journey_man

Tsugaike is doing a nice line of grass at the moment!

Quote: Originally posted by slow: EBC and JM, thanks a lot. That's a big help. I tried to find out how heavy those marker bindings are, they are titanium and this is from Marker's website. Quote: TThese binding models are constructed using state-of-the-art innovation and engineering. Designed for skiers who want agressive high performance reliability coupled with lightweight high-quality convenience. The versatility , quality and value in this category is tremendous. I think I saw LINE celebrity somewhere yesterday, can't remember. They were not cheap though. Thank

Quote: Originally posted by rach: The entrance looks like a Cybermans head! Good TR And to think that the rest of the earthlings have no idea what Oakley eye wear is really about...

Quote: Originally posted by slow: Thanks, JM. Are you working at rapie in Hakuba? I called Rapie this evening and the shop guy explained me those differences exactly same way, Gotama and Guns. He also recommended Salomon, easier to ride than Volkl. but but but but... I don't think I feel comfortable with those asymmetrical? graphics... They look like you jumped out of bed for powder early morning and grabbed two different skies by mistake... Gotama didn't have good float? What about K2 Seth? Are they good in powder? lol, that wasn't me at Rapies! . I'm j

I've got this years 1080 Guns which apart from the top sheet are the same as the Scarlets. In powder they rock, in everything else they cope Ok. The closest I've skied to your other choices is the Volkl Gotama, while it is a very different ski to the 1080, it didn't have any more float in the pow in spite of it's extra length and width. Myself, I quite like the Scarlet Graphics - even more than this years Gun graphics. Not sure this will be helpful tho!

Mudguts, how do you cope with a -1 day compared with a -20 day? I'd die with a jacket like that on a -1 day.

Using silks for warmth is new to me. Are you still using the merino base layer over the silk or have you gone for one of the mid layer products? What brand silks do you use? I'll look out for them.

I'd love to meet up with some of you Hakuba types this weekend and investigate some of these secret spots... Tohoku, where were you riding today?

lol, very true. That should have read: I'd love to see the BC here, but I will have to settle for in bounds unless I can rent some gear...

Icebreaker, icebreaker, icebreaker!!! This stuff rocks. It works way better than the polyprops I used to use and doesn't need to be washed as often. No one has mentioned sweating. I've found that overdressing makes me sweat like crazy - which in turn makes me very cold on the lift. Yes all the hi tech gear to wick sweat away is awesome, however if you sweat enough it simply gets overwhelmed and it is quite a while before you dry off. I've found (even in minus twenty) that getting the balance right makes for a much more comfortable day. Do other people find this or do I just swe

Dunno, the Whistler website doesn't say Some friends in Canada mentioned that the season's awesome start seems to be petering out and used Whistlers rain as an example.

I just hit Hakuba and it's snowing!!! Yay!!! anyone wanna show me around? I'd love to see the BC here, but it will have to be in bounds unless I can rent some gear...

Whistler just lost 60cm of base to rain...

Quote: Originally posted by SirJibAlot: ...but I have an early morning flight tomorrow to the US ;( Busy job you have! Will you have a chance to check out any snow in the US? It will be interesting to hear if they are having a shite season too.

I heard Hakuba got a big dump last night? I hope so, I'm in Hakuba on Tuesday for a week or two. Fingers crossed! Having completely forgotten what steep is like you'll be able to tell me cos I'll be the one falling down the hill...

Where's the shot from FT? Looks interesting.

Quote: Originally posted by Ski Beaver: Post up some more of those pics, or Ill put some together when Im back home next week. More coming! I'm just a bit slow at the whole PS thing - the originals are a bit dark to post as is. Have you managed to rip any of the vids yet? Would be fun to post a 'Best of the Flatlands'. I've just been to the Snow Festival in Sapporo so will post some piccies of that as well. Unfortunately it is warm here and the exhibits are starting to melt - and it's only day 1. Very sad, not to mention scary.

Hey FT, you scared of Niseko or something? Checking back through the archives you don't seem to have been here... Now why is that? PS the topo map excuse doesn't do it for me...

He said he was on this forum, so I checked out some of his posts. He sure loves the pow glory shots! Hence me deciding to continue his theme from last year. Niseko might be 'Little Australia' and flat, but it has the best pow I've ever skied in! Even in a year the locals tell me is the driest for yonks. Will post some more once I've managed to push them through PS.

I met this dude at Niseko who called himself Ski Beaver, it turns out he likes to take photos. So to continue the theme he started last year, here are some shots from Niseko Wohoo, finally I'm in some deep pow, complete with face shots! Ski Beaver doing what he does best Gavin was new to pow, but he didn't let it slow him down! Ben trying to kill my camera The images above were all taken in cloud and bad light. But we did get the odd fine day, Yotei-san even put in an appearance.

ticket sales?

Dude What all these people are eloquently trying to say is that Back Country snow is a seriously dangerous place to be if you don't know how to read the snow conditions and how to plan routes to minimise the risk. This is especially true of places that get large amounts of snow like Japan and Canada, etc. That gorgeous looking slope that is just asking to be ridden could kill you. And it gets worse, after it kills you it could carry on down the hill and kill anyone else below it. The other thing someone mentioned is that riding deep powder for the first time is damn hard. It

I was totally stunned about how trusting people were when I arrived here. To start with I thought what a bunch of mugs, however I now really like it - if I catch someone stealing I'll do something about it. I really like the feeling that I can dump my 5 month old skis anywhere for hours and expect them to be there when I get back. It's how I think things should be and I'd like it to stay that way. It is such a contrast with living in London - leave something behind and it gets nicked within minutes.

lol, I wouldn't stay just at Niseko! But travel around a bit. My Hokkaido roadie didn't pan out so I was wondering about heading south, but I kept hearing these persistent rumours that it wasn't very good down there... Sooooo, how much did Hakuba get?

Everyone here is relaxed about security. I leave my skis all over the place. I haven't seen anyone with a lock yet. Cars are left running unlocked outside the shops... Long may it last.