Orchid Show 2006

These pictures are from the 2006 Sapporo Orchid Show. I took all these pics on my snazzy cell phone/camera...not bad, huh? I went to the show with my buddy Carrie, a savvy Canadian chica. We had as much fun as you can possibly have at a flower show, which was a lot!! I haven't included the picture of the prize-winning bonsai orchid, nor the mother and 2 year-old little girl wearing matching fur coats and Valentino handbags...priceless!! Ahhhh, here's to good times and random Tuesday holidays in Japan.

"Teledreams" for me!!

These are the K2 Dawn Patrol tele skis I bought on a goddamn whim last Saturday. I really need to send thousands of dollars home from Japan every other month to pay-off the credit cards and school loans, but what do I do instead? I buy SKIS in April, just when the resorts close. Frickin' hell. On top of the impulse buy, I can't afford bindings or boots, so I have to suffer while I look at these great skis that I can't use during the last few weeks of the season. Wanna read something funny, though? This is what Curt wrote for me about my new skis:

"These are my new friends. They are 167 cm of pure telemark skiing love. From the floral paterns on the topsheet, to the "woman power" symbol on the base they are geared for the backcountry with enough shape to work well on the groomers. I am in heaven!!!"

Backcountry Adventure

This past weekend I went on my first backcountry trip in Japan. It was great!! After an amazing drive to a nearly abandoned mining post, myself, Curt, JJ, Ben and Jeb tramped up to Muine Hut. Mount Muine (1461M) is about 1 1/2 hours south of Sapporo. The climb started at a deserted ski resort and after an initial steep ascent, we had a nice rolling hike uphill for a few hours. At the ridge the winds started to pick up and the glorious sun that had warmed us at the bottom disappeared. I managed to catch a glimpse of Mount Yotei (a perfect conical volcano) in the distance before the clouds rolled in permanently. As we trudged on across the ridgeline the winds grew stronger and stronger. By the time we reached the short decent to the hut, the winds were so strong I was blown over twice! I was nervous to say the least; this was my first run-in with bad weather in the backcountry. The winds coming over the ridge were ripping at my clothes as I desperately tried to throw my pack down, take my snowshoes off and put my snowboard on (and hang onto my poles at the same time). Eventually I got everything put in its place and I managed to get my pack on and stand on my board...but the board was freshly waxed and the winds pulled me backwards towards the 20 ft. cornice on the other side of the ridge! I immediately threw myself to the ground. Then I had to crawl to the edge of the ridge on my hands and knees until I was over the ridge and could traverse across the slope. Eventually, I made it!! I found Curt a short distance below desperately trying to make nice turns on the frozen wind-blown crust. Then I saw the others' tracks and I straight-lined it for the bottom. After some wrong turns and all five of us going in different directions, we each converged on one track and found the hut.

Muine Hut was an adorable little hut nearly buried in snow. We helped dig out the toliet (which was buried under 8-9 ft. of snow!), made some grub, drank o-sake and vodka, played cards and passed out.

The next day the weather had turned snowy. The fellas went out for some skinning and runs, but I stayed in the hut.

The trip out on Sunday was an adventure in-itself. The weather was snowy and windy with poor visibility. We had to hike up to a ridge-line and then around the ridge of a huge bowl. That was just to return to the spot where I had crawled to the edge. From there it was subtle climbing over a wide ridge line with raging winds ripping across the snow. We only got one picture from Sunday due to the nasty weather. Finally, we reached the decent and put our boards and skis on for some relaxing downhill...but we got a bit lost and couldn't find the faded red ribbons that were guiding us. Luckily, we were close enough to the bottom to hike out to the road and trudge up 500M to the car... Ahhhhh....the car!!!

We concluded the trip with an Indian dinner and a relaxing onsen... What a wonderful weekend!

Real-Life Simpsons Opening Scene!

You've gotta check this out. I dig it.

Sunday at Teine

Yesterday Curt and I finally got back out on the ski slopes. It was a beautiful sunny day in the city, so I thought it would be a perfect day to hang out in the park and get sweet rail shots. Alas, the day was cold and crappy. The slopes were rock hard. I had to use my edges for the first time ALL SEASON!! Of course Curtis was delighted to ski the roughest part of the mountain, so I tagged along to watch his marvelous telemark skills. I made a few turns, but mostly I just chucked ice boulders downhill and watched my mini avalanches. That's me on the fun box, though...behind all those cool Japanese Cats. All-in-all, it was a nice day outside.

Saturday Night!!

This is a new beer by Kirin brewery in Japan. You'd think I'd love Sapporo beer because I live in Sapporo, but Kirin is actually my favorite. "ENJUKU", is their new 6% seasonal brew. The can states (in English):
"Enjoy the rich and deep taste harmony of ENJUKU. The crispy flavor of fine barley and the mellow aroma from superior hops bring you good times."
Well, it's Saturday evening and I'm trying to get those "superior hops" to bring me "good times". While I continue to work on collecting more empty "Enjuku" cans, I will also work on posting more frequently. Kampai!

The Beginning...

Welcome to katenjoys!!

This is the beginning.