56 replies to this topic

[db le p]

It's good fun, hey! I am trying to arrange one more mountaineering/boarding trip next week but failing terribly at this stage. I also promised SJ.com a feature about Mont Blanc, but was to busy surfing to write.... perhaps soon.

Snowshoes: get yourself a pair of MSR Denali Ascents. They are as tough as buggery and really work well. Excellent equipment for snow and low angle mixed rock/snow/ice travel. I have my doubts about the very latest super light MSR shoes (orange ones). But that is another topic. None the less, good tough grippy snow shoes and poles are a vital combo in snowboard touring (if you dont split, that is)

As for our safety gear.... in addition to beacon, shovel and probe, mobile phone:

I have a little waterproof tough bag. It is called my 'emergency bag' and is surprisingly compact and holds the following.
- spare thermal base layer
- spare beanie
- spare thin gloves (basic woollen ones)
- small gas canister
- really tiny gas burner
- tea bags and sugar
- cig lighter
- mini head torch
- list of phone numbers incl. local rescue numbers
- spare beacon batteries

Most of that stuff is useful after you are rescued from an avalanche and are freezing cold, wet to the skin and in shock, or if you simply get caught is appalling weather and have to spend the night at 3000m in a snow cave. My girlfriend carries her own equivalent bag.

We also carry
- Emergency sleeping bag (vacuum packed so very small but warm. We have one each). http://www.blizzardprotectionsystems.com/acatalog/index.html#prod_bag
- metal hiking cup pushed onto the end of my PET water bottle (it is a perfect fit)
- one compass each, and I have an altimeter watch.

There is another smaller waterproof bag that carries the first aid stuff. We don't take much.
- mixed strong pain killers and anti-inflammatory
- a sling
- a long elastic bandage for splinting
- one SAM splint (light and very useful)
- bandaids for blisters.

Then I have a small bag with non-essentials:
- multi-tool
- duck tape
- 2 feet of bicycle inner tube (essential for snowboard binding strap replacement*)
- 1 foot of 1mm wire

>>Would your girlfriend be strong enough to get you off the mountain if you were incapacitated?
I have a lot of confidence and trust in my girlfriend. Se is level headed, immensely strong willed and independently capable. Once she gets a bit more alpine experience she would be able to assist me in nearly any accident that incapacitated me. She has undertaken her Level 1 avalanche course with me and we always talk through different scenarios of disaster in the car and as we tour. Her beacon search skills are excellent. She has performed really well in several multiple burial simulations (4 victims), including digging out 'victims' buried down to 1m. The only thing she cant do is set up a Z-pulley (or similar) required to pull me out of a crevasse. It works like a block-and-tackle ratio pulley. If I am unable to prussic out due to injury then she has to haul me out, and setting up the required system on your own is hard work. We very seldom tour unguided on glaciers, but when we do we are wearing harnesses and roped up to arrest the other person's fall (quite easy to do). Our crevasse exit strategy is to always stop the situation getting any worse and if the other can't climb out, we call for help. This is not uncommon in Chamonix. So long as you can contain the situation, have the correct equipment and call for help, yo are ok (alpine heli rescue is also free in the Haute Savoie region of France, so long as you were not taking stupid risks). Next season she will have to get ice screws, a camming device like a Ropeman, clips and slings etc (basic crevasse rescue kit) and do a course on how to use it. Having said that, I could do with a refresher myself. As for the basics, she has become a very competent navigator an can easily find our position using a topo map and physical features and/or compass. She actually gets a lot of satisfaction using map and compass, which is nice to see. In the frequent cases where we do not have two maps (one each), she knows all the required location info to call in a rescue in case I am buried with the map.

* inner tube works well: you take the binding off and loop the tube around the whole binding once or twice. Then screw the binding back on the board and tie you foot to the board. There are other useful techniques as well.

That was a Bloody long answer

[Rag-Doll]

Long but good, thanks. Does your GF have a sister?

[2pints,mate]

...who lives in London?

