If only a day at the office.

I won't even begin. I'll just say this: couldn't take the grin off my face for hours after the last ride on Monday.



It's probably even more of a buzz on days like this for the regular mountain slaves like myself. For every one day like this you have to go through at least ten where the wind and snow rip the skin off your face. This kind of visibility at Mt. Hakkoda is like being married to an ugly person who gives you everything you need in terms of stability, support, friendship etc, but then you wake up one morning to find that they've turned into a bloody super-model. You might not follow, but that's exactly how it is.



I got so excited I started taking my clothes off. I really did. I should have the pictures through this week.



It was in the strictest of terms a 'whole mountain' day. I made sure to go places yesterday that are fully off bounds any time else. Lucky as well, because me and Ian went pacing out of regular territory with only our noses and inner senses of co-ordination to guide us and we ended up bumping into a very distressed young Japanese girl who was on the verge of tears. She hadn't a clue where she was. When we found her she was strolling even deeper into the no go of gullies and ravines.



The Ropeway.



Every cameraman and his dog should have been up there yesterday, but it wasn't too crowdy at all.



One skier and his dog.



O dake to the right, and Akakura dake (Hakkoda version) to the left. Not sure about the peak in the middle.



Now I know my ski pants are bright, but this guy has goods.



The lucky lads, from right to left: Ward, the all-mountain Canadian; Ian, the half mountain Welsh boy; Eric, the Mt. Hood fat-ski maniac, and Abe san, who I don't really know but draughted him in because he's regular and he was kind of half in the shot anyway.

Be on the look out for topless snowboarders, and have a good day at the office.