Flywalker

Rode the margarita mix last Thursday with RC10's and a Dynastar 3800. Totally and completely AWESOME!

Thanks Masahiko!!

l believe it was sent to my friend Masahiko for $80. Can't remember who Ursle used though... l'll ask Masahiko today.

Actually... a metal 4WD would be a damn nice board.

LOVE it! You may have seen it before... Boris bought it from another BOLer either this season or towards the end of last season. He and Roy were riding around with the Kessler plates/risers but found it just a touch too soft for them. l fall almost smack in the middle of the weight zone without the risers(which can stiffen the flex) for the board so it was a no brainer when it came up. Actually Boris saved my holiday since the Kessler essentially replaced the FLC that l sent back. lt feels a little slow going from edge to edge compared to what l remember and what l have test-ridden this season at 22.5cm... my only mild criticism. However, the edge POWER, manoeuvrability, stability and overall rideability is just awesome. l've been in all sorts of conditions including a crack at some gate training and the board was more than up to the task. lf l ever have a board custom built for me l will stick with the same VSR. Really, really love the hook at the end! Actually that hook is the closer. lt'll complete that "C" shape that l strive to make without locking in so hard you can't break free. l'd probably go with a 21.5cm waist but totally down with the VSR spec (^_^)

That board is going to RIP! Don't be so worried about the Kessler pedigree. l have a 171/22.5/10-14-12M VSR Kessler which goes anywhere no problem. You are going to love it! What bindings did you decide on, Randy? Still toying with the TD3 SW's? Probably the gentlest binding for your knees, l reckon.

Hi posted to your hotmail account.

lnterested. Can you send me a PM?

Hi! As above, hoping to track down a 3 degree 4x4 cant plate. Let me know (^_^)

LOL! My pleasure(^_^) lf you kind of squint and turn the mag at an angle it gets easier to read. At least that's what my Japanese teacher tells me.

Quality statement!

At Kiroro, most, if not all the carvers spend the day on Nagamine 1 and 3 on the left side of the trail map. Definitely the best runs on the mountain!

Hey Tom, Wow... tight schedule! l'm going to Rusutsu tomorrow and back again on Thursday although l'll be skiing then. lf there are any legs left underneath me l will try to go to Kiroro on Friday if you're planning to ride that day. ln any case l will call you Thursday evening to check in. l'm going back to Kiroro on Sunday for my first crack at proper gate training... first and last for the season. l had two passes last Saturday at Mt. Racey with those guys l had mentioned in my earlier post and would like to try again before the season wraps up. Then... l have to go to Tokyo on business Sunday night. Not keen at all. Will need to bring my own water for two days.

Appreciate the comments (^_^) Furano... yeah l have heard good things. Glad to hear you had a great week! Give is a shout when you're back this way. Two Ravens..LOL! l got off lightly on that little exchange. Hopefully by the time l have a chance to ride pow again l'll be a little less of a flailer. Vertical is 1950 feet. This was shot a little more than a month ago so please don't take it as current snow conditions. Audio courtesy of Mt. Eden. Tracks are Sierra Leone and Gambler. NZ band. My friend who did they editing is a kiwi.

It isn't the best footage but my friend did what he could with it. The camera was on my head and the angles aren't well sorted yet... but... it was a FUN day! http://b.static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/v1/yf/r/wn29KX6UvhD.swf?v=10150122796067336&ev=0

+2 Sweet board that excels at the soft stuff and can still rip a great carve. Thanks Roy (^_^)

Hi Tom! l'll be here through those days so drop me a line and we'll get out there. l'm on Spring vacation until April 11th. We should be able to check out a couple of places. Where have you based yourself? l'm really amazed at the number of riders here. lt'll do wonders for my language skills too if l have some local friends that don't speak English. l'm actually meeting up with a few guys from that club this Saturday. Don't know where we're going yet... maybe Kamui. There is still plenty of snow but it's melting fast. Nothing to worry about next week, though. Niseko still has 400+cm. Kiroro, Teine, Rusutsu still all have 250+cms. Snow in the forecast and cooler temperatures as well. Should be lots to do when you arrive.

