damian 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 Check this thread again in 3 months. Feel for me man, feel for me. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 Come on you cant be that busy. You make good coin and get to due weekends in france. Ill swap you a year. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Author Share Posted October 30, 2004 Dunno man, perhaps BagofCrisps or 2(warm, flat)PintsMate can confirm it, but a weekend trip from London requires big effort/expense, way more than waking up in Tokyo at 3.30am and being on the gondola by 8.30am. Even that was not ideal but hell, it is the only city in the world that supports the industry I am in and yet still lets you catch a train to the snow. My first day last season when Ender and I met you up in Tsugaike (one of my fav haunts). That was a day trip and I had been out to dinner until midnight the previous evening, then came home, had a snooze, picked up my gear then met you on the snow. First day of the season, powder, under the rope, tree gullies, back home again that night. I miss that opportunity. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 PS then why did you leave? Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 Quote: it is the only city in the world that supports the industry I am in and yet still lets you catch a train to the snow You're not looking hard enough. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 DB, rain can be fun. Why don't you just find ways to enjoy rain. There are lots, I'm sure. It can really be fun. I like it. It's even sexy if you think of it as being wet and things like that. Yes, rain >>> fun. And a bonus - I hear it rains quite a bit in the UK over winter. So you can have fun! Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Author Share Posted October 30, 2004 Cripes GG, now your trying to tell me rain is sexy?? I actually do have very good Mtn Boarding hills near to my house and I bet they get good and muddy in the RAIN. My dog might enjoy chasing me down the hill though. I actually once took my dog up to Tsugaike. I wanted to bring him up the hill with me but Fattwins said he would attract the ski patrol . I thought about taking him as an "av rescue aide" but he is too stupid for that (not Fattwins, my dog). Goemon: Zurich is tha bomb for banking + European snow. The guy I work very closely with has a girl in Zurich. He flies home every weekend on Friday evening to see her. By 8am Saturday morning they are up in the mountains. Fattwins: I left Japan 6 months ago and have not stopped complaining since. On the up side, I have found a week long BC Intro course that does heaps of av safety, awareness, search n rescue, abseiling, crevasse and glacier rescue plus other rope work, trekking, camping etc etc in Europe. After the week long course I can then rest my legs and bump over into a week long heli course which depending on the weather has between zero and 3 hours trekking per day. Heli drops in both Italy and Switzerland. OR.... I can have a few weeks break and then go back in early April for week that does the following: "Helidrop on the shoulder of Monta Rosa at the staggering height of 4300m, a huge day trip that offers vertical descents totalling an impressive 7500m. Val veni: 1500m vertical drop, without hiking. It's one of Ralf's secret spots, with really nice couloirs 40-45 degree and not too exposed. Point Helbronner: Backcountry freeride capital of Italy, steep, huge vertical drop, no people, no pistes, awesome food at the mid station. Les Contamines/Mejeve: 30 min drive, good for stormy powder days good riding with small hikes which link the two resorts. 15min walk for 1500/1200 meter vertical runs, usually untracked Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 Just feeling sorry for you (as instructed) and trying to cheer you up. Admittedly clutching at straws. Sorry " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" /> Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 By the way, how is your dog? You got him back at your side yet? Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 DB - you've got your ipod, right. What else you need? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 db im sure your company will let you back into japan. About that dog.... Considering I had no success avoiding patrol that day...... I believe that I was wrong about your dog. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 31, 2004 Author Share Posted October 31, 2004 GG - your sympathy giving is first class. Dog is well pissed off with me after 6 months quarantine that was required after a J vet screwed up the inoculation process. He is released from prison next week at which stage we are going directly to the heath and hunting squirrels. Today I am off to by a gay looking Vespa and a special back pack to carry my dog in whilst riding. he weighs about 14kg now so I have to starve him back down to a reasonably easy to carry 10kg. V - after iPod come the following needs in life: surf, snow, sex. FT - you only got busted 'cause you decided to sneak your way out of that gully on your own, leaving the rest of us to pop right out in front of the waiting patrol. Didn't go to plan, hey? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 sorta but it sounds worse saying it that way I waited 15mins, plus I had a seasons pass to protect. Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Dear Britain. One consolation for you is the wide variety of good cheeses available to you over there, especially compared to here in Japan. What a choice. A cheese for every occasion. I hope you are making the most of the cheese opportunities open to you whilse living in a cheese-loving country. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 Good to hear about your dog DB, I hope he's not too pissed off with you and he forgives you. Give him some chips, he'll like you then. (For some strange reason, lots of dogs don't like crisps - some weird doggy thing, I dunno) Link to post Share on other sites