[Ocean11]

> Se is level headed, immensely strong willed and independently capable.

She also says 'Enjoy. Over' on the radio when you drop into your couloir.

We want to see boat pics to go with the 'Enjoy. Over' voice.

[db le p]

hmmm, I agree. "enjooooy" and "over" are funny together. But I applaud her for sticking to procedure as requested (directed).

I have very strict requirements that correct RTP (radio telephone procedure) be adhered to at all times. A two way radio is not a device for idle shibuya keitai chatter. It is a tool for the efficient passage of information by questions, answers and statements. Disciplined RTP will always draw conclusion to a question, answer or statement wit the keyword 'OVER'. The other party may not speak until such time. Only with this discipline can efficient and accurate communication be maintained.

Care must also be taken with words that are used, eg:

'am I in the correct spot? over'

'you are in the right spot. over'

'do i need to go to the right??? How far to the right? over'

...and so the confusion goes on.

This is a real example with my girlfriend.

I have been described as a 'very strict' touring partner.

And don't tell me to 'relax a little'. I'll relax a little when people start doing what they are bloody well told

ps - she has a sister but not of the BC snowboard variety, or anything close. sorry

and sorry to rag doll for the diversion on his thread.

[Ocean11]

> Only with this discipline can efficient and accurate communication be maintained.

Gunjin dakara sa.

[db le p]

dunno gunjin, nor the meaning of 'sa' on the end.

But I am going to run with the odds and feel offended

[Ocean11]

No need to be offended.

It means, "That's because one is a military man", hence the strict radio procedures and firm direction of subordinates.

[pie-eater]

Intestesting read RagDoll, thanks for sharing.

[hairy-biker]

How good a boarder are you Rag-Doll? I'd love to give it a go next year.

[Rag-Doll]

HB – Your question is difficult to answer because a part from being very subjective any answer would depend on a ton of conditions and factors. To give you some idea of my level - I’ve been riding for about 5 years and spend most of my time looking for ways to get into the trees and/or powder and/or steeps. When I was living in Japan I was getting about 20 days a season and spending no more than an hour or two in the park each year. I can hold my own against those of my friends who I consider to be good or very good skiers. I don’t know whether that makes me a good or just an average boarder or just a poor judge of skier.

Perhaps a better question is how good does one need to be to be able to ride Fuji. The BC boys on here might be able to express this in better terms but for me I reckon you need to be confident* that you can negotiate safely and in control the mix of terrain and snow conditions you’re likely to encounter on the mountain. Fuji isn’t all that steep. Judging slope angles is difficult but I wouldn’t say that the top is steeper than 40 degree and it’s probably closer to 35 max. The shoulder of the mountain would be lucky to be 30 degrees and in some places it is a lot less. Some of the photos show the angle and the short vid I posted on SJ give a good indication as well. The tricky thing about Fuji is two fold – firstly there are areas on the mountain that have a lot of obstacles, including very sharp rocks, metal stakes, signs, cement blocks, wire, ledges and walls etc. you need to be in control at all times on a variety of snow conditions and secondly it’s a high mountain and the weather can change quickly and so can visibility, therefore you need to be able to get off the mountain quickly without too much fuss.

I should say that I’m only talking about the boarding ability/experience that I think a person would need. There are a lot of other BC safety issues that need to be addressed by anybody having a go at Fuji. Climbing Fuji isn’t difficult (geriatrics climb Fuji in the summer) and on a clear day like we had there were all sorts of people having a go but if you’re going to ride Fuji you’re going to want to pick that ideal mid-period when it is early enough in the season so there is still enough snow to make it worth while and late enough in the season to avoid the worst of the weather; too late and it’s hardly worth it – too early and you can find yourself in serious trouble.

* This has to be an honest no bullshit assessment based on your past boarding experience. If I was pressed for an objective standard, I would say that if you avoid some slopes at Japanese resorts because they’re too difficult or too technical then you should avoid Fuji as well.

