Powder!!!

I have Friday afternoons off so I headed down to Ishiuchi Maruyama to snowboard. It has been snowing pretty much non-stop for the last two days and as a result, Ishiuchi was covered in powder!! They groomed the easy course from the top to Chuo Exit, but the rest of the mountain is under one to three feet of snow. It took me a few runs to get used to riding on the soft stuff (it's a lot slower and very heavy to turn) but once I was back into it, there was no stopping me. I explored all the mountains trying to find teh most exciting powder and I found it; a steep run under the number 3 lift. So much powder, a few trees and a couple of jumps! Fantastic! I mixed it up a bit by taking the groomed runs and practising fakie, ollies and 360 turns. The tricks are starting to feel more natural so perhaps next year I can start using them on kickers and halfpipes with confidence. I stopped by Mion Onsen on the way home to soak, relax and warm myself up. It was great to sit outside in the snow knowing i could jump into a nice warm bath when I got cold.

I'm off to Niigata tomorrow for footy practice and a night on the town (Tom and Ryan's birthday as well as Kieko's leaving party). I'll take my board so I can go boarding somewhere on my way back on Sunday. Have to make the most of the snow!!