Dougy
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Posts posted by Dougy
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There is a couple of huge natural quater pipes about an hours hike above the #5 car park. Apparently it's a popular spot for video crews. I don't think the hike would justify the ride unless you were shooting video or something. On the other hand I wouldn't mind taking my up there and boming the trail. That'd be one hell of DH run.
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That's a crack up. Anyone can call themselves a guide and take other people's lives into their hands but they have to place either first or second at the JP Nationals to even call your self a "pro" snowboarder. Some seriously screwed up ideas in the JP ski/snowboard industry.Quote:Originally posted by Toque:
As far as I know there is no system for guide certification in Japan.
Anybody that wants to can call themselves a guide. -
It didn't kill Fernie just Currie Bowl. Before the lift you had to hike to get to Currie and the fresh powder lasted longer. It did have advantages like making it easier to get to other places but for me Fernie then and Fernie now are two totally different ski areas. The old Fernie had more charm now it feels just like a mini Whistler or Lake Louise, maybe more like LL as it's owned by the same guy.
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5 years to get certified that's a serious commitment. I don't think the US will ever adopt the EU standards. Avalanche safety is pretty much just a ski resort thing in the US whereas in Europe it's something that effects entire populations not just recreational snow users. Remember the bottom line in the ski industry is $$$ so if it takes 5 years to get certified then those guides are going to want top dollar. If the resorts adopt the highter standards then they will have to hire only those with IFMGA training. That will effectively eat in to their profits which means higher ticket/resort prices, less visitors, and the wheel goes round.
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The new lift kinda killed Currie. Still and awesome bowl but it got tracked out so fast with lift access. I was there in 98/99 just after the LL crew bought it out. At the end of that season they bulldozed the daylodge and rebuilt the place. Haven't been there since but have heard it's like a mini Whistler now. Kicking Horse out of Golden was the buzz back then and that's a place a wouldn't mind spending a year snowboarding and mountain biking but it's back to Oz for me.Quote:Originally posted by Fattwins:
I was there pre expansion so we had to hike into places like the saddles or currie bowl. Was so perfect back then. Back then they had a rope line to haul your butt up to bomb the staddle start zones. -
Mongolia/Outer Mongolia is over the back off the top of Fernie's Timberline Quad. It's got some really nice rock gardens where you can build some nice QPs as well as some sick tree runs. Vail has a place with the same name too ay?Quote:Originally posted by Fattwins:
mongolia / outer mongolia???? That is Vail -
That's one of the things I dread the most about out back. The scariest thing to happen to me was in Fernie. We had hiked over to the far side of "Fishbowl" just outside the Fernie boundry to shoot some turns . We were mid face on a good day when some idiot decided to cut in above us on a steeper face. Alone, no gear, and obiously no friggin idea the kook started a small slide. He quickly bailed off to the side but we wore a fair bit of sluff. We purposly hadn't hit that area because of the pitch but someone elses ignorance could have cost us our lives. He had followed us over but went up from where we dug in. Canada has a totally different attitude to back counrty access than here and people are generally well educated but there's always going to be one and that taught us a scary lesson that day.
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So what's the Japanese equivilent of "Duh!"Quote:Originally posted by merryJim:
"Ii tenki desu ne."
or, alternatively, depending on the weather:
"Samui desu ne".
etc
It's a power line.
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I met my wife at Mt Hutt in New Zealand. Down there you don't eat the snow just offer ice for their drinks.
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I've done my four years and now it's time to bail. Heading back home to the Gold Coast for a year-or-so then down to Jindabyne to set up camp. If anyone's going to be round Ryuoo from Mar 27 - Early April come ride. I'll throw in my BC gear just in case.
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Why didn't this come up sometime in the last four years? " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" /> I have no doubt you guys are up to snuff and would love to go hiking with you guys but I'm heading back to Australia in April. My wife and I are going to Ryuoo for the last week of March for our last trip and until then I'm pretty much flat-out. Is there any decent terrain round Ryuoo? My wife isn't up to heading out back yet but if you guys are in the area I'd be keen to go for a day.Quote:Originally posted by Fattwins:
why dont you join toque and i for some spring tateyama riding. then you can see if we are up to snuff?
Just like a diving buddy and hiking partner is as essiential as having the right gear and knowing how to use it. Peeps(transievers) don't work if no-one knows you are buried just as they are no good if only one person has one.Quote:Originally posted by Yamakashi:
The only reason why I skied the lines that I did with Fattwins and Toque was because they knew the lines we were doing and had been doing them for many a seasons. If it was just me, I wouldnt have gone off course, at least if I had never ridden those lines. The places that we hit over and over througout the season I would go back and do now. But wouldnt feel comfortable going solo down them. Need a partner. -
Yeah, because that's what they are for to make you look good.Quote:Originally posted by rach:
Bet you almost look like grungy-gonads wearing one of them too.
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I've got a North Peak jersey style set-up that has spine, rib, shoulder, and elbow protection sewn into it. It doesn't offer the levels of the the hardshell jackets but isn't as cumbersome, or as expensive either (About ￥9000 from Murasaki). I wear that and some Burton Protector Pants whenever I ride and you don't even notice it.
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If you know what you're doing and have the right gear then no I'm not talking to you. But even experienced people's luck can run out. Anyone who is serious about backcountry will remember Craig Kelly.
My post was more aimed at the new crew chomping at the bit to get off the groomers and explore what the backcountry has to offer. Passes get pulled because you either endangered yourself repeatedly, even after being warned, or you endangered someone else. The first, well it's your choice, but the second is downright wrong and includes the danger you put other people in when you f#%k-up and they have to come rescue you.
