His slip, which is unthinkable from the gentle and gentle response, attracts many snowboarders.Aggressiveness with a glimpse in the flowing slip, and the line has a style that only he can express.
He has been a representative of Niseko since XNUMX years ago.Powder Company Guide,GENTEM STICKI was able to hear some interesting stories such as the release of the Pro model from.
As a native of Kanagawa Prefecture (Fujisawa City), why was it based in Hokkaido?
Nowadays, if you want to ski in Niseko, Hokkaido, especially in the backcountry, there is information and media, so people may come to Hokkaido by such a route, but when I visited Hokkaido, "That's right. There was no information that "I can slip like this in Hokkaido".
A friend who happened to meet people on the spot went to Niseko and happened to be at Taro Tamai, who introduced me to him, "I have a chance to skate all the time."With that background, I went to Niseko exactly XNUMX years ago.
Actually, I was in Canada for a year before that.At that time, I was in an environment where I could have time slowly, so I want to snowboard!I went to Canada thinking that, but I was made to think about visa problems, employment, and the future there.
The snow, climate and environment weren't bad, but I realized that I should know more about the goodness of Japan that I wouldn't know if I were abroad.
The reason for Hokkaido is that the image of "North should be better" and "Hokkaido is better" and Niseko has long been known to skiers as an unexplored region, so I slipped the powder. I went there because the ski resort was in good condition in the north of Japan.
But actually, I wanted to do freestyle, not powder riding (laughs).
However, at that time there were no permanent parks or half pipes, and I didn't even have a car (laughs).
And with the snowboarding I wanted to do, the amount of snowfall that was realistically unfolded every day, the beauty of fresh snow that I had never seen, and the deep snow of powder, Mr. Tamai and the big names in the snowboarding world were in front of me.
However, I couldn't give up my desire to do freestyle, and I was focusing on one-make down jumps, and what kind of line would I like to slide on the wonderful powder-based modeling? I inevitably thought that what was unfolding on the course that was said to be the super course of Niseko Hirafu at that time was "I think this is actually a terrible thing."
Rather than going around tournaments all over Japan based on Hokkaido, how do you adapt to this natural environment that is happening in front of you, although it is unprecedented?Isn't it worth pursuing snowboarding?After spending a couple of years, I started to think that.
And now, about XNUMX years after that, I am doing the same thing even at the age of XNUMX.
What kind of movement is Takahisa-san's annual season?
In the average year, the season starts in New Zealand at the beginning of September.This is like a 9-day break-in. We are doing a "club" for repeat customers of the Powder Company Guide, and we will do slope and helicopter riding in New Zealand as a club activity with a small number of people.
After returning from New Zealand, I started preparing for winter in Japan, and normally the season in Niseko is from the end of November, but since it will be slightly affected by the season in Tateyama, the domestic season in will be hosted by THE NORTH FACE in Tateyama. We have a backcountry meeting and a tour at the Powder Company Guide.
And when I return to Niseko, there is a lot of snow, but the lift business at the ski resort depends on the snow conditions, so hiking up has started.Since the base has not been made yet, the snow inside is still soft and the board does not slip.Therefore, I am hiking up the slope while checking the terrain on the course where the speed would normally be quite high.
Since the number of customers is still small at this time, training for guides, locals, and the main staff of the Powder Company Guide will begin.
From around Christmas, I'm busy with various guides, interviews, manufacturers, etc., so I'm busy until the beginning of March, and it's the busy season in Niseko, so it's always the best season, so I always feel like I'm running out of time.I was able to stay in Niseko all the time last season, but when I think about the past five years and the next five years, I think that the changing demand and acceptance of guides will change and continue to evolve. Therefore, although I belong to the Japan Mountain Guide Association, I have been in Hakuba for a month and a half and continue training as a part of improving my skills.
I am also on the side of taking Level 1 of JAN, and I do not miss to deepen my knowledge.
As it gradually calms down in March, I participated in several tours of GENEMSTICK events nationwide called test drive events, and after that, although not every year, I will head to Alaska in the last week of March. It's a flow.In Alaska, there are several tours and shoots in separate parts.Therefore, there are various slipping shapes such as hiking up, helicopter access, and descending to the glacier at Cessna.Alaska is the most continuous place outside of Japan.
After returning to Japan and enjoying the spring snow of Niseko, we headed to Tateyama for Golden Week, and in May we headed to Mt. Fuji on the weekend to end the season.
What is the Powder Company Guide that you are acting as a representative?
