Ah, the joy that is Hokkaido. After a brief delay due to some random food allergy (too much shrimp? Crab? Lychee?) I hit the slopes with full force. Monday AM was best; snowing all night so tons of fresh powder, and the sun played hide-and-seek with the fast-moving clouds, so the first several runs were brightly lit and fluffy.
Splayed all over the mountain, hitting Higashiyama, Hirafu, and Annupuri, but the best was the neck-deep powder directly under the covered-triple lift of Hirafu. Hit that several times, each time pushing higher up the slope and deeper into the snow. To stop is to sink and be buried, so I kept my nose up, my body low, and my back leg burning as I literally plowed snow all the way down.
I think I need new boots, though. My Burton step-in bindings are okay, but the boots are too soft and so I really have to work hard to make the board go. If I can get harder boots I'm good, but since only Burton boots work with the bindings, I may just buy new bindings and boots. Flows + Salomon seems the way to go...birthday present...?
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