Met up with my very first local hard booter today after stumbling upon each other here on BOL. Masahiko and his 16 year old son were waiting for me at Kiroro resort... somewhere l had never been before, either. At his suggestion, he lent me the narrowest board l had ever ridden before by a brand l had never ridden either: a new Donek FC II Olympic 171. At 19.5 cm it was a little weird hopping onto it. l had my binding angles set to the steepest they have ever gone... 55B/62F. This was also my first time riding a VSR board. FUN! lt was snappy and really quick from edge to edge and remarkably comfy to be riding at such steep(for me) angles. The only thing that threw me off at the beginning was the whole VSR thing. l didn't even realize it was a VSR board until l read the label behind the rear binding. No wonder l was getting spat out at the end of turns like someone had just squirted a shot of nitrous up me! Anyway, stopping the whole rocking forward and back through the turn sorted that out. Then... on went the Donek plate. Although the set up was HEAVY with TD3 SW's etc. once it was on the snow the extra weight just disappeared. l could make surprisingly tight turns for a board that is 11/13. Sure didn't expect that! There were LOADS of other carvers on the mountain. l have never seen so many in one place before! Apparently this was a typical Sunday at this time of year. The group Masahiko rides with gets up to 20 at times. l also learned that every Tuesday and Thursday evening his club(imagine that... a carving club) train gates at a resort very close to my home. The season at that place is coming to an end but my wife and l will definitely be getting involved next season. l am already stoked for next year!

You can swap them no problem. There are metal disks out there but they are nowhere ner as common as the plastic ones. l have never broken a plastic one. ln any case they are all the same shape.

Yup... fair enough. Gas here is cruising at 145 yen/litre. Still not too bad. lt was up to 200 yen/litre a couple of years ago with all that oil speculation that went on.

This guy needs to shut his pie hole. You know... Listening to all the fear-mongering coming in from foreign news channels makes me glad, for the first time, that the average Japanese person cannot understand English. lf the $hit does in fact hit the fan the most important thing will be to keep a semblance of calm. Panic and chaos from 120,000,000 people will do nothing to help the situation here.

You know... Listening to all the fear-mongering coming in from foreign news channels makes me glad, for the first time, the the average Japanese person cannot understand English. lf the $hit does in fact hit the fan the most important thing will be to keep a semblance of calm. Panic and chaos from 120,000,000 people will do nothing to help the situation here.

Sorry it's a facebook link. Perhaps someone can lift it out? http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1605260179420&comments

l am running new race plates(new heel/toe bails) on my free ride board and SW's on my carving board. Both give me exactly what l am looking for: performance AND flexibility. You can easily upgrade your current race plates by giving them new bails(0.5mm thicker too) or throw down more of your hard earned and splash out on the SW's. Neither one will let you down. Both will give you a plush ride AND reliability. Have a quick chat with your wallet and... choose!

We're just fine, thanks for your concern. Up here in Hokkaido the ground shook quite hard but no serious damage to any buildings has been reported. At the time of the first shock l was driving and couldn't feel anything until l was stopped at a light. Then, the ground moved like an HGV truck had just driven by... but there was no truck. Saturday and Sunday were spent all day in the mountains. Seems both of us had a few better than average EC turns... not sure if they were extreme or emergency... but we were both happier to be in the mountains than in the city. Our only noticeable result of the quake was total loss of internet and phone capability for 3 days. Japan's largest provider... KDDI... definitely fumbled the ball. PR nightmare for sure. My work phone is connected to the same provider that exclusively sells the iPhone and it was still operational... which has just given me the reason l need to switch. Amazing, shocking and frightening pics and footage of the carnage that went on south of us, though. Complete communities.... gone. Looking at the footage now is just morbidly incredible. The nuclear reactor is close to 600 kms away so we are in no immediate danger. Hopefully they can get that situation fully under control quickly!