hem now

14,000 feet? I think if you convert 5,400m to feet, its a little higher than that, almost 18,000 feet. I've skiied at Chacaltaya - certainly some of the crappiest skiing I've ever done, but definitely in the most unique of circumstances. Well recommended! The coca leaves are definitely the go. Hem now

miteyak, in response to your question, there is nothing wrong with movign the bindings back a tad for pow skiing. Gives better float. In Australia its no biggie, but given your stats I'd be worried having a 180 in Japanese powder. I am 175cm/80kg, and would not ski on anything less than a 180 in Japanese pow - otherwise tip dive would become more of an issue. You've got another 18kg on me, so don't go too short! This is less of an issue with Garmonts and Crispis, but more of a problem with scarpas. crazyski, I've been teleing a while now, I'd like to think I'm reasonably profici

Miteyak, when I first went to my Head Monsters (old model, about 117-84-??), I had very old T1's. The skis rocked in the pow, but I felt were too much on the groomers. I was then given a pair of newish bumblebees, and ohmygod the extra stiffness the boots gave me really did help drive the ski so much more. I became more of a driver rather than just a passenger, and was able to control the ski so much better. So my answer is yes! I have since bought a pair of Big Stix 106, and they rock in the pow too - although I'd rather have something a touch narrower on the groomers. Not

Jared, yep, it was 199 soldiers that died. 11 lived, and only 3 of those had nothing amputated. It is still the biggest mountaineering disaster in the world, even some 90 years later! There is a dinky museum in Aomori with photos and stuff. For anyone using the ropeway, there is a photo of the soldiers at the top of the stairs just before you get in the tram. hem now

Hakkoda is my local hill, so I feel I can prolly offer some comment. Danz, when you came to hakkoda, I didn`t know the hill that much better than you guys, and at the time I was inclined to agree with your comments. However, after a season, your perspective changes a bit. One thing I can`t disagree with is the flat comment. It doesn`t matter which run you take, at some point it will be flat. Once you come to accept this, its OK - you are only disappointed when you have expectation. So is it flat everywhere? No! OK, so it ain`t Corbetts Couloir or anything, but there are alot of

iggy, how far is Hachimantai forest from Appi? Jared, nope Hakkoda wasn`t as good as the previous week, not by a long shot - but I`m still happy to say I skiied powder. Sure, you had to sniff it out (which wasn`t too hard), and yep, the bottom was goopy, but anything which faced northish was pretty fine. Wouldn`t call it sketchy! Hopefully this snow we`re getting at the moment in Aomori will be a decent dump at Hakkoda - the longer we can stave off spring the better! Cheers, hem now

Hey Ray, will head up Friday, maybe tomorrow if I can scam something, but the weekend is out - some buddies have free accom at Appi and I thought I`d check it out. I`d actually rather go up to Hakkoda, but am curious to see somewhere different. Don`t worry about transport doing the backside - just hitchhike, it isn`t that difficult! The Japanese seem pretty happy to pick people up. Cheers, Hem now

Snapper, I`m a jealous man! Tell us all about it! How was the avy situation? HOw steep was it? Got any piccies to post? Hakkoda rocks, but we definitely could do with some steeper terrain. hem now

Steeno, rope ducking policy varies from no enforcement to violent assault. POw is best in Jan and February, steepest runs and tightest chutes are probably Nagano backcountry (looks like Valdez!), but avvy danger always present. In general, though, Japan is pretty flat by Euro and Nth American Rocky standards - but the pow more than makes up for it! As for tele comps, festivals - none that I know of, but there`d have to be something somewhere, I guess? Try posting on www.telemarktips.com, thats the definitive international telemark website. Hope that helps! Hem now

I was skiing in powder at Hakkoda on Sunday - were any of you central Honshu riders gettign any? If not, theres your answer! hem now - still pumped at getting freshies

Hmmm. The ducks guts? I`ve never heard of that one! Either way, Niseko is the bees knees and the ants pants! Pity I never made it up there - oh well, Hakkoda isn`t a bad substitute.... hem now

Steeno, from what I can gather, Niseko is the ducks nuts. There are also heaps of freeheelers here in Aomori, but we have a woeful selection of equipment to choose from. The few guys I tele with rip pretty hard. Hakkoda has heaps of backcountry with one hut, but only recomended for March-June, otherwise the weather sucks too hard. Warning - the pow is non-stop - bring some fat skis otherwise you`ll be tip-diving til the cows come home! Hope that helps, hem now

