Stuntcok

THe most common cause of falling out of a chair lift is the act of putting the "safety" bar up or down. This is especially the case for children.

The terrain it accesses is more dangerous than the lift. If you are not comfortable with the "sligshot lift" don't get on it. The reason it is a drag lift is because wind issues would keep a chair down more often and the reason it is fast is because it is a steep ride and would make for a difficult t-bar ride. That lift is in Chile, not Australia and we can only thank god that the Andes (and the Alps) are not in litigious countries.

Closed ski resorts make for sick sled access

This is all I could find. You hit speeds that would ve compparable to bombing a green run.

The top of portillo is serviced by a drag lift. It is like no other drag lift I have seen. Like a tram there are two lifts, one going up the other down. It is like a large tbar and 4 get on at a time and then it shoots you up the mountain at a really high spead. It holds the record for highest speed drag lift in the world, it is also one of the steepest drag lifts I have seen. It is almost like skiing up hill. There is no proper exit at the top so right after unloading you are already on the pitch and skiing backward. The lift and the terrain it services are for experts only and it is s

I assumed he meant snoblades, where a misty would be possible. On a snobike, I would be quite impressed. The funniest thing I saw on snowblades where at the Saitama water ramps. This guy was launching off the big kicker with snowblades and a jump rope. In the air he would " jump rope" as fast as possible. That is something you can do on blades that you can't on skis.

Sounds like a misty 540. Anyway, it is impossible to make snowblades look anythhing but awkward in the park. Every year at the whistler freeride camps on the glacier at least one person drags up a pair for a laugh. Everyone has a go on them and the carnage is quite fun. Due to terrible fore and aft control, slow speeds and no pop they are very limiting in what you can do. Without long skis to balance rotations, all the balance during a spin comes from the upper body. As a result, you never see a nice, steezy spin with a solid landing but a lot of flailing and a survival landing. I don't

I have never been to Alts Bandai but looking at their webpage it seems they do put a lot into their park. What else is around there? If it is just park, then it is kind of a waste to come to Japan where the BC and powder skiing is so good. Nowhere in Japan that I can think of has good both but if you had a car you might be able to pull it off in Gunma, where Tenjindaira has good sidecountry and there are nearby resorts that specialise in parks. Otherwise I would recommend Hakuba. The parks are small and crowded but still better than Niseko's limp parks and the BC riding is second to none.

Get a snow bike

THere are decent small parks. There is no equivilent to the big parks found in places like Mammoth, WB, PArk City, etc. Nothing even close, actually. The same goes for Europe though. The best parks are all in the US and Canada.

I think you will find that ski industry jobs pay a lot less than their equivilant in other businesses. It is simple supply and demand. For the same price I would soooooo much rather be a marketing director at Niseko than a marketing director for lion toothpaste. The two salaries will diverge until they find equilibrium. BTW the average household income is over 4.m yen in Japan, average salary is 3.6m.

Joetsu's pro park that holds the Japan open is good but the day to day park is poorly maintained. They have 2 pipes but they don't grroom them enough. Naeba's park is smaller and the pipe is on the other side of the mountain but both the pipe and the park are well maintained. They even have kiwi diggers from Snowpark (who are skiers so the rails are more ski friendly with less aggressive ollie on's ect). In the area, Kandatsu's small park is amongst the best maintained but there are no huge features. Okutadami is the area you will find the Japanese pros when they aren't in whistler or Mam

Wiping out in the water is the point. Wiping out on the inrun sucks. Use your board and then try a big corked spin, the resulting crash will be amusing...

Sorry, of course you can do it on a snowboard and the issues are the same. Use old equipment if you can.

You can rent everything but it is nice if you have some of your own gear. You need a wetsuit, even if it is warm as it protects against bad splashdowns. You need a helmet as well. Ski helmets are a bit warm so many use skateboad helmets but it is best to put tape around the earflaps to protect against water slapping your ear on a side landing. A life jacket is also a must. In Japan, they almost allwear board shorts or even ski pants over the wetsuit to not look so soy. You also need gloves. Old spring gloves or even just auto work gloves are fine. Then you need ski equipment. I u

Its that time of year and my knee is healing nicely. Any tokyo area people looking to go water ramping (when the weather warms a bit)? I went quite a bit on my own last year but it would be fun in a group. I need to get some ramp time in before I go to Momentum freeride camps in mid july...

jebus, I hope your humour is just that famous british wit and not that famous british misplaced arrogance. FT has hosted and guided some of the best skiers in the world. I know for a fact that he and his lodge are held in high regard by such people as Kina Pickett, Will Burks and Bryce Phillips (not to mention the late Billy Poole) and those are just those I know. There are few (if any) places with such unique accolades in skiing. Yes, FT is an ass sometimes and he does come accross as arrogant but this is a ski forum. There are few on this forum that can contribute more knowledge than hi

Don't get me wrong, I am only taking a bit of the piss out of FT. He is a surly b@stard of a lodge owner but I don't know of too many places in the world were you can hook up a ski trip like his. I have been almost everywhere for skiing and the only place that can come close is a little backpacker's at Jackson that has been bought out and will be gone next season (or maybe Rendezous Lodge in Valdez but that is a special case). I would say FT's is the centre of gainjin ski-bummery in Japan and having a grouchy ojisan who can ski and guide like a pro in charge only adds to it. If you are com

There may be other places to stay in Hakuba but only at FT's place does the inkeeper abuse his guests. That kind of service garners a certain loyalty and thus we have "the gang".

Some places offer much more service that FTs as well...

I do Niseko opening weekend every year... I had a GREAT one this year with Mike Pow.

As we sit here and argue, Mammoth got another 2 feet and it is late May. If you want a snowy resort go to Alyeska (the actual snowiest on earth, helped by a loooong season). Both for terrain and snow no resort in Japan can compare to it and it is at the tamest end of the Chugach with miles of heli and BC right up the Thompson pass. Working in the oil inudstry pays more than almost anything I can think of and permits lots of time off to ski. Plus, the best strip club in the world is in Anchorage (I kid you not, I think it is called The Great Alaskan Bush Company, there is also a ladies night

Yah, MTB does look like a money pit but I can assure you it is cheaper for me than staying in Tokyo and getting bored. I could by a whole new downhill setup for some of the ill-advised nights I have spent in "gentlemen's clubs".

Argentina and Chile both have amazing skiing. Unless you are going to a glacier camp don't bother going to Whistler or Hood, where there is summer skiing. In Chile, the most developed resort are the 3 around Valle Nevado. Argentina has the most amazing terrain but poor resort management and snow control often mean they are closed for days on end. The terrain off the Marte lift in Las laneas is the best lift access terrain in the world but it is usually closed. Barlioche is good as well. NZ has more development but the snow is more likely to be wind affected than SA.

I bet my bike will last longer than my body...