The real riding is out there, beyond the ropes, the lifts, and the resorts and it really doesn't take much to get amongst it. So get on the Net and do some research, better still do a course . I'm a ski/snowboard photographer and spent a season in Canada doing my CAA Level 1 Avalanche course but even an Avalanche Awareness course is enough to get you started. That along with the right gear and the right partners will show you what the backcountry is really about. It's a hell of a lot more than a few poached lines under a lift or down some short-arse slope to a creek or something.
I know it sounds like a lot and you probably think I'm some self-rightous prat but I've had to dig people out and don't want to do it again. If you put in the time you will be rewarded with the best riding you can possibly imagine. If you do feel the need to duck ropes for that quick hit first think is it worth it and if it is don't do it alone.
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Ducking ropes is all fine and dandy but remember that some places are closed for a reason. If you do duck ropes make sure you don't do it alone and only do it if you know what you are doing. I don't know how many times I've heard people say we went through ###### today and then watched their jaws drop when you tell them that an avalanche went through there too. Sure that's not as likely here as it is in Canada or Europe but it does happen and there are plenty of other dangers such as tree wells. A guy died in Niigata this year when he fell head first into a tree well and couldn't get out. He had just ducked a rope and was only 30m from a groomed run. So basically remember to be careful, be responsible, and if you get caught you can't argue because you know you are in the wrong, even if you think you know better.
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Don't like your chances for Gifu at the end of March as most resorts will be closing down then. Gumna is where we go as it has a few resorts open until the end of April. Marunuma is one of the better ones as it's fairly high. My wife and I are heading there for a week from the 26th.
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It snowed all morning here in Chigasaki too but wasn't cold enough for too much too stick. Now it's sunny so it'll all be gone in a few hours.
Tokyo is shocking for even the smallest amount of snow, 5cms and the trains stop, any more and the highways close. Took me 8 hrs to get from Takasaki to Kawasaki once just because of a little snow.
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That's good to hear mate I'm glad it worked out for you. Just in time too ay. Good luck for where ever you're off to.
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I hit Fukushima for four days with my wife and some mates. Mates first times snowboarding. We went to Adatara - crowded, windy ice bowl, gondola closed, Bandai Alts - 10cms, mad crowds, some nice stashes, longest line-up for lunch I've ever seen, Numajiri - uncrowded but kinda flat, good for beginners, nice big tables and nice little pipe, Gran Deco - uncrowded, 20cms and snowing, flat in the middle but nice off the top lifts, scored knee-deep freshies through the trees until 3 in the afternoon.
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NZ Heli, big long drawn-out turns on an open slope. Canadian chutes, bomb to carve out the bottom. JP trees, bit of both with big toeside manuals.
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It's the same as when you hear yourself sing on tape. It sounds good in your head but woeful on tape. Video is a really good way to improve your snowboarding. When I did my instructors course in NZ we did video sessions everyday and it really helps you improve your technique/style.
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The "Backcountry" here in my opnion is a total waste of time, it's just not worth the effort. From what I've seen most people's idea of off-piste is poaching lines under a lift just off the groomers. If you want real backcountry save some cash and go to Canada.
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Good to hear mate. Now get off the idiot box and go ride.
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I've seen very few helmets the whole 4 years I've been here. I saw one guy with one in a park at Maiko Kogen but he didn't have the strap done up
. It's strange the attitude towards them here, as I said in another thread I had some punk-arse wannbes tell me I must think I was something special because I was wearing a helmet. Learning to ride in Australia and having done several seasons at Mt Hutt(death-ice central)in NZ I never ride without one. Here the problem isn't ice but the large numbers of people, many of them who appear to be in worlds of their own, packed into such small resorts. Being a snowboard instructor/photographer I've seen too many injuries that could have been prevented if the rider/skier was wearing a helmet. " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" /> I can't stress enough the importance of wearing a helmet. I know everyone's heard it before and you'll probably write me off as being a pussy or your mum but don't give a $h!t about what people as in the end it's your head and its worth protecting.
Does anyone on here go to Australia/NZ to ski?
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
I'm Australian and have spent a lot of time in both Australian and New Zealand resorts. NZ is definately the cheaper of the two and offers a far more relaxed atmosphere especially in the Canterbury region with Mt Hutt and club field like Porter Heights and Cragieburn. Queenstown/Wanaka is a little more up-market, for NZ at least, and offers more high tech lifts and Euro-feel ski resorts. Both areas offer excellent terrain but are at the mercy of high winds that come roaring in from the west and due to the lack of trees tend to strip the resorts of loose snow leaving concrete like conditions. I remember the first season I spent at Mt Hutt we had something like 98 fractured/broken wrists/elbows due to the hard conditions.
Australia can be a very pricy place to ski but if you take advantage of lodges and packages it's not too bad. I really love the terrain in Australia as it is so varied. The snow can be hit or miss and you are one luck punter indeed if you score fresh dry powder. Due to the mountains close proximity to the coast the snow is fairly wet and heavy. No much in the way of face shots but still a lot of fun when combined with the terrain. My favourite is Mt Hotham as it's got awesome terrain, easily accessable back country and the one-mountain feel is friendly and open.
NZ is by far the most popular with JP summer snowboarders with the backpacker lodges filling up through most of the season. It's cheap and there are lots of Japanese so they feel comfortable and don't have to worry about a lack of English skills. Australia is becoming more popular especially with more Australian's coming here. Many Japanese don't even know we have snow in Australia and are surprised when I say I learn't to ski/snowboard there.