That is a fantastic story JA, glad you are hooked mate!

Can't believe you are already booked!!! Dedication plus,

Definitely!

Not wrong! I have a dream of still sliding in 30 years time (by which time I will be pushing 90!) and having skied in Europe, North America, South America and lots of other places in Japan.

Why the fascination with Japan? I find the people an absolute joy! They are pleasant, easy to get along with, helpful to us gaijin, and (of course) they have the best snow I have ever seen. (OK, I have limited experience, but it is damn good!)

Nozawa Onsen Jan 2009, here we come!

Good choice.

I remember seeing a lady on the ski lift this season who must have been in her 80's. She had fairly new gear on and she could really ski pretty well. Great to see that, I hope I am in that shape.

It looked fun.
Reason enough!

It sure is. After all, fun is what it's all about isn't it.

Let's fun.

kev did!

I had skied a little in Aus and Canada and then we went on a 6 week skiing holiday to Canada. On landing in Banff there were ALOT of people walking around in knee braces, slings, arms in plaster etc and on talking to them found they were ALL from snowboarding accidents. I had decided that I was going to give snowboarding a try but on seeing all these injuries totally freaked out and decided to stick with what I sorta had a basis for as the thought of injury myself on a six week ski vacation was not on my itenary.

In hind sight I wish I had done the snowboarding as everyone I now go away with snowboards and I am about the only skier. I just feel now that when I arrive I want to get out there and go and not injury myself on the first day and spend the week in lessons.

VERY SLACK I KNOW.

I can understand that snowhunter.
We would all like to learn both in our family, but living a long way from snow it is hard to give up freedom and fun on the mountain to go back to beginner slopes and bruises to switch!
Either way!!
As a snowboarder I feel less inclined to injure myself doing that than skiing, but I think the reality is that you can do damage whatever you ride!

Definitely. More than a few of my snowboarding friends have had some close calls.

Actually, how far away from the snow are you there Mamabear?

LOL - about as far as you can get!!

I am in Perth - nada for snowfall (unless you count the occassional dusting on a largish hill 8 hours away). So for me to get to snow in Oz it is at least a 5 hr flight, then a few hours drive to the closest (Thredbo), and for the others you are looking at a slightly longer flight again and an 8 hr bus trip/drive.

What we have done normally is fly Perth to Canberra, grab a hire car (or two if we take the family and gear), and then drive like mad to get to Cooma and have an overnighter in a motel unit. If we get up at daybreak we can get breakfast at Jindy, and be on the slopes soon after opening. Accomodation check in is normal somewhere after 12 before 4 pm (depending on where it is) so we do the check in either at lunch break or when we call it quits for the afternoon - depending on conditions and how tired we are.

So you can see how flying to Japan for snow does not phase us!!

Thank you Mamabear. Actually, that's too bad!

I won a ski trip to Whistler, a great way to start!

Me dad. He was an instructor at Whistler for 6 seasons. I had a good start.

What provoked you to start poaching?

bloody landowner threw us off his land, we were living in makeshift shelters with only nuts and berries to eat. Screw it, me old man said, and off we went and set some traps and poached like we'd never poached before.....man we ate well that night!

well, the fried variety required a little more grease than the hair on Tubb's hair. So to hell with it, poached eggs it shall be.

u been smoking crack tonight?

We need photos

I'm from Cheshire in England and my dad took me skiing in Scotland (Ben Nevis) on a family holiday when I was 12. Loved it and when I could got some friends together to go for a skiing holiday in Switzerland.