I don`t resent boarders at all, most of my best days on the hill have been shared with boarders. However, its hard to dispute the fact that on their heel side, boarders have less peripheral vision than skiers. It isn`t hard to imagine that collisions towards the heel side would be more likely than if the person was a skier. Not trying to be a high and mighty skier here, just looking at the physics of it. On the other hand, boarders have a better view towards their toe side - maybe they have avoided accidents which a skier wouldn`t have? Don`t flame me for this, I`m not anti-snow

nori-chan, its pijin english for "right on", "I agree", "hey, thats cool". Check out the thread on the off-snow DB, titled "member handles" for where everyone got their handle from (er, dunno how to post the link, sorry...) cheers big ears, hem now

Plucky, yep, i was out on Saturday too - went backcountry. Pity all that warm weather stuffed up last Thursdays pow, but still a great day! hem now

seanbird, you`d have to be a masochist to spend a week in the Hakkoda backcountry! I`ve been here all season, mostly skiing the hill. I`ve been backcountry twice. Whilst the terrain is awesome, the weather is a beyatch. If you fluke a bluesky day, you can go for a day trip, but the chances of having even 2 days in a row of visibility are super minimal - so far this season I don`t think its happened. There is a lodge at the base of Odake you can stay in, or camp. If you go for a week, I guarantee you`ll spend at least 5 days sitting inside, bored off your nut, cos the visibility

Ray, nope, no snow shoes, I`m on teles so I just whack skins on. I`ve only had two days out the back so far, as the weather just hasn`t been friendly enough! I`m working this Monday, but let us know when you`re coming up next. What sort of gear are you on? Board/skis/teles/snowbike/monoski/snoblades? Cheers, hem now

Hey db, I was only going fast cos I was trying to lose the guy with the beard. I have a reputation to uphold - if people see me hangin out with guys with beards, they`ll think I too am a pot smoking hippy with dubious hygiene standards. hem now Hey Dan -

Jared, not condescending at all. Sorry for misreading the vibe of　your original　post. cheers, hem now

Nah, not doubting his honesty, just blowing wind up his a$$. I honestly didn`t realise you could get that good before the end of your first season (this was around mid january - so db you`d had maybe 20 days in total?). Keep going, db, and you`ll be doing flips before the season is over! cheers, hem now

Ah, db, someone who understood my post! Jared, I wasn`t taking you literally, just trying to make a point. Maybe I`m way out of line, but I sensed an air of condecension in your post, that anyone who hasn`t been doing this for years is somehow inferior. Sorry if my sarcastic response was either not understood or misplaced. Without the benefit of body language, alot of communication is lost! cheers, hem now

[/qb] Hey Jared, we are all no doubt not as good as you on the snow, but I think you might be suprised what is possible after a short while. I for one am not struggling to get up the lift.[/QB] db, having seen you board, I still reckon you`re having us on. Either that, or you`ve spent the last few years getting practice in a Simulator. hem now

Jared, here in Aomori ken there are 113 AET`s. 4 are from Australia, one of those being from Perth. 1 out of 113 - not quite half. Not sure how that extrapolates to the rest of Japan, though. Incidentally, the guy from Perth is actually a very good snowboarder! hem now - not from Perth

Ah Nekobi, you`re making me jealous! I`ve always wanted to go to Madang - oh well, maybe next time. At least people have showers on the coast. The highlands are too cold for it, and goddam, don`t you know it when you`re sharing the cab of a truck with a guy on night shift, the windows shut and the heater on full bore... What is hamamas? hem now - likem iu, nating tru, 96.5 Iume FM, Port Moresby

hmmm, I`ve seen a few wearing them - but when I think about it, it is certainly no less than the number of gaijins wearing them. I`d be reluctant to make any comparisons. If I was (like most) Japanese and spent most of my time on relatively flat groomers, with no trees, few moguls, not much ice, and not hitting many jumps, I`d be tempted to not wear a helmet too. It just doesn`t seem that dangerous. I know it can be, but unlike steep gnarly treed runs with cliffbands, there aren`t too many "danger will robinson" signs flashing in my head when I`m on the groomers. hem now - who prolly