to ski yet and probably won’t be able to this winter. However, one fantastic thing that has happened – I’ve gotten my gouty arthritis under control and feel better than I have in 7 years (if you suffer, just ask – I have some good info you won’t hear from a doctor). This has been a very poor snow year in interior AK – I’m talking one of the worst ever. I’ve still gotten out to ta

"The Eagles" says it all. love the music. LOVE Pink Floyd's music. Reunion tours are stupid

Quote: Originally posted by gamera: 12lbs...... 5.4kgs! I hope you didn't eat it all out by yourself. LOL! Of course I did. It took 2 weeks though that was a small bird.

Quote: Originally posted by SerreChe: Plucky, if you like these kind of places then if you head to France one of these days you should try this place: I'm so there I've never skied Europe and it's definitely next on my hit list. I love Europe. I know it's my home, but backcountry in the Three Sisters area in Oregon is unbeatable. Ftwins would love it I have so many better maps than that weak contour map. I made many of the new terrain maps for N. Japan - I should know I'm feeling surprisingly 'plucky' today

I surfed my last Christmas in Japan. Waves were pounding! Luckily, it was a crappy snow year at the time so it was only 2C out which was quite warm I realize I was different than a lot of you. I bought a 12 pound turkey on base for cheap and had a good meal. I would have rather had some good ramen and rice, but, ya deal with what ya got T-day in America mystifies me. I realize the tradition, but turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.... It ain't that great. Now these were tasty nuggets on xmas day! Going Left!

Quote: Originally posted by Indosnm: Quote: Originally posted by Plucky: You may have to be American to undertand this. Classic! If your talking about the Griswalds that I know ( the family that leave the dog tied to the car on their vacations!) then I rekon it doesn't matter where ya from! I didn't realize the power of Clark stretched so far Absolute classic movie! Ask me anything about the 'Vacation' movies. Sadly, I will know the answer.

The fact that I got the Warren Miller crew personally interested in filming this place out of all places in Japan should say something Then they came to Alaska and filmed 'Arctic Man' an hour south of me last year. hahahahaha! Max is a bastard! Watch the newest Warren Miller to know what I'm talking about Hakkoda rocks and has the best ramen out of any ski resort I've been too. I even love the mangy lodge they serve the crap in - decent beer price too There are so many areas in Oregon and the Western US in general that I'd like to 'Hakkoda-ize'. You