Monday, January 31, 2005
Have used up my limit for Flickr, so no more photos for the month -- which is okay, since its the 31st! Tomorrow, I'll try uploading ones at a smaller resolution so I can get more up. We have a few hundred now!
Anyway, not much more to report than what you have already seen -- snow and more snow. Today, even the groomed stuff had a good 30cm new on top, and I'm constantly getting stuck up to my waist in the off piste. It's getting colder as well, was
-16oC today and bitter with the wind.
On the fun front, our friend Brent who works up here for a few weeks each year arrived last night and got the afternoon off today, so he took us exploring. Exploring to Brent means fast.steep.deep. Needless to say, there were some amusing but tiring wipeouts involving digging out board, bodies and clothing.
We've had even more fun off mountain exploring the numerous bars and restaurants, and have yet to have a bad meal or drink. We've left one place after a group of ugly Australians decended (really, it is bad enough that they were drunk, loud and obnoxious, but it got worse when they started to make fun of the Japanese culture, accents and customs. Stay in Australia if that is your attitude!). We've embraced most things -- we'll eat most things put in front of us, and have taken a shine to warm sake!
Anyway, we're thinking about hitting an onsen tomorrow night (more here), or maybe Rusutsu . Should be more pictures tomorrow!
Anyway, not much more to report than what you have already seen -- snow and more snow. Today, even the groomed stuff had a good 30cm new on top, and I'm constantly getting stuck up to my waist in the off piste. It's getting colder as well, was
-16oC today and bitter with the wind.
On the fun front, our friend Brent who works up here for a few weeks each year arrived last night and got the afternoon off today, so he took us exploring. Exploring to Brent means fast.steep.deep. Needless to say, there were some amusing but tiring wipeouts involving digging out board, bodies and clothing.
We've had even more fun off mountain exploring the numerous bars and restaurants, and have yet to have a bad meal or drink. We've left one place after a group of ugly Australians decended (really, it is bad enough that they were drunk, loud and obnoxious, but it got worse when they started to make fun of the Japanese culture, accents and customs. Stay in Australia if that is your attitude!). We've embraced most things -- we'll eat most things put in front of us, and have taken a shine to warm sake!
Anyway, we're thinking about hitting an onsen tomorrow night (more here), or maybe Rusutsu . Should be more pictures tomorrow!
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Kutchan
Konichiwa. Took the day off today to "explore" Kutchan, a small city about 6km from where we are staying. It snowed. A lot. In fact, after yesterday's warm weather we had a cold front move in and are experiencing blizzard conditions. Where we were walking in this photo, by the time we turned around to walk back there was another foot on the ground. Tomorrow should be great powder!
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Well, today was a little different -- it was very warm. Still snowing like crazy, but the temperature was more like 0oC instead of
-12oC. Lots of powder, but it was wet and for the first time, we started to get wet between runs. We've called it early -- 3:30pm for beers. We do have a week left boarding you know, so we can give our legs a little break!
-12oC. Lots of powder, but it was wet and for the first time, we started to get wet between runs. We've called it early -- 3:30pm for beers. We do have a week left boarding you know, so we can give our legs a little break!
KLS in the powder
Yeah! We've got photos up . . check them out here . I've got a 10Mb limit, so they are but a selection!
Everything is amazing -- the people are great, the culture is so different, the food is amazing, and the snow -- the snow just doesn't stop! There was another 30cm Thursday night and 40cm overnight. It just doesn't stop snowing -- even when the sun came out yesterday, it was snowing.
Oh yes, only downside . . getting up in the mornings off the futon mat on the tatami (floor) is very difficult after two days of snowboarding. There is alot of groaning . . .
Everything is amazing -- the people are great, the culture is so different, the food is amazing, and the snow -- the snow just doesn't stop! There was another 30cm Thursday night and 40cm overnight. It just doesn't stop snowing -- even when the sun came out yesterday, it was snowing.
Oh yes, only downside . . getting up in the mornings off the futon mat on the tatami (floor) is very difficult after two days of snowboarding. There is alot of groaning . . .
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Well, we arrived safely, although there are three immediate comments I must make.
1. Australia is far from everywhere. Japan seems close as it is Asia, however it took us 22 hours to get here. Canada has been done in 24 hours door to door, so I'm not sure we're any better off if you were just trying to do a shorter flight. To make it more frustrating, of the 22 hours, only 11 was flying. The other time was sitting in airports, buses, trying to clear customs, etc. After working until 10pm, packing until 2:30am, waking at 3:15am, picking Dennis up at 4am, and being on a plane at 6am, arriving here at 11:30pm Niseko time (1:30am the next day Australian time), we weren't up to partying.
2. There is a lot of snow here. A lot. More than heaps. Lots. Almost too much. And it hasn't stopped snowing since we got here, and according to Carolyn, it hasn't since she got here on Sunday. Not only do they have 460cm as a base -- they've received 25cm overnight, 65cm in the last 24 hours, and 85cm in this storm cycle. Our first runs were amazing and scary at the same time -- trying to remember how to snowboard when you are up to your knees (and waist in some areas) in snow. Trying to follow people ahead of you, but their powder reduces your vision to 0. And coping with going from 37oC in Melbourne to -12oC in Niseko!
3. Wireless connections are great. I've connected from our room (tiny, sleeping on the floor Japanese style) with the laptop on my lap to send this, and we've managed to download the software for the camera software from the Pentax site, so we should have pictures up soon!
Stay tuned!
1. Australia is far from everywhere. Japan seems close as it is Asia, however it took us 22 hours to get here. Canada has been done in 24 hours door to door, so I'm not sure we're any better off if you were just trying to do a shorter flight. To make it more frustrating, of the 22 hours, only 11 was flying. The other time was sitting in airports, buses, trying to clear customs, etc. After working until 10pm, packing until 2:30am, waking at 3:15am, picking Dennis up at 4am, and being on a plane at 6am, arriving here at 11:30pm Niseko time (1:30am the next day Australian time), we weren't up to partying.
