Three days out

Just back from a three day shooting trip to the interior of Hokkaido or I.H. as I like to say. Great sunny day and then yesterday was cloudy and windy, but at least it didn’t rain like it did here in Sapporo and most of the west coast of Hokkaido.

My favorite cheap gas stand “Moda”

Oh yes!

40 cm fresh pow

Mino hiking for an early morning line

Yatto and Oku-chan show up a little later.

Late afternoon Sled mission.

My breakfast in the car

My home.

Sun burned, and happy mountain face.

New DVD’s

Some new DVDs arriving here at the house. My long time friend and video producer Mitsuya has produced a new film entitled “Wonder Vision”. I went to the preview a few weeks ago and was pretty stoked on the movie. Filmed all in high vision, he is even releasing the movie on Blue Ray disc here is Japan. Might be hard to find a copy of this movie as he doesn’t use a major distributor, but you should be able to find a copy at the more “hard core” stores around Sapporo.

I ordered this movie from Visualize Image and it arrived today. Haven’t even watched it yet, but have heard a lot of good things. Supposed to be a very cool Avalanche documentary. That reminds me of the funniest sign I have ever seen in my life. A classic Japanese misspelling of the English word avalanche. This is from a sign at the top of Niseko Village (Higashiyama). “Do not enter ABBA Lunch testing in progress.” ABBA Lunch, wow! I want a t-shirt with that printed on it.

Watch the preview below.

Sled Head

I am turning into a sled head. All I think about is sledding now, snowboarding has lost a lot of its appeal. Ok, maybe it is not that bad, but it could happen. Sledding is a lot of fun. Today we rode for about 50 kilometers, around Nakayama mountain pass. Two days ago it rained all the was to the top of the mountain pass. Now it has gotten cold again and snowed about a foot. The hard layer underneath is very very hard crust. It made for some difficult snowmobiling conditions. Very slippery on the downhill sections and also the steep climbs. I was doing great until I got stuck four time in a row trying to get out of a tough spot. Thanks to the boys for digging me out! Ue, Yatto, Oku-chan and Akiyata-san!

Re-gluing my skins

Finally got a few minutes to work on re-gluing my split board skins today. Bought Black Diamond re-glue application at Shugakusou a few weeks ago but never had the time. One of my skins was really bad, almost no glue left and after hiking for about an hour there was a thick layer of snow between the board and the skin.

Also just today I happened to be checking out FYI Design departments blog and there was a post about some split board specific bindings.  Check this out.  Looks pretty interesting for people using the Viole split board system.  I am still on the Burton system, but since they don’t make it any more it is only a matter of time before I also switch over.  Will look at getting a pair of these binding a.s.a.p

If you want to see how they perform under tough conditions watch the video below.  Jeremy Jones uses this binding to climb and ride a crazy chute.  The helmet cam footage convinced me that I would never want to follow him down.  If fact I don’t think I could even make the climb up….  I am such a spoiled little Japowder wimp.  Respect to Jeremy!

[ak] movie package

The [ak] movie arrived yesterday.  First look at the special promo DVD in a package.  Nice artwork and the package looks great.  This is a super limited run of 1000, so it is going to be hard to get your hands on one.  Try one of the Burton stores, or a store that stocks a lot of Burton gear here in Japan.  Or just go to www.vimeo.com and download the HD files and burn yourself a copy!

Welcome home!

Nature welcomed me home today with 60 cm of heavy snow all over my front yard.  My neighbor came over with the bulldozer and we worked for two hours to clear just in front of the house.  The single biggest snow fall that I have ever seen here.

The picture does not do it justice, but what you see right there is a whole lot of work!

My savior

Buried in and locked out.

Two hours later things are looking good.

 

Befoef

Best shots yesterday

Sunset yesterday

Typical Hokkaido weather.

It was hard packed with a thin layer of snow on top yesterday.  Rough conditions to ride in, but Hiroshi makes it look really good with this powder spray.

[ak] movie part two

The [ak] movie got some more coverage from the nice people at “Something in the woods”  

 

Check out what they have to say about the film.

 

Burton Japan got Neil Hartmann the guy behind the Car Danchi series to create a promo movie featuring the Burton Japan AK team. Filmed in Japan you can expect one thing, powder and a lot of it. Enjoy part one of this two part series as along with a lot of pow turns, the graphics and music makes you want to pack your bags and search for fresh tracks.

Ok now go check out part two which I posted about two days ago. Check it out here.

[ak] movie Part 2 from Neil Hartmann on Vimeo.

Niseko warm and stormy

Arrived in Niseko yesterday, everything looked pretty tracked out.  It was a grey bird kind of day, but everyone was out riding and no new snow was falling.  I went for a few runs last night at Niseko village, formerly Higashiyama.  I was disappointed to find out that they don’t run the two man chair for the night session anymore.  That was one of the best night riding spots I have ever experienced, now they just have two short chair lifts for the beginners running.  Ahh the good old days….

Woke up this morning to find that it had rained over night.  Shocked.  Plus 3 degrees high temp in Niseko today.  The winds were super strong and it was foggy over the top half of the mountain.  We got in two runs before the gondola closed, after that we spent the day riding the lifts and cruising around practicing jib tricks while looking for little snow stashes on the side of the courses.

Hiroshi finds some powder among the Niseko trees.

Narufumi joined the trip and brought along a rare Piranha board to ride.

Ue high up in the trees.  

On the move

Hitting the road tomorrow, on my way to Niseko for four days of shooting with HF and the Sapporo Script crew. Niseko is getting absolutely blasted right now. Some of the biggest snowfalls of the season are hitting the area right now so I am looking forward to it! We will be staying at the Hilton in Niseko Village, say hi if you see us on the lifts from tomorrow.

Burton camera bag set up for still photography.  My personalized insert.  Actually two inserts for extra protection.

Sony video FX-1000, flash set up, and two extra bags.

Lowepro base camp bag.  This is what I use to carry all my back up camera’s and extra gear, flashes etc.,

Box with more flash related gear, Hasselblad camera, etc.,

Ready to go.