stepchild

i think david benedek just broke the 4second barrier on his snowboard on a specially designed uber-booter. bleeding long time if you think about it. Mads Jonsson's frontside 360 on the longest kicker in the world (think it was last season) must be a fair bit of air! he went on to break his hand doing a bs 7. nutter.

skateboard. wicked fun, brilliant for keeping your board control. my first day on a snowboard each season no longer feels odd now that i skate in the off-season. concrete slams do fecking hurt though. other than that, there is so much good hiking to be done in japan, camping, playing footy and drinking cold ales with mates.

mate, i have a 2wd k car and have driven it everywhere, two winters, no probs. don't worry about it. i drove gunma to hokkaido last season, and roadtripped aomori in february. hakuba - no probs i reckon. done it from gunma tonnes of times. then again, if you get hit by someone you'll get squashed...

le spud. man, i hear you, i hear you, but the wicked thing about snowboarding is how so many people have their own styles. my riding buddies and i used to be able to spot each other so easily on busy days just by the way we rode. that's a good thing i think. we should all be carving up the hill in our own way. sure, you can be more efficient in your style, more compact, more aesthetically pleasing, but you should be riding however you want. i remember watching the trainee instructors in whistler cruising the hill, all with really similar posture, stance etc. they all looked solid, but all the

i rock Drake bindings. my first pair were F60's. they did me proud. then i got some F70's which i painted black, i was young, they were sweet. i snapped them both on a monster kicker, landing on the knuckle. however, i'd adjusted them loads and i think that's why they snapped (on the baseplate). needless to say i whipped off a moany letter to Drake who promptly sent me a pair of the following season's Matrix. they are slightly heavier than friends' Burtons that i've ridden but i love them like siblings. they also don't have capstraps yet, i think. but them's good. not too popular here in japan

fair call Indosnm, but these days, with decent bindings that have nice fat straps, especially the toe-cap straps, foot pain isn`t really an issue. but you`re right in saying there`s no point in changing if you`re happy. unless you could be happier.....

i reckon you`re always going to have to make compromises when you move your bindings. more duck makes mach-9-ing a little harder, powder shredding a little less natural etc. less duck or both bindings pointing forward can alleviate these problems but make switch riding, especially switch spins pretty hard. having said that, terje rides with both bindings well forward, or at least he did for a long time, and he`s the don in any scenario. same goes for loads of good riders. i`m more duck than i ever have been this season. plus 18 and minus 15. the gains in the park and in my switch tr

two of my japanese mates are sponsored by flow and love them. their only problems with them are that they`re heavier than strap bindings. they are, however, locked, loaded and heading down the hill way, way quicker than me. furthermore, check out how well the flow international team are doing these days. they seem to win a lot. personally i wouldn`t ride flows, although i`d like to give them a try. ditto what everyone else has said, they look less reliable, heavier and less solid performance-wise (esp edge to edge response) than conventional bindings. and i`ve also heard a few scare-stori

is the english chap who was taking photos on the big kickers at asagai on here? i spoke to you briefly then lost you....! just wondered if you had any good shots.

I was up there on sunday.It was splendid. balls deep powder, and not that busy on the top runs. My mate and I rode the same two runs all day, powder slashes and natural mini kicker lines all day long. sweet. my legs are refusing to co-operate today....

ooooh, i rode tenjin on the opening day. only 2000 yen to ride as it was the snow festival. holy lord, there was loads of pow up there, and hardly anyone shredding. we rode for about 6 hours, stopping only once to eat free mochi and konyaku. it was the best first day of the season that i`ve ever had. face shots, natural hits a-plenty and lashings of powder slashes!! epic day!!!

lots of japanese resorts don't seem to have 'singles' lines at the lifts. i find that pretty frustrating. they ought to be present at every lift and their use encouraged. and i also see a lot of half-full lifts going up even when there are heavy queues. that annoys me too. it really doesn't matter if you can't talk to your mate for the 5 minute lift-ride does it??..and you might meet a new friend too!!! i'd rather wait a little longer than have a busy run. i hate those runs when you get snaked on every hit or rail....

i have known people who have been caned throughout heavy snowboard sessions, skate sessions, hikes, football matches, university exams, astrophysics masters courses and alsorts.and they've done well. for some people it really doesn't seem to affect them to do things 'high'. they can operate like any other normally-functioning individual after a few zoots. it hits everyone differently. me, the only drug i indulge in is alcohol, and that's always after the last air, slide or carve. one beer and i'm all over the shop. i never shred or skate after drinking. but each to their own. be caref

mate, i kind of know the noboard guys, they are sending me some out pretty soon in the hope that i can show them to as many people in japan as possible. if you are keen i could, hopefully, lend you one for a bit. they are basically powder snowskates with a leash. if you go on their website you will see the boys doing some nice drops and carves, even a few 180's in pow. they're meant to be sweet to ride. i think it´s www.noboard.ca

196,128. if only real 7s were this easy.