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dizzy

SnowJapan Member
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Posts posted by dizzy

  1. yeah i don't wanna instill fear in people, it's just that whenever i ride in the states, (especially Lake Tahoe!!) i lock my stuff up. in wisconsin, where most people come to ski like 3 times a year, there R bastards who want to steal other people's stuff...different mentality here in japan, i think. BUT, a 700 yen lock and an extra ten seconds locking/unlocking Ur gear WHEREVER U ride/ski, could save U a big headache later...

  2. ski resorts R different from other places in that most people R still honest. just a few rotten apples might try 2 steal a board or a pair of skis 'cause they can't afford their own--the bastards. sometimes maybe they R genuinely taken by mistake and brought back, but

     

    i've heard of ski/board theft in the mid-west of the US (where i'm from), as well as in colorado (where i went to university). one time in northern Wisconsin, the people staying in the room next 2 us had four pairs of skis stolen overnight--they had left their skis on their (locked) ski rack on their car. (hello?!?) but somebody broke the lock and took their s#it. would've been easier 2 bring it in THEIR ROOM.

     

    i ALWAYS lock my gear up, even if i'm just 5ing 2 the bathroom, even in nippon.

     

    theft is shocking here in japan, but as they say, take the usual precautions U would as if U were in your home country.

  3. don't plant Ur hands when U fall Drink.jpg

     

    i've been on skis since i was 6 and snowboarding since i was 12, (10+ years of snowboarding now)and then two seasons ago, i fractured my scaphoid bone, a small bone in Ur wrist! it was a complicated fracture and has taken 2 years TWO YEARS to heal. i'm stoked 'cause this winter i can finally snowboard again. Doh!

  4. i've never worked at a ski shop, but i've never had a problem waxing my own boards. scraping's definitely gonna make a mess, so have a tarp on the floor or do it outside.i use the same iron for my clothes, but when i wax my board, i wrap it with aluminium foil first. this way, wax doesn't get in2 the holes. two or three layers is enough. just remember to take off the aluminum B4 U iron Ur clothes again! to spread the wax out evenly, move the iron in circular motions like daniel-san sanding the floor. good luck.

  5. yeah, sounds like there's not much terrain 2 do it in honshuu. i noticed a couple snowmobiling fields close to where i participated in the yuki gassen (snowball fight) tournaments for a couple years in hokkaido, but they were just that--fields. practice for peeps who want 2 go in2 motorcross comps, contests, etc. you get more out of the experience hiking up, you know putting some work into your ride down.

     

    but what's the difference between smelling the afterburn of patrol zooming by on a groomed course and enjoying heliboarding in places like alaska and BC, Canada? you can't really smell the chopter after it drops you off?

  6. a good read is "Free Riding in Avalanche Terrain: A Snowboarder's Handbook" by Bruce Jamieson and Jennie McDonald, published by the CAA. it's just as relevant to skiers as it is to snowboarders. somebody mentioned this handbook on this thread or another one... anyway, it's a good primer on the BASICS of backcountry riding. personally, one of the most important things about going into the bc is understanding and ACCEPTING the riding/skiing/telemarking level of everyone in your group as well as their level of knowledge. it's key to decide as a group what peoples can and cannot handle. if a slope is too difficult for someone, or they haven't learned how to dig a snow pit, it'd be better if they didn't go.

    i wrote and article on a backcountry course i took in hokkaido four years ago when i was a JET. scroll down half the page and click on "Niseko Avanlanche Course" under the Northern Japan heading:

    http://www.outdoorsig.com/articlesall.htm#

    Ocean, it's nothing compared to articles fattwins and connackers posted, but it'll give you an idea of what's available in Japan.

  7. i found a place in saitama that has tampolines to practice on. one tramp is 4 socks only, and the other is 4 skis/snowboards/mini boards (that U can practice with just gym shoes-boots).

    trampolining helps 2 visualize Ur jumps...i strapped in a board and was out of breath in three minutes. they've got a branch in osaka. this one has two smaller tramps, and one big one. both places are quite a hike from the stations, but still pretty fun. i heard there was a third branch somewhere else...

  8. highly recommended, been to the snow fest twice. warm amazake helps U warm up. the most interesting times are at the before and after the fest when the Jei-tai (Japanese SDF) show up in Odori-Park. picture a bunch of army guys in camouflage sculpting out a 20-meter Mickey Mouse or Hideki Matsui, hilarious!

    Teine Highlands is prolly one of the best closest resorts, just a quick train and then bus ride away from JR Sapporo St.

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