2. There is a lot of snow here. A lot. More than heaps. Lots. Almost too much. And it hasn't stopped snowing since we got here, and according to Carolyn, it hasn't since she got here on Sunday. Not only do they have 460cm as a base -- they've received 25cm overnight, 65cm in the last 24 hours, and 85cm in this storm cycle. Our first runs were amazing and scary at the same time -- trying to remember how to snowboard when you are up to your knees (and waist in some areas) in snow. Trying to follow people ahead of you, but their powder reduces your vision to 0. And coping with going from 37oC in Melbourne to -12oC in Niseko!
3. Wireless connections are great. I've connected from our room (tiny, sleeping on the floor Japanese style) with the laptop on my lap to send this, and we've managed to download the software for the camera software from the Pentax site, so we should have pictures up soon!
Stay tuned!
Sunday, January 23, 2005
snowave.com.au
I don't know who this woman is, but I can tell you that this photo was taken on Sunday, 23rd of January, 2005 at Hirafu (where we are going to be in 4 days) after another 50cm dump of "pow"! If I can have at least one photo where I look as happy and having as much fun as this lady, it will be a great trip! See previous entry (below) for further details on our upcoming trip!
We're off to Japan on Wednesday, so here are some links you might be interested in if you don't know much about our trip. If you click on the words, you'll be taken to the relevant website for further information.
We are going to Niseko, which is on the north island of Hokkaido in Japan. The resort is a 2 hour bus ride west from Chitose, Sapporo's international airport. Niseko is actually a small town which serves as a base to three separate ski resorts -- Hirafu, Higashiyama and Annapuri. An "All Mountain Pass" and free buses mean we can choose any mountain on the day
We are staying at Lodge Ronde, in simple, Japanese style rooms (two single beds as the Japanese don't have double beds). We then spend 10 nights at the resort.
On 5 February, we're back to Sapporo to check out the opening of the Sapporo Snow Festival with two million other people (!) staying one night at the very swish Hotel Monterey Edelhof. It was tough getting accommodation!
Then three nights in Toyko in the Shinagawa prefecture staying at the Prince.
Stayed tuned for more!
We are going to Niseko, which is on the north island of Hokkaido in Japan. The resort is a 2 hour bus ride west from Chitose, Sapporo's international airport. Niseko is actually a small town which serves as a base to three separate ski resorts -- Hirafu, Higashiyama and Annapuri. An "All Mountain Pass" and free buses mean we can choose any mountain on the day
We are staying at Lodge Ronde, in simple, Japanese style rooms (two single beds as the Japanese don't have double beds). We then spend 10 nights at the resort.
On 5 February, we're back to Sapporo to check out the opening of the Sapporo Snow Festival with two million other people (!) staying one night at the very swish Hotel Monterey Edelhof. It was tough getting accommodation!
Then three nights in Toyko in the Shinagawa prefecture staying at the Prince.
Stayed tuned for more!
Was going to put up some pictures of our recent ride from Geelong to Queenscliff, but Flickr is down. You're not missing much :-)
Had a nice weekend with David's sister and family up at Lake Eildon this weekend. Took the "picture" camera, but we've got a new toy, a "video" camera, so that was played with instead.
Had a nice weekend with David's sister and family up at Lake Eildon this weekend. Took the "picture" camera, but we've got a new toy, a "video" camera, so that was played with instead.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Hard to believe but true -- here's some pictures of Bill Gates (ie Microsoft) posing for Teen Beat magazine in 1983. After clicking on the link, you may have to scroll down to see the pictures (at least I had to). I love the attention to detail -- the Microsoft logo on the monitor (which is positioned oh so prominently) and the floppy disks fanned out in the second photo. Ha!
http://blog.monkeymethods.org/2005/01/bill-gates-strikes-pose-for-teen-beat.html
http://blog.monkeymethods.org/2005/01/bill-gates-strikes-pose-for-teen-beat.html
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
I am always fascinated by the human races' capacity to learn, and here's an interesting summary -- a list of a 100 things we learned in 2004 that we didn't know before.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4134329.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4134329.stm
Monday, January 10, 2005
Gang on NYE
While I look fat in this photo, decided I should post one of the gang enjoying our NYE's BBQ.
BTW, if you click on the photo, you'll be taken to the flickr site and a bigger image. Also, if you denied access to the larger photos, send me an email and I'll add you to the approved user list.
BTW, if you click on the photo, you'll be taken to the flickr site and a bigger image. Also, if you denied access to the larger photos, send me an email and I'll add you to the approved user list.
Last sunset of 2004
OK -- I think I'm back for some regular updates -- hopefully with pictures. More pictures are at my new flickr site here http://www.flickr.com/photos/klsinclair/
I'm only a free user, so will only be able to upload 10Mb per month of photos, so will try and only put up the best ones. Couldn't resist this one though -- the last sunset of 2004, as taken from a houseboat on Bunga Arm in the Gippsland Lakes, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Happy 2005!
I'm only a free user, so will only be able to upload 10Mb per month of photos, so will try and only put up the best ones. Couldn't resist this one though -- the last sunset of 2004, as taken from a houseboat on Bunga Arm in the Gippsland Lakes, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Happy 2005!
KLS at Gippsland Lakes
Continued testing -- bear with me
121-2190_IMG
Hi, just testing with Flickr to try and get more photos up so it is easier to update this site, and hey, then it might be interesting!
Flickr
This is a test post from 
, a fancy photo sharing thing.
, a fancy photo sharing thing.