Playing Catch up?

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May 6th 2007

Published: May 6th 2007

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uchi_d

Back in Sydney

LAst dinner before heading back to japan..

Hmm… well its must be at least 7,8 months since I last updated this blog, no excuses really, just been really busy and living in a place with no internet connection which has been both a blessing and a curse at the same time.
So I’ll try and update my movements since my last blog as briefly as I can, and then as usual, just leave it up to the pics to take care of the rest.

- Last year Nov-Dec: finally made my way home to Aus, was great seeing everyone and getting my dose of proper sunshine, vegemite, woolworths and walking around bare foot without being looked at like a homeless bum (that’s a no-no in Japan)..

- 06’07’ season: The snow fall this season was nothing compared to last season, which made it a lot easier to focus on other things that needed to get done and that evil word - work. All in all was still a great season and got into back country riding, learning more about avalanches and how they occur, how to test for them etc. which was really interesting. Did a few hikes here, up Mt. Yotei, Nimi, Iwao and

Back in Sydney

Chewy, me and Doof...

Asahidake and realized the stages in every climb where you start off really excited thinking ‘this is great’ and can’t get your gear on fast enough, this changes to a slight ‘my legs are tired, my bag and board is a bit heavy’ after another few hours, this changes to ‘why am I doing this? Is it too late to turn around?’ to ‘I’m soooo tired, my legs are numb’ after that your body and mind disconnect, and my body was almost like a machine, just going up one leg after the other, me on the other hand I just feel like I am sitting along enjoying the ride, like being on a train or something, its really weird. But all in all, there’s no better feeling than when you reach the top and have lunch / beer and take it all in.

- During the season heaps of ppl came up to visit which was great and kept the season really interesting. We also checked out other resorts like Furano, Rutsusu and Kiroro and had awesome park riding sessions once the powder was gone.

- Feb: Sou and Ai-chans wedding. These two met when Sou came to

Mt. Asahidake

4 hr hike to the top, leathal ride down on rocks hidden by thin layers of snow, had the funeral of one of my boards here.

visit one season at the lodge where I was working and she was a guest. Less than two years later I am at their wedding, was my first traditional Japanese wedding and did my best to get my speech out in Japanese after downing more than a few drinks to calm the nerves. The ceremony was really an amazing process with heaps of processes that have their own meanings, like rotating and passing a branch with leaves to each other, and recitation of traditional scripts etc. etc. I stopped asking what each meant after about the first ten and just sat back and enjoyed the show. Trevor and I spent the following 5 days cruising Hiroshima and this island (forgot the name) which was really cool. I’ll leave it up to the pics for that one.

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