Snowboarding News - August 2007

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When you think of winter in Britain, the mind conjures up a smattering of snow and a sorry looking snowman or two. About as far removed as possible from this image is the Sapporo Ice Festival, where immaculately sculpted baseball stars mingle with polar bears and icy reconstructions of ... Read Full Story Horyuji Temple. Inside Japan Tours' 'Winter Highlights' offers Japan holiday-makers the chance to take in these wonderful sculptures, enjoy some winter sports at one of the finest ski resorts in Japan and warm up in a hot spring bath - if the snow monkeys don't beat them to it.

The "Winter Highlights" tour of Japan costs £1500 per person and includes 14 breakfasts, 7 evening meals, accommodation, the constant advice and expertise of a 'tour buddy' and transport between the destinations. It isn't just the winter sights that this package takes in however - starting and finishing in Tokyo allows Japanese holiday-makers the chance to take in some of the more traditional highlights of this great country.

The main highlight of the tour is without doubt the Sapporo Ice Festival: From February 5th to February 11th 2008 Japan's northern capital city will be transformed into a winter wonderland - giant snow statues lining the boulevards and some 2 million visitors cramming the streets, bars and restaurants of this cosmopolitan metropolis. The Sapporo Ice Festival, now in its 59th year, started life as a training exercise for the under-worked Japanese self-defence force but has now become one of the biggest showcases of snow sculpture in the world. It's an international affair with countries across Asia sending teams of snow carvers to compete for the best sculpture prize - some of the statues requiring thousands of workers and a good deal of money to reach completion making this a real highlight of this winter tour of Japan.

Of course all of this snow means that Japan is also a fantastic winter sports destination - home in fact to some of the best powder snow runs in the World. The jewel in the crown is Furano - the finest ski resort in Japan - which offers a fantastic variety of runs for skiing and snowboarding as well as numerous other activities including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, dog sledding and ballooning…or you can just relax over a rice vodka on ice in the igloo bar.

As well as winter sports and the Sapporo Ice Festival, the winter season is a great time to explore some of the more fascinating areas of Japan. The tour includes a great opportunity for nature lovers to see some rare birds in Hokkaido - the Red-crowned Crane, Steller's Sea Eagle, Whooper Swans and the rather shy Blakiston's Fish Owl have all been known to make appearances around the area.

The picturesque winter conditions also allows Japanese holiday-makers the chance to see classic World Heritage sights in a whole new light, including Kyoto's Golden Pavilion and the original Samurai castle of Himeji without the crowds usually associated with them. The clearer skies of the season also allow some fantastic views from the Kiyomizu temple on Kyoto's hillsides, and it is sometimes possible to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from atop a Tokyo skyscraper.

Delve deeper inland and you'll reach the mountains of the small village of Yudanaka in the Japan Alps. This spa resort is home not only to skiers and hot spring aficionados but also to the famous Japanese snow monkeys who like nothing better than to take a hot spring bath themselves. Properly known as Japanese Macaques, these hardy animals are the most northerly living monkeys in the world - but while the hot springs gush forth they are happy as can be.

This winter holiday in Japan is due to take place from Saturday, 2nd of February until Saturday, 16th of February, and costs £1500 per person excluding flights.

Visit www.insidejapantours.com for more information.

Source:
eMediaWire

 

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The park set up included a perfectly groomed monster step down jump (120 foot to the knuckle), a huge spine, a rail line and a three (3) hit mellow kicker line.

Yesterday’s morning two-hour jam session was on the kicker line and riders nominated their judged runs at will, whi ... Read Full Story ch allowed for a fun easy session.

The judges had specified at the riders meeting that “it is Stylewars, so style is the most important factor in scoring”. With this in mind, most shredders were laying down the stylish, solid snowboarding we all love to see – slow spins boned tricks, steez and some random backflips and double shifty’s.

Highlights in the morning triple jump session included Torstein Horgmo (NOR) with an annihilating smooth styled run of switch backside 9, frontside 9, into a switch backside 7 (with Snus in the mouth) but Jacob Koia (NZE) dropped a first place run onto the course with down under style with a switch backside 7, cab 5 and a backside 3 double shifty.

During the morning session, only one rider had big enough balls to step to the big kicker, that was Quentin Robbins of New Zealand. Andy Finch was out injured and heading home after his session yesterday, but that didn’t stop “Q-Diddy”. The 34-year old Kiwi living legend launched a huge backside 360 first hit going at least 80-100 km/h. The whole mountain went pretty crazy as he stomped it down 150 feet (50 meters) past the take off.

His next hit Q, stepped it up to a back fiver and the worst nightmare materialized. Quentin knuckled it, heel edge getting violently whipped and ejected on the still frozen landing. Incredibly he got up – with only a sore knee AND SNAPPED BOARD. Another of his nine lives now scratched.

Dustin Craven (CAN) then decided he should jump from the big kicker take off to the side of the landing 70 feet away, landing in 2 feet of mogul transition – freaking everyone out.

In the “arvo” (afternoon in Aussie Lingo) after the Sausage Sizzle “barbie” (BBQ), the riders were released out of the cage and onto the spine.

The left side of the landing was a little bit icy, but the right side was mint and luckily most riders were regular stance.

