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samurai

SnowJapan Member
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Posts posted by samurai

  1. I don't think the gun is wood. It may have metal in it to secure the mounting point over a foam core.

     

    KOM, don't you have dukes on yours? Those are supposed to be pretty heavy.

     

    I bet the swing-weight of the longer gun made it seem burly in the hand. I would wager that the gun is lighter than the gotama in equal lengths.... based on reputation and my perceived constructions.

  2. don't begin the "I-should-have-gone-longer." bs just yet. I don't think there is anything you could do on a few more centimeters of length.

     

    the topsheets will peel, but mine are 4 years old and still strong, so don't sweat it.

     

    and yeah, they're not that fun on groomers... (go faster)

     

    anyway, just 2 weeks ago I took mine out and actually did something new. I was laying trenches in some crud, trying to find my edge again for the season and suddenly I cranked out this set of like 5 turns with a really tight radius. I had to look back at my tracks to ensure that I had just made those turns. fricking nuts that four years down the road I can manage to push them even further.

     

    (of course, my falcon 10 boots have also stepped up this winter.)

  3. the fact that they hired a JH patroller to come out and give them some instruction says alot. The American Avalanche Institute was founded in JH.

     

    I've never been to niseko. but I would be really surprised to hear about avi control being done at any resort in Japan to the level that would recognize it as adequate.

     

    Personally, just by viewing pics of niseko, I can understand why it doesn't have many slides. and that has nothing to do with patrol.

     

    and surely, 750yen/hour doesn't initiate competition from elite paramedics or avi forecasters. (although it is a virutal mirror image of California's pay scale for paramedics.)

  4. for my semantic tongue

     

    BC= outside of ski area boundaries. albeit 20 miles into the wilderness or through a resort's gate to another peak somewhere. (the latter usually done with some sort of permission from patrol in the states.)

     

    Sidecountry is a modern word that refers to short hikes/skins from resort boundaries. The Marker Duke is being marketed as a good sidecountry binding. 'side' refering to the sides of the resort. this is an example of where BC and SC could overlap in their definitions.

     

    Frontcountry just entered my vocabulary today. Not quite sure I like it. but that's just my opinion. Sounds like a word to explain hiking and skiing the neighborhood hill.... that maybe doesn't have any avi hazards that would be associated with the bc. I'm thinking either GN made it up, or another non-north American rider from over-seas here in Japan used it with GN.

  5. classes and lessons in snow management? or turning?

     

    We don't mean to be discouraging. It's just that wild snow is incredibly dangerous stuff. It's really easy to make a simple mistake (especially out of ignorance) and have it result in horrific consequences.

     

    by all means, study up on the forums. But, if you are willing to invest the initial 5man (or so) to get you situated with some gear, surely you'd be willing to take an entry level avi course for 2man?

     

    just a side note- I usually test my partners the first time I ski with them if there is a chance we'll be headed into avi prone areas. I get ahead of them on a run, drop my beacon in a tree-well and wait for them to catch up. Then I tell them that they have 5 minutes to find my beacon. I usually do this in the piste areas of resorts. Or the parking lot of the cafe, or whatever. I think I do it more for the look on their faces.

  6. I can understand people's (westerners') frustration about not loading the lifts to full capacity when there is a long queue.

     

    but this is Japan. skiing and snowboarding to the average person here is a social and family activity. Most japanese skiers and boarders could give a rats ass about how quickly they can get back to the top.

     

    I say get over it. use the single's lane if it bothers you that much.

  7. I'm not in Hakuba... but I would ssoooo outski you. cool.gif

     

    on topic,

    Evergreen hires internatially accredited instructors. You won't get the same credentials or experience at (virtually) any ski resort in the world. Those guys go to private firms like Evergreen. I believe the subjective comment was pretty spot on.

     

    (I'm not impressed with the J demo team or training or tactics, to be honest. I ski them under the table too. But I'm just the best skier in Northern Honshu.) wink.gif

  8. my wife got a sweet bikini tan in Hawaii a couple of summers ago. That tan lasted like a year-- no joke. I used to tease her... that she wasn't human for not shedding skin.

     

    (She doesn't have any body odor at all either. very strange girl. Hmmm... maybe i did marry an alien.)

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