scottr6675

I have been thinking about doing the same thing but having just got back from japan when the snow is good you just want to be charging at your best, so maybe its something to do in oz when the snow is not so good. One thing to mention though if you go bacl to skiing you will not be doing parralel turns, unless you wanted to ski 'old school' style. Skiing now is with skis shoulder width apart and using the edge to carve and it has become much more like snowboarding in style. I would say that if you can carve on your snowboard and know how to use your edges properly then you will probably be abl

Originally Posted By: Jynxx Wait a minute snowluva, IF you have flexy bindings then a lot of the movement will be absorbed by the binding movement so there will be loss of precision, feeling of contact with the board. I don't see how the flex pattern will be affected by the binding other than where you attach them. ie: center, setback stance. Maybe for some people the flexy binding might act as a shock absorber, but the part of the hardware that's designed to do that job should be the EVA padding. Can you explain. I'm a bit confused. my experience has been that when i have had bi

@ratherb@thesnow the rope tow is at the base of the duplex single chair in higashyama (niseko village). from hirafu you go up ace quad then up the double or the triple hooded followed by heading out to the left down towards annapuri, and the base of the duplex single. The rope tow is there and the briefing is in the building which is just at the top the tow. Briefings are at 9.30 or 12.30. (yes the building is right near the start of Zangi)

i have owned flows but would never go back to them. they stiffen the flex of the board in my experience and make the set up of the board far less versatile. for my money the extra time of tightening 'standard' bindings up is totally worth it. With any binding you need to consider how it affect the flex pattern of the board and so the bindings need to match whatever board you choose.

Happy to say that i had the insanely pleasurable experience of heading into Mizuno No Sawa on tuesday. It had been tracked a little and i should have got in there earlier but it was still epic and if i had been more onto it i would have done the course on the first available day and then gone in on every possible day. We rode under the gondola till the first gully and dropped in to it with deep spring like snow (after a warmer day). The turns were so sweet and the terrain was so good. Even a grumpy old bugger in the group couldnt ruin the experience. Beacons were not provided either were helme

Keen to hear any ones reports from being in there. i am so stinging to get in there, having gone over many times in the gondola and cried about not being able to get in there. Does anyone know if the line beneath the gondola is allowed? or is there strict conditions on where you can/can't ride?

Foxpuppet, just wondering what your thinking mate? i leave tomorrow morning for japan, you keen to take some photos? I am staying just behind powpow and right next to Barumba. Let me know what you think... Scott.

Gday Foxpuppet, just thought it would be good to go out on some fresh days. Maybe into Myhirashi or somewhere similar and get some action shots, but yeah will also be heading out at night for sure. Carrying tripod is a hassle but I think it will be coming along. What would you be keen to shoot?

anyone keen?

Should have mentioned actually, i am only an amateur photographer and i am i guess a fairly strong level snowboarder, but i am happy to go out with skiers or boarders. Would be mainly looking for really nice powder turns.

Gday Paul, that would be perfect mate except that i am there january and you in feb so that wont work for us, but that would have been perfect otherwise. Hope you have an amazing time. Scott.

Just wanted to see if there was any photographers out there who are going to be in Niseko between the 12th and 22nd of january? If your used to taking photos of people but would maybe like a good photo or 2 of you as well for those snowless summer months, then i thought it might be cool to meet up. We could go out for some turns on a solid fresh day and take some action pics of each other etc...I shoot nikon D90 and maybe being able to swap memory cards directly might make it easier. Anyway it's a random idea but please reply if you might be interested. Scott.

Just a shout out for if anyone is flying into Sapporo on the night of the 12th January. I have a private transfer booked and we have room for up to 4 more people. if you want to jump in with us just let me know...Cheers.

Thanks GN, thats all good...more stoked that less rain is now forecast, coz it tends to make the snow pack unstable etc...if you see someone snowboarding with a red camo jacket from mountain design with a big smile on his face stop me and say hello...cheers... Veronica does that mean you smoke 35 bongs a day?? that cant be good for you... funny comment ^ i like it...

stooooooked!!! heading to Niseko tommorrow and been checking this thread daily like the obsessive person i am...thanks to all who take the time to put the weather stuff up...

nice shots mike, looks epic...are you shooting with an SLR or compact??

yeah usually people just use it to get up a slight hill, like on a cat track, sol you dont have to take a foot out...much easier with softer, shorter boards, but can be done with longer boards too...you need to be leaning forward, and basically running off your nose and tail...helpful at times...

yo all out there, just letting people know, that i have hired a whole lodge (Captain Hirafu) in the heart of Hirafu, and i have some spaces available if anyone knows someone needing accom. Beds are available from the 29th Dec though till 9th Jan. it's a sweet little place, stayed there last year and looooved it... If anyone is keen i can provide my email to work out the details...

2 cents from mr snowluvva... its usually beginners that would lose there board, and i have had a board go past my face at mach speed after it hit a mogul and almost took my head off (which would have made future snowbaording a bit hard;) )use a leash until your confident then get rid of it, as they have no point once your sorted...if you ever have to take your board off near a slope, always put your board bindings down into the snow, so it cant runaway, and across the slope...sorry if im being captain obvious..

this is a constant source of confusion for people... a quick story to make a point....i too am 85kgs, i took an option 161 (freeride board, also a mid-wide model) to japan in 05 and found it to be awesome in the pow, floated effortlessly through all conditions. last year i took a new rome 157 (all mtn board, mid wide model also) which has a more centred stance for freestyle. this board was a lot less easy in the pow, didnt want to float as much, and my technique had to be a bit different to achieve the same feel as my option...i am an advanced rider and for me, a board that is a bit longe

IMHO i think flows are lacking. they are v ery hard to fine tune, ande tend to be on the stiff side, almost likw riding in hard boots for my money...not enough good reasons to take the risk, and lots of reasons not to..

im having seinfeld memories of jimmy talking about himself in the third person, after that last post...: )

higashyama has some sick line if you dont notice some ropes...the main issue i have though is that everytime i go up the prince gondola i cry, weep, bash my head against the pole, because i look at all the terrain under the gondala that cant be accessed (legally) it makes me so sad not to be able to lay some sweet lines down there...does anyone else feel my pain out there???

tragedy...hanks was the bomb...the sort of place that you would always tell people about when doing the niseko sales pitch...so much character...

also unless your a giant, a 163 is very long for a park board...oh yeah, and should ideally be a twin style board so that it rides the same whether your riding normal or switch...