Powder Company GuideIs a guide company, and first of all, we are trying to propose the best time to our customers through personal safety, snowboarding and snowy mountains.However, the specialty of the Powder Company Guide is the field called Niseko, and the place I created while exploring, "How do you feel when you slip?"
If there was a person named A and a person named B, the skill and the place to slide were completely different, so it was fun to slide well this time even though it was not always good for each individual!There are cases where people who can always slide well think that it was not fun to fall in a difficult place this time.
Therefore, we want to be able to share an unforgettable turn with our customers.Take me to the most extreme places and the highest mountains today, and the Powder Company Guide thinks it's not "yes, then slip."
How many guides are there?
There are XNUMX leader guides including me now, but the leader guides are almost the same people from that time.Powder Company GuideIt's been about 15 years since I started, but since 1998 I've been doing it with multiple people.If there is a level difference, a separate guide is absolutely necessary.
Niseko has high mountains and extremes as a feature, but there is a high possibility that you can ride well even in deep snow, forest courses, and low altitude mountains, so if you can reach the starting point, the guide will route according to your needs. It is possible to choose.For that reason, the slope menu is also one of the most popular.
Guide = backcountry may be the norm, but in the Powder Company Guide, half of the guides are inbound and on the slopes without beacons.It's a guide menu that tells you where to start and which course to choose to enjoy the day in the best conditions when you start skiing between the slopes or from the beginning of the morning.
It's like a slope concierge
I agree.We try to judge the level of the customer and provide the best day according to the customer's needs in every detail within a few skis from the morning.The guide fee depends on the number of people, but it starts from around 8000 yen.
Powder Company GuideWe are making efforts to improve the level by considering the constantly changing environment, customer's level, and needs.Also, considering the current situation and relationship of Niseko, and the sum, it is unlikely that a famous guide will be pulled from the outside when a guide other than the current XNUMX leader guides is needed. I was looking for students for XNUMX-XNUMX years.
People who want to work at Powder Company Guide instead of money will participate in the tour to study, and while helping the guide's work, we will prepare an environment where you can slide in Niseko.Some have become leader guides from this student.Therefore, various generations including me, age and level, are currently enrolled in the Powder Company Guide.
In addition, there is a guide ratio as a feature of the guide, and although it depends on the location, it is about 1 to 1 or 2 to 1, but if the Powder Company Guide is about 2 to 2 or more, the guide is There are two people.This is not so much a risk as it is the best memory after the customer slips, because when you slip this time in Niseko, you can make a momentary unforgettable memory that "that one turn, the scenery while riding was good!" I try to have two people, a leader guide and a tail guide.
With a leader guide and a tail guide, even if you can't see it because it's slipping out, you can guide it firmly so that you can drop it with confidence, and the leader guide confirms the safety of snow and the riding route, and your safety and the best riding route. Prepare. I don't think the Powder Company Guide is the only service that says, "How many slips did you have from a high place, wasn't it fun?"
"GT" and "BIG FLOATER" have been released by GENEMSTICK as your own Pro model. What are the characteristics of these two?
GENTEM STICKIt's been 15 years now, but it's a way to start with a small number of boards and increase them rather than eliminate them.The first one I made was BIG FLOATER and the second one was GT.During this time there was a period of 2-XNUMX years. GT and BIG FLOATER are opposite boards, but BIG FLOATER has the longest edge contact at that time, and the tail is not cracked, so the rigidity is high.
I'm gonna skate Alaska the most vigorously as a Japanese at that time!When I was enthusiastic, I made it with the concept of wanting a board with high running performance even on rough burns and medium steep slopes in Alaska.
Niseko's deep snow slides comfortably, and the snow is considered as a liquid rather than as a solid. There is a surface of fresh snow and an invisible world below it, and in that world there is a feeling of acceleration while repeating acceleration and deceleration. , To taste the floating feelingGENTEM STICKI think that it is the origin of the TT model or flat camber that is the beginning of the GT, but how thick can the TT model be for GT?It is also the concept.
The length of the snow contact is overwhelmingly short, and the biggest feature is the peak of the rocker from the middle to the end of the side curve.So if you step near the end of the side curve of the board, the nose will float considerably.GENTEM STICKAmong them, the tapered plate is the toughest.Therefore, it looks quite solid, but the floating feeling, riding feeling, and swing weight are very light boards.And although it is not a board with a high limit point, it is a very fun board that can be applied to a higher place without being caught in the snow by floating without slowing down while sinking in Niseko's pