Antonio

Would be a cold, bruising day on the slopes for a skier with no inners....painful to even contemplate.

Sunrise...boots are always the big issue. I'd be hesitant to recommend the shop i went to as experts. I kind of knew what i wanted and just needed someone to go and fetch the right sizes of a few different brands. There's a boot specialist on the corner in Jinbocho near Alpen (i think) that might be able to help. Anyone been there or know if they speak english? Before you go though you need to do some research on your feet. For example, do you have narrow feet or wide feet, are you knock-kneed or pidgeon toed, do you need inserts or do you have a balanced stance. One other sugge

I just bought all new gear last week (arrived in Takkyubin yesterday - mmmmm!) from a shop called ICI in Jinbocho. They had one guy who could speak reasonable english but i pretty much knew what i wanted in skis and bindings - it was just lots of boots that i had to try on. They were patient and attentive when i was there. Good advice re buy from last years stock. That's what i did - wait for new season stuff to arrive then go ready to haggle! Also, if you really don't know what you want, skiingmag.com, the webpage for skiing magazine, has an online guide to skis etc for different ty

Interesting..... Personally, i'm looking forward to reading Blair's next edition of the journal to get some real insights into why ARAI isn't open yet. Having worked at the world wide ski mecca that is Perisher Blue, i am well aware of the difficulties that exist in trying to manage a large workforce around the vagaries of snow. The problems we had with coordinating the arrival of groomers, patrollers, snow makers, caterers, bed makers you name it, with the arrival of the snow was a nightmare. Many of these people come from all round the world to follow the season, working on contrac

While were asking questions of boarders i have one i've always wondered about... Do you guys find you have more accidents on your backhand side than the forehand? Is your vision restricted to that side or is it a case of once you get the hang of it no probs??? Just wondering....