[Tohoku bum]

I enjoyed the read, and have thought about skiing Fuji myself, but what has stopped me is the fact that many Japanese consider Fuji to be a holy place, home to kami. Some even consider the mountain itself a kami. Quite a large percentage of "hikers" are not hikers at all, but pilgrims on pilgrimage.

I'm all for a good ski adventure, but not a few Japanese would be unforgivingly displeased at the very thought of boarding/skiing Fuji. I like rock climbing too, but I wouldn't boulder on the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Even if nobody saw me or tried to stop me at either, my respect for them as holy places does.


Sorry, it had to be said.

[db le p]

gee, those pilgrims sure dump a lot of man-made garbage on the slopes of Fuji.

Not to mention the 117 golf courses, roller-coaster and live firing military range used by the Japanese and US Armies.

holy fuji!

[griller]

Those people leaving garbage and creating roller-coasters must all be gaijin.

[Rag-Doll]

Well said Spud.

Tohoku Bum – Mate, that is a fair enough sentiment but I reckon it is a little misplaced in this instance. Leaving aside for the moment the arbitrariness of deciding that it’s ok to turn the mountain into a tourist attraction (with all the problems that that involves, including vending machines) but that it is not ok to slide down it – we saw other people climbing Fuji on that day with the aim of boarding/skiing down it, but we didn’t see any other foreigners.

[Tohoku bum]

Several years ago, I visited a shrine built into the wall of a river ravine with some Japanese and western friends. Two of the westerners in our group thought it would be fun to go cliff jumping there. I'm sure they had fun, but our Japanese friends (not to mention the other Japanese at the shrine) although they smiled, were quite angered and embarrased by the whole thing, and told me so after the two had left. My Japanese friends were 2 young, cool, open-minded, not particularly religious Japanese guys--imagine what the older, more conservative, religious Japanese there thought.

I'm talking about decorum.

A bunch of people (foreign or not) snowboarding or skiing down Fuji (some whooping and hollering) detracts from the sense of awe that those old people hiked ten hours to experience (and may never be able to do again in their lives), much more (apparently) than some litter does.

Besides, does the fact that some Japanese people litter on Fuji make it ok for me to litter on Fuji? No. Why should that be an excuse for me to ski or snowboard there? Or even the fact that Japanese board/ski it? What ever happened to leading by example? Isn't that what Noguchi is trying to do?

There's plenty of other mountains in Japan. Why not give Fuji a rest?

[Rag-Doll]

TB - mate we could go around in circles all day with this. I respect the sentiment and appreciate that your comments are well intended, but I honestly don't beleive that our riding Fuji was any more offensive or less offensive than the behaviour of the rest of the people on the mountain that day. Fuji isn't a temple and we weren't acting in appropriately on the peak.

Perhaps some of the native Japanese members of the forum could offer some insight into how a Japanese person views snow boarding/skiing Fuji. Echineko, Akibun, Akafuji, Snowconnection, Gamera - Any comments?

[Creek Boy]

Do you honestly think that its OK to climb Fuji, have vending machines on it, and bomb it etc but skiing or boarding it isnt?

That seems a bit silly to me. As does comparing "the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem" to Mt. Fuji as well. Quite different IMO.

[Bushpig]

Pretty much all mountains/hills in Japan are considered to house kami (gods) if you really get into the old beliefs of Shinto and the animistic beliefs preceding it. By that very fact, then the Japanese building resorts on moutains, not to mention bulldozing entire hillsides for housing developments etc, is highly offensive (or it should be) to the Japanese and their beliefs. Jumping off a cliff, whooping and laughing where there is an actual shrine is a different matter to climbing/skiing/boarding/shitting on/littering/building vending machines on a huge mountain. It is not in the face of a shrine or those who are trying to worship the gods that are enshrined there.

[Creek Boy]

Hmmmm, would it be the trees or cement who would be the kami?

I love how so many people leave all their trash after having a BBQ. Did any of you see the specials just after G.W. bout the huge trash problem? Japanese "wa" sure is rikai shinikui ne.