Stand out hits came from Dustin Craven (CAN) who boosted maybe the largest air - nose to crail double grab and Jaakko Ruha who launched a huge backside 9 indy to the end of the hip. Torstein Horgmo (NOR) officially took out the Hip session with a monster backside 7 super-styled and smooth.

The scores from both sessions were tallied and joined for the combined overall leader board. Two more days of competition are ahead where the overall winner will be the combination of all sessions.

Top 10 snowboarders after day 1:

1. Jakob Koia (NZE) 70.8
2. Torstein Horgmo (NOR) 69.4
3. Robbie Walker (AUS) 68.6
4. Jaakko Ruha (FIN) 67.9
5. Toni-Markus Turunen (FIN) 65.6
6. Ryan Tiene (AUS) 62.4
7. Wyatt Caldwell (USA) 60.1
8. Roland Morley-Brown (NZE) 55.1
9. Clint Allan (AUS) 55
10. Shayne Pospisil (USA) 53.8

Stylewars also includes the “Bledisnow Cup”, an age-old battle between New Zealand and Australian snowboarders. The winning team is an accumulative score from the top five (5) riders from each country at the end of the event.

The winning team takes home a garden gnome.

Visit www.stylewars.com.au for more information.

Source:
www.hot-zone.tv

 

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The 2007/2008 season of the Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup will begin on August 31 and September 1 with a halfpipe contest in Cardrona. New Zealand will be hosting this event as riders from all around the world will compete for the first FIS World Cup points in the Johnny Superpipe.
< ... Read Full Story BR> The World Cup Opener in Cardrona will showcase high class talent such as reigning 2007 title holders Ryoh Aono (JPN) and World Champion Manuela Laura Pesko (SUI). Many well-known snowboarding stars will put on quite a show in the halfpipe of Cardrona.

There will be a new Halfpipe World Cup format and therefore only the best three ranked riders of each qualification heat will make it directly to the final. The 4th to 9th ranked of each qualifier have to fight for the last final spots in the semi finals where only the top six men and three ladies proceed. In the finals, twelve men and six ladies will compete in two runs like the years before.

For more information, please visit http://snowboard.nokia.com/.

Source:
www.coolermag.com

 

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Mt Ruapehu and Drambuie are challenging all snowboarders 30 years and older to prove that speeding through tight turns and throwing down phat tricks isn't just for the kids.

The young at heart are being encouraged to carve up the slopes during the 2007 Drambuie Snowboard Mast ... Read Full Story ers.

The Drambuie Snowboard Masters, held at Turoa ski area on Saturday 1 September, gives 'older' snowboarders the chance to take advantage of recent snow falls, and show off their ultimate boarding skills.

The competition is a 1 day BoarderX event, followed by a lively dinner and awards function. Now in its fifth year, the Drambuie Snowboard Masters proves to be more and more popular each year. It shows that an older generation of snowboarders exists and they still want to have fun!

Throughout the day, Drambuie will be on hand to provide warming tastes of the smooth liqueur.

Mt Ruapehu Marketing Manager, Mike Smith, says, "We've had some excellent snow falls over the past few weeks, so the Drambuie Masters is the perfect excuse for a weekend on the Mountain. It's also the weekend of Father's Day, so why not shout Dad a day on the slopes and dare him to enter?"

Mr Smith says the Drambuie Snowboard Masters continue to grow every year.

"Last year we had 75 competitors, ranging in age from 30 to 65 which proves that snowboarding is a sport that is enjoyed by everyone, not just the younger generation.

"We'd like to challenge all boarders 30 years and over to come along and give the Drambuie Masters a go. We've got some fantastic prizes up for grabs and an awesome Après snowboard party and awards ceremony planned."

To register for the event, or for more information, contact Turoa on 06 385 8456 or visit www.MtRuapehu.com. The entry fee for the event is $69, which includes a three-course dinner at Turoa Ski Lodge. Competitors are also entitled to a discounted lift pass ($40 instead of the usual $80).

Source:
www.scoop.co.nz

 

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Are you wild about skiing and snowboarding? If your answer is yes, Topia Road wants you to talk to them about the sport in articles you send to this new, interactive magazine. The publication was launched just three months ago, and although the staff plans to expand its scope in the fut ... Read Full Story ure, for now, its focus is on one topic -- skiing and snowboarding.

According to the publication's founder, George Aspland, "We expect to build an interactive magazine that is truly useful to readers. We will include sections like how to information, event calendars, news about the sport, product reviews and tests, user forums, expert blogs, newsletters, and other features, which we hope readers will suggest. Each article published will include a short bio of the author and a link to their website."

Topia Road seeks skiing and snowboarding articles on topics such as:

• How to wax a snowboard, tune a board and any other "how to" articles that will provide useful information for enthusiasts.
• Techniques for beginners and experts alike.
• Reviews and information about favorite destinations and trips.
• New product listings, plus reviews and tests of products.
• Guides for beginners.

Aspland says they prefer original articles, but will consider republishing ones on highly relevant topics. In some cases, Topia Road will accept a summary of an article published elsewhere and provide a link to it. It will be the contributor's responsibility to be aware of the copyright terms. To submit an article, visit www.topiaroad.com.

Source:
eMediaWire

 

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