My lot in life has afforded me the opportunities to do amazing things. Things that most folks will never get the chance to experience. I am truly blessed for all these moments. Traveling across the planet to ski the deepest powder of my life in Japan ranks right up there. We had a lot of projects to tackle in Japan for Telemark Skier Magazine, so I won't go into all too much detail about the trip. We will be putting out a whole issue dedicated to the area, as well as part of our digital movies next fall. I have fallen in love with the north island of Japan, Hokkaido. So much so that I am considering ways to spend time there every January for the rest of my life.
^Dave Magoffin(Left) and Ben Geiger(Right) strolling the bustling bright streets of Tokyo.
Ben and photoman, Jon Gurry(Right), digging into the local fare. The food was so pure, fresh, and all around delicious. We were amazed at the quality every where we ate.
^Our Niseko home, the YHA Niseko Fujiyama Karimpani. Max and his family run a beautiful, clean, and warm hostel on the north side of Niseko. It is out in the country and offers fantastic food and an ideal place to wind down after a big day.
^Niseko United is a conglomeration of a bunch of ski resorts on the slopes of Mt. Annupuri.
^Dave is making some turns for Jon and his handy camera.
^Wow.
^The peak is sacred,...
^and the turns are deep.
^Super deep.
^Sick sunset exit.
^Traditional evening entertainment.
^Weird things.
^Max is the owner of the hostel, and he gets out to ski when he can. When he does get to make some turns, he turns them telemark style!
^I was able to interview the head of the Niseko Avalanche Institute. He is an amazing man.
^Night skiing in Niseko is a party. A dance party.
^Dance, dance, dance...
^...all night long.
^Highway touring...
^...on deeply snow covered roads.
^Over the river and through the woods...
^...to tits deep turns we go.
^Glades, and glades, and more glades.
^Touring on the volcano under bluebird skies.
^The house of the rising sun does a pretty good set too.
^Mt. Yotei. Nailed it!
^I wish I could share more of the stories with you all here, but your just gonna have to buy a subscription to Telemark Skier Magazine. You can believe me when I say that the trip was all time. You will have to tune in to the magazine next fall to find out why. As I boarded my sunrise flight to leave I gave thanks for the crew I had with me, the great fortune that graced our trip, and the little bit of magic that came together to make this a trip of a lifetime.