montoya 0 Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 I doubt the different tour groups there can guarantee first-tracks to their guests anymore, it is just too crowded on the weekends. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 Everyone with a level one in Japan is a guide now really. The Canyons guy does know his first aid, rope and other summer outdoor stuff well but Ive yet to see him guide in the winter. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Be careful out there people Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Thanks for the info FT. We're really lucky to have regular bc updates Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: [QB] Everyone with a level one in Japan is a guide now really. Isn't that going a little too far? I think it is a dangerous statement that naive people could put far too much trust in. I could fly to America tomorrow and do a level 1 course over a 1 week period (6 hours class room, 12 hours field training) and then fly to Japan, get myself set up in the mountains and announce that I am here and available as a mountain guide. Just because Japan has a lacking of qualified guides it does not make any Joe who has completed a level 1 course a guide. http://www.avtraining.org/lvl1.htm The Canadian course level 1 seems a little more rigorous, but it still cant be enough to advertise yourself as a guide? http://avalanche.ca/Registration/course/CourseList.aspx?Type=L1 Link to post Share on other sites
montoya 0 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I have mixed feelings about guides I can see how they try to make a fun and safe experience, but I sometimes wonder if they make it too easy. How are you going to learn and grow if you are depending on someone else all the time to do the pre-planning, trail-breaking, route-finding, snowpack evaluation, etc? Then again, I see people out there on their own or with their buddies making stupid mistakes and wonder if they might in fact be better off with someone holding their hand. .. so I guess I'm still undecided about this one. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I would never want a guide who does not have the willingness and ability to teach, to part with their knowledge in a constructive way. Just because a dude looks and acts like the real McCoy mountain man is not much help (to me) if he lacks the ability to teach. So many experts can't teach or even help others to grow. They are very valuable personality traits. A guide that can't teach is very useful in the BC none the less. He is like a condom in between you and a hooker: essential for your safety in the moment, but of no use to you in the future. It is however a two way street. So many well intentioned BC clients turn up to their day of guided adventure all, keen to be in the guides pocket and come out better educated. The moment they realise how heavy their pack is and how hot the dun gets, they switch of the hunger to learn. Then they reach the end of the hike and see the powder bounty. The guide has already made his informed decision and the clients just want to rip. The next day the client decides 'that guide didn't teach me a thing'. I have seen it before. Link to post Share on other sites
torihada 2 Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 I've got 2 days BC tour booked with canyons in Jan. My first bc experience. Db: Quote: It is however a two way street....they (client) switch of the hunger to learn. I hope I can learn something, especially if it turns out its just me plus guide. I don't want to follow in someone’s footsteps (literally) and then just follow him down the mountain. I'm most interested in learning how to assess the dangers, how to pick a line, learning the practicals/principals of safety procedures. But I'm not kidding myself; I'm just a tourist having an excursion away from the piste. If I lived nearer mountains I would definitely be investing time & money in educating myself and hooking up with like-minded individuals. I am jealous of people here who have access to the bc and friends/colleagues who they trust enough to venture out with. So post your bc helmet cam adventures on Youtube and let us pistemonkeys salivate safely at home. Link to post Share on other sites
quattro 1 Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Fats Thanks for the info. I was kind of curious is there any good avi info for Japan on the web out there. Here is an example of one for Colorado . Info like this can be handy for people visiting the area. While it's not perfect it does give some insight to an area. Link to post Share on other sites
AK 77 0 Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Good thread. Qu: How high up did it snow last week - all the way to the top? It felt like it had snowed up to about the top of the gondola on Happo (height?), and then maybe sleet from there up, but was hard to tell from the snow on piste. Although the rain and subsequent freezing VERY bad for future snow stability, isn't a slow accumulation of more small layers better than one big dump at this time of year? I'm not saying it is any way safe out there, or that it will be safe in the future. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 torihada san, when are u booked? U staying with them as well? Was thinking about checking some outings w/ them but not sure if you have to be staying w/ them. Link to post Share on other sites
torihada 2 Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 SC: I'm staying for two nights at the Minakami Alpine Lodge 10th & 11th Jan for tours on 11th & 12th. I got (in my opinion) a good deal on accomodation and bc tour (at Kagura). According to their website you can do the bc without booking accomodation; canyons bc webpage I found out about the Alpine Lodge through SJ (opened last week). I was due to stay in resort at Oze Iwakura but thought this was too good an opportunity to pass up on. Beats riding on your lonesome. I've just got to concentrate on practicing my powder skills for the preceeding 2 weeks. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Good stuff torihada. Did not see on their site that I could book tours without staying with them, I must have missed it, so good to hear. I'll get in touch with them. I saw their site on SJ, the accomodations and packages look good. I am more looking for some steep lines around Tenjin, but they do not seem to advertise it as a destination on their tours. Anyway, Kagura is a top spot, You'll really enjoy it, good place to sharpen your BC skills. Enjoy! Link to post Share on other sites
torihada 2 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 SC: According to the link I posted above its 12,000 Yen for a days bc tour. There's a link on that page to accomodation packages. Yep! Kagura will definitely stretch my skills, I'm really looking forward to it (sorry too old to use the word stoked) Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Just in case no one noticed, this thread and conditions report was for Jan 06. Anyway - Torihada... have fun with your guide. Compared to a lot of Europe, 12,000yen is pretty inexpensive if they deliver a seriously good tour, not just supervised rope ducking. If you get a good guide then he will talk along and answer questions. But remember, you have to ask the questions first, even if you are out of breath. The other issue that gets in the way of education is that you almost always walk behind your guide in the track. Skinning/snowshoeing can be noisy and speed (or at least uninterrupted progress) is important. The end result is that chatting on the move is not very easy or productive. Once you get up and going you may not stop for a while. I suggest that before you get moving, ask the guide to point out the route you will take and more importantly, why you take that route and what the snow pack is like. Tell him you heard about windslab and ask him to point any out along the way (not that he would guide you over a big thick example of it in the first place). If you don't have one at the time then buy a compass from the 100 yen shop and when you are hiking notice the change in snow under your feet as the aspect of the slope changes. Stuff like that will add more to your day than simply walking along waiting fro the ride down. All your posts sound pretty outdoors anyway, so I am pretty sure that how you would approach the day without my advice. I will have the helmet cam out in action this Friday. Its a heavy and bulky addition to my back pack but I think it will produce some great footage so long as I make the effort to use it properly. Link to post Share on other sites
torihada 2 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 db; cheers for the advice. Half the problem is knowing what questions to ask, as sometimes you don't know what you're looking at. This is exactly what I want to know; why are we taking this route to the summit/ridge/whatever, how do you work out the degree of a slope, identifying different snow conditions after rain, sun etc.Things that are benefical for whenever you're in the mountains. Funny what you said; I was just packing a compass in my pack. I actually never travel without one (even driving in a foreign country a compass is a godsend). Definitely looking forward to seeing some of the up and coming viva la steep productions Woollyman and I are comparing our toys in another thread; helmet cams Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Yeah too old to use that word here as well! It's for young peeps w/ pimples (kiddin) Link to post Share on other sites
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