daver

snow is great but if there is no where to ski it, it becomes a tease. i've had some great runs here in Japan and i'd very much like to have more. but on the whole the most epic days and lines i've had were all in canada. kicking horse. nowhere better in world if you are truly dedicated to the sport. but that is just my opinion.

lots of company stuff in this one, but how about a shout out from th teaching core here. JTEs that, despite all your best efforts to inspire and motivate students, repeatedly drop the ball. if they would simply learn that if they just stop ridiculing students, stop turning the class room into a grammar worksheet sweatshop, stop teaching ridiculus language with zero connection to reality and finaly learn how to speak and enjoy the language they are teaching then maybe we could have students that actually after years of study can string two sentences together! AHHHHHHHHHH thank god for winte

not in Japan of course, but i will put the tap water in Banff and Lake Louise (direct from the Bow glacier and Wapta icefield) up for the challange against anywhere.

Get of plane, customs, bus from airport to Milan central to subway to tram to apartment: 130 mins Next morning, put board in car, drive rental car to nearest snow: 120 mins. You have an appartment in Milan?! YOU have nothing to complain about!

did anyone burn their old skiis this year?

toque it really seems as though you have put a lot of thought into this topic prior to the original post. is it possible? yes. is it practical? well depending on the weather conditions yes. is it in any remote way sexy? i think not! (well of course if that is the sort of thing that your into.....toque?)

my touring skiis are called "Ian" and i am also when riding on them. my G4s are nameless, stateless and timeless. they need no name as we do not communicate via words but telekinetics.

about 30 minutes by car. 45 if i take the bus.

i'm thinking of heading down to nozawa onsen in january to see the fire festival, but i'm having a little bit of trouble finding accomidation in the area. (it's all in japanese) has anyone been and stayed the night? would you recommend it, do you have any suggestions? travel is also a little difficult from here as the only option thus far is the shink. unfortunately i have not found a night bus option that leaves from this area to go there. perhaps sendai. but if not the closest option is to catch the night bus from toyko. kind of a drag as it is a three hour shink from yamagata. are there alt

i am sure that this was discussed last year, in fact i think i remember contributing to it, but does anyone have any info on boot fitting here in japan. please don't give me the low down on what boot fitting is, i am simply inquiring if anyone knows any good deals on getting work done here. i need to get my shell punched as i am starting to develope a bone spur.

Quote: Originally posted by bettyx: i had my pants drycleaned after winter in oz & the lady gave them some kinda special waterproofing, i think it cost an extra 500yen? anyone know if this works? (i'm still recovering from the fact you guys machine wash yr wear. i bet you all put your wool sweaters in the dryer, and don't separate whites&darks?) as for machine washing, read the label of any gortex type product. they all say "DO NOT DRYCLEAN" and "tumble dry on low heat as the heat rejuvinates the waterproof coating".

if you are recovering form an injury and want to be able to enjoy yourself and not ALWAYS ride heavy lines then kicking horse is not for you. it is a wicked area. i spent a season there and it is the best place i have ever skied. hands down and that includes whistler, banff, whitewater, japan, and the alps. but, as i said, if you are not in top form it is not worth your while. it is a little limited as far as mild terrian is concerned. they have been doing work to improve that in the past few years but they still have a lot of work to to. i would suggest the banff area just for sheer variety

anyone live in the yamagata area? anyone do any touring here? are you looking for a partner?

serre chevalier is great. and also huge. and it is possible to connect with les deux alps. also the circuit of portes du solei is massive and offers plenty of options. both spat big pow while i was there. and neither were really that busy.

um not much to do in drumheller except look at the badlands and see the royal tirell museum. it is more of a day trip. but unfortunatley the trip is a long one from calgary. it is a nice place to camp, but as for things to do, the badlands is it.

verbia is great but takes a lot of time to get around. it is just huge. and it is expensive. but worth the visit if you can commit the time. the same goes for portes du soleil. the area is just simply too big to imagine. but it also has some great hairy terrian. one of my favorite spots, and this could be due to the meter dump we had over night while there was a smaller place called 'les deblerais' the mountains are big here, and there are many options with some great terrian if you are willing to put in a few steps.

i met her at the sunshine village extreme comp a couple of years ago. she is pretty cool.

chubu or centrair isn't a bad option. the connections to nagoya station are pretty decent and from nagoya station you can take a limited express train to matsumoto for 7000yen. it is a little cheaper then the shinkansen and only a bit longer. but last time i checked it was a lot cheaper to fly into narita then into nagoya.

Quote: Originally posted by Error404: How expensive compared to JApan toque? Remember as well that in Niseko you will have Aussie Santas to look forward to if you can get the uni ticket, which requires 4 friends also in uni, then it is very cheap. assuming you can find a place to stay. but word is that they are becoming much more strict regarding the uni pass. you have to now prove enrolement. but there is a loop hole regarding a highschool equivelency course that will count and will only cost you $70. so if you enrole in that and find four friends to do the same (it is a group pa

Quote: Originally posted by Toque: Quote: Originally posted by NPM: Do something different Johnno and go to Furano or somewhere more interesting than Niseko. It is the new WHISTLER ... crowded and packed with Aussies. Nothing wrong with Whistler NPM It's an amazing area that will challenge even the pros while i agree with you regarding whister's challenge, and although this is a topic about niseko, the problem with whister is that unless you are a pro, you will be challenged just to get on the mountain. lift tickets alone will break the bank at whistler. and try getting first chai

Quote: Originally posted by deebee: take up snowboarding yes but then you have to worry about wearing the skin off your knuckles.

no. competent boot fitter or not, you can only work within the equipment's limitations. if they cannot be ajusted laterally then they simply can't. well not with out altering the structural integrety of the shell. or changing the rivoting system entirely. in which case why bother, just buy new boots that can be ajusted. remember that really competent boot fitters charge quite a lot of money per hour. but there is a potentially fast solution to this problem. discover if the issue is infact a skeletal problem, or simply a stance and balance problem concerning lateral inclination. get t

Carl, when he Lenny and Hommer find Smither's dead father, "I think I just logged on to my internet"

regarding mt lion. he is a close friend of mine, and if he is not getting back to you just wait, he will. you can also find him frequently on biglines.com. but, that being said, be warned that he is in canada and canadapost will not ship skiis. no exceptions, they just refuse to. plain and simple. he has had trouble with this in the past and the only way for him to get you skiis over the pacific is to use a private courier and that means lots of cash. otherwise he is a true gem. and if you need anything else, he can get it. good luck.

i stand corrected. by myself as a matter of irony. yes i can do it.