alferg

...you discover one of the advantages of being into winter sports is that you have an excuse to cover your balding head with a beanie.

im a converted gym-goer. in fact i've become evangelistic about it - i love it! i used to think i got enough excercise from cycling, swimming, etc., but always had sore shoulders, sore neck, etc. from working at the computer all the time... i have found that a custom weight training program has fixed all that, as well as fixing old snowboarding soft-tissue injuries & a car-crash whip-lash injury, & my posture has improved dramatically. i have more stamina, power & endurance when snowboarding, which is great. i also feel fantastic after an 40-60min at lunchtime in the

yes andee, what bushpig said. ie. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resortdetail.php?resid=40 (& gee there are a lot of snowmen there at the moment - still wish there were some fat ones though)

go to the GYU BAR - its the coolest place in niseko by miles. i'v heard there are some cool bars in nearby kutchan too - someone (here or on ski.com.au) was taking about a bar there that is also a skateboard park! & be sure to have a meal at "bang bang", you have to ring & book in advance though. awesome food.

quite a few of those snowmen/cloudy icons on the forecast - looks like it'll be dumping when i get to nozawa on saturday!

Torah Bright, from Cooma, near the snowy mtns, Australia. she's waaaay to young for me, but im sure she's breakin some young blokes hearts http://www.grandslamint.com/PlayerProfile/PlayerProfile.aspx?p=3&id=37

where are the winners announced?

cheers indo, yes slow, it is so much fun... i hate going to work! i just want to stay at home & play. i'm expecting i'll take it pretty easy boarding in japan, & spend a fair bit of time playing in the snow with my little precious

ah, ok - i can answer my own question - i found out from the source. so if anyone else is interested >> Relationship to Nozawa by car. Nozawa = Iiyama = Nakano = Yamanouchi = Kanbayashi-onsen. It is a distance for about 1 hours. And on foot 30 minutes(1 mile) of one ways from Kanbayashi onsen to our park. There is a restaurant in Kanbayashi-onsen or Yudanaka. No there in Jigokudani.

keen to visit this place http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/frameset.html anyone know if you can drive there from Nozawa (in winter), & if so, how long would it take? it sounds like it takes ages via train.

you bet! she can walk, & she's quite adventurous. im very keen for her to play in the snow a bit. cheers re. alpen.

finally someone with a serious reply sounds great - what's alpen?

any recommendations? i'm looking for a 1-piece snowsuit, with a good waterproof outer shell, 6-12 month size.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10364408 MOSCOW - Animals at zoos across Russia were being given shots, or in some cases buckets, of vodka, to keep them warm yesterday as temperatures in the European part of the country plunged towards an exceptional minus 40 degrees Celsius. In the ancient town of Yaroslavl a travelling circus there said it had been forced to start giving its trio of Indian elephants vodka mixed with water in buckets as the mercury dipped.

you guys are hilarious - i am nearly wetting my pants here!! the voice is my mate Mitchee-san, the tele-ski & shooting-video-while-skiing guru. he is quite an excitable chap i will endevour to continue the tradition of "porn-like commentary" this season in nagano & in case anyone else is interested, they are referring to this video from my video gallery . some other mates of mine (who also work in animation) took to using that line when approving of each others work (aahhhh, niiice!). it's pretty classic.

i always take my hip-flask of scotch boarding - usually dont start on it until after lunch though. & of course, its for medicinal purposes only

nice one janus i will revive that thread on ski.com.au, organise a night at some bar so we can all meet up.

Tim Flannery is a little more optimistic. But it is looking more & more like we are totally farked. This summer is disgustingly hot in Sydney - I'm hating it. http://smh.com.au/news/environment/flann...7260034863.html Flannery sets deadline to save world "Australian scientist Tim Flannery said the world still had "one to two decades" to take action to reduce global warming, despite one of Britain's best-known environmentalists warning that the world has already passed the point of no return on global warming." but meanwhile, the Ozzie government thinks we can trust bi

i once had a roll of gaffers tape in my hand luggage - was stopped by security & had to check it in. perhaps they were concerned that i'd take the pilot hostage & threaten to stick the tape to his hairy arse, then pull it off really quickly! ouch!

Floss, where do you get that info from?... 60 days = about 2 seasons for me - i was hoping to get longer than that...

those photos are SIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!!! cant wait to be there next month

if you are an aussie, if you like aussies, or if you just like any excuse for a bbq/pi$$-up, i heard there is an australia day party at Tracks Bar, in Hakuba, on the 26th of January, Australia Day. It starts at 7pm, & its 1000 yen for bbq with beer apparently. Sounds like fun, wish i was going to be there, but we dont arrive until the 11th of feb. So if you go, sing a few bars of waltzing matilda for me

i bought a pair of 05 Burton Ions yesterday - they felt plenty stiff enough, & were lighter & lower profile than the Driver X, plus very comfy. & the price was right. & there were no more driver X 05s in sydney in my size anyway. Will report back after 2 weeks of use in Feb

i just uploaded a bunch more photos from hakkouda 2004. (mainly doing it for the competition, but also in the context of this thread) http://www.snowjapan.com/e/insider/photo.php?userid=alferg

sorry to hear about the foot, Touque... Yamakashi, the itinerary for the LPL massive is: 4feb-11feb - Nozawa 11feb-18feb - Hakuba in hindsight, we should've tried to be there for the festival - it sounds awesome. If you guys are partying there, grab my mate Dean (who writes the Nozawa Now reports & runs the outpost cafe at the Asahiya Ryokan) & take him for a few drinks Quote: Originally posted by Yamakashi: Quote: Originally posted by avas: hey yama you going to fire festival this weekend? No! Im working straight through