[Skier or snowboarder THE POLL]

First touched snow in Niseko in April 07

 

Had 2 snowboard lessons and managed to do not much more than a falling leaf, but was bitten by the snow-bug.

 

Thredbo in July for a week - lessons - ouch ICE! But finally mastered linking turns and managed to do that with the odd fall down the intermediate runs (love High Noon). Bought a K2 girly board, girly bindings and some comfortable as sin Van's Boa's.

 

Thredbo again in August for 5 days - no lessons this time - but worked on weaknesses, bought a helmet and added some speed.

 

Back to Niseko this January - and SO excited!!

 

I only had lessons because the kids were learning with hubby and I wanted them to be proud of, and not embarressed by thier old Mum...hmmm..now it is ME watching the Snowboard Video's - what a laugh!!

[Niseko in January for the walking wounded?]

That is an interesting thought....It never occured to me to hire a car and drive ourselves - primarily due to lack of snow driving experience - I mean driving in Niseko in January is hardly the same as driving at Thredbo is it? At least you can SEE the road 99.9% of the time...

 

But it is certainly worth considering ..."InvalidBear" would be thrilled!

 

Just not so sure I can drag the bear cubs away from the slopes...??LOL

 

His Injuredness was contemplating jumping on a train from Sapporo to Tokyo and perhaps even further on and leaving us to it for a week....but I am not sure how happy I am about him travelling alone - our teen bearcubs are our translation and interpretation team...

[New to Snowboarding and to Hakuba]

I looked at the ass-armour and wondered if it was any good for those of us not inclined to be playing in the parks ... but then realized that MY ass did not need to be seen to be any bigger than it already is!! LOL

 

I am however taking gel knee pads this time round as my knee's go black every trip. I tend to get up toe edge (old chubby guts struggles with the heel - although I am determined to master it this trip), and I have a blood clotting disorder - so bruises are plentiful!!

 

Every protection possible I say.

 

Hubby swears by the gloves with built in wrist guards too! Coz ur wrists are gonna take a hammering while you are learning too. It is ok if you top to bottom without a fall - but if you fall 73 times from start to finish of a family slope (like I did) those hands and wrists are going to HURT!

[New to Snowboarding and to Hakuba]

Movendi,

I am an old duck with 4 kids - never saw snow before April 07 and I picked up snowboarding OK - with your background on ski's as a kid and your young age - you will be trying to tackle the tree's before long!!

But get those lessons and wear a helmet! Sometimes just a small adjustment from an instructor will take you from rabble to rythym, and the helmet is gonna give you a bit extra psychological confidence as well as provide real protection for your grey matter.

Hope Hakuba is great fun!

[Niseko in January for the walking wounded?]

We are a family of 6 heading back to Niseko this Jan.

Hubby and 2 x teen boys were there in Jan 07 for a few days, with all of us (me and the 2 primary age boys makes 6)taking a 10 day trip in early April 07.

 

Loved it so much we booked for 16 full on snow days (plus travel either side and a week in Tokyo) for us and 2 other families. That's great. But Hubby is now OUT - an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction a couple of weeks ago rules him out for not only THIS coming northern winter but also southern winter 08!!!! Just flaming lucky that this newbie boarder made 2 trips to Thredbo this past winter to get some skills happening - as I am now the only responsible parent to be able to go on mountain with our 4 kids. Not bad for an old duck who saw snow for the first time in April in Niseko! See ya CAN teach an old duck new tricks!!

 

So - any suggestions what to do with hubby? He is gonna be bored bored bored... Is there anything at all for the injured to do to keep them from going insane with jealousy?

[card thieves]

We have had this happen to us before as well, but in Aus!

 

Card security is a little lax everywhere, but I was truly stunned that the Seikomart in Niseko processed credit cards without having to sign for anything, or having to enter a PIN!! While it meant a quick transaction it did leave me wondering what would happen if my Credit Card got 'lost'...