taguchi 0 Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 Are you going to be travling to some place in Europe this winter to enjoy the snow over there? Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by Dear Britain: On the up side, I have found a week long BC Intro course that does heaps of av safety, awareness, search n rescue, abseiling, crevasse and glacier rescue plus other rope work, trekking, camping etc etc in Europe. After the week long course I can then rest my legs and bump over into a week long heli course which depending on the weather has between zero and 3 hours trekking per day. Heli drops in both Italy and Switzerland. OR.... I can have a few weeks break and then go back in early April for week that does the following: "Helidrop on the shoulder of Monta Rosa at the staggering height of 4300m, a huge day trip that offers vertical descents totalling an impressive 7500m. Val veni: 1500m vertical drop, without hiking. It's one of Ralf's secret spots, with really nice couloirs 40-45 degree and not too exposed. Point Helbronner: Backcountry freeride capital of Italy, steep, huge vertical drop, no people, no pistes, awesome food at the mid station. Les Contamines/Mejeve: 30 min drive, good for stormy powder days good riding with small hikes which link the two resorts. 15min walk for 1500/1200 meter vertical runs, usually untracked Yah I want to feel sorry for you Link to post Share on other sites
A lawyer 0 Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 A slight upside there, if ever there was one. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 3, 2004 Author Share Posted November 3, 2004 It is quite an upside... if I could just get myself booked on the trip then I would be set. I do miss Japan winter though. Tonight I risked the pain of watching an old Japanese snowboard dvd that I scored from some of the crew that made/appeared on it (whom I met during a rather intense day at a rather seedy night club in a rather quiet alley in Aoyama. The dvd is called More by Chapter Flex Co.) It all came back to me in a rush whilst watching it. The resorts, the POWDER, the crappy J hiphop, the crumby conbini food on the way to the snow, the cute and mega enthusiastic Japanese snowboard girls who hurl themselves at any lump in the snow trying to do 360’s and then make squeaky nasal noises at each other whilst flapping floppy hands in the air and tilting their head sideways. I am not even going to step onto a snowboard until friggin February!! I think I will just drug myself until then. Quote: Originally posted by BagOfCrisps: Good to hear about your dog DB, I hope he's not too pissed off with you and he forgives you. Give him some chips, he'll like you then. (For some strange reason, lots of dogs don't like crisps - some weird doggy thing, I dunno) I actually saw a real life pink packet of prawn flavoured Walkers today and I thought "theres BagOfCrisps". Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 3, 2004 Author Share Posted November 3, 2004 No need to feel 100% sorry for me any more, only a little sympathy is needed. I am now booked into a two week BC trip. The first week is the BC intro course in Chamonix and is detailed below and the second week is the heli week on the swiss/Italian alp boarder, details quoted above. I actually wanted to skip the heli week and spend my second week doing a more advanced BC course, but it was not possible to do back to back that way as there was a week break in between. So I chose the intro week followed by the heli week. At least this way I will get some rest after the slog of the first week and also get to max my run time rather than doing more trekking. I don't mind the trek but with only 2 weeks of snow time for the whole season, I want to get some runs in, so a week of heli is ok. Now I have to start buying some gear. They provide it all but I would rather learn with my own stuff, become familiar with it etc. I am also seriously thinking about soft booting/snow shoeing it this year rather than getting a split set-up. The reason being that I am convinced that the industry is on the verge of manufacturing special bindings and hard boots that are made specifically for split board touring AND riding. At the moment everyone seems to be kitted with a hybrid mix of gear from all sorts of alpine disciplines. I don't want to spend the cash yet and nor do I want to sacrifice the ride until the boots have the right flex for riding and the right stiffs for touring. Plus i am also not 100% convinced that the split board joining technology is offering the best ride. I have spoken to people who would still prefer a solid board for the best ride and snowshoes for the trek. My decisions is admittedly based on other peoples info, since I have not trialled any of this gear myself. "....This is the starting point from which you can enter into the world of the serious backcountry freerider and winter mountaineer. Taking you into the heart of the backcountry, this course teaches you how to look at, respect and learn from the terrain in which you ride. Throughout the week you will ride some of Chamonix's most breathtaking descents and learn to ride, hike and climb in safety through some of nature's wildest landscapes. With a strong emphasis on mountain safety, our introduction course covers in detail avalanche safety and awareness techniques includng transceiver searching, snow pack analysis and terrain risk analysis. During the week, you will also learn the rope techniques that are essential in order to travel safely through both steep and glaciated terrain (including abseiilng and crevasse rescue) and with two days of snowboard touring (hikes up to 2 to 3 hours) ......" Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 The Chapter crew hang out in Hakuba quite a bit and have a big party every season. A few of locals are on that vid. One of them brought it round my place last winter, but I've not seen it coz I've only just bought a dvd player. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 Don't try putting that vid in the dvd player now, Mr Wiggles. You'll need a DVD disc to play on there. They look like CDs. Check out the web for more info on DVD. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Quote: I actually saw a real life pink packet of prawn flavoured Walkers today and I thought "theres BagOfCrisps". Did you scoff the lot? Nice, aren't they. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by Dear Britain: Dunno man, perhaps BagofCrisps or 2(warm, flat)PintsMate can confirm it, but a weekend trip from London requires big effort/expense, I can confirm that one, even on the Eurostar doing 250+ kph, it takes a bloody long time to get from London to the Alps. I rememeber leaving London at about maybe 10am or and arriving in the French Alps at about 5pm, and that wasnt even a weekend trip that was a knee wrecking 6day epic. Glad Lloyd is finally free. Your plans for the BC and heli-ing sound wicked, get amongst it mate. Link to post Share on other sites
o'connell 0 Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Sounds like a top plan, mate. Let us know how it goes, I'll probably be in Europe myself next year. Link to post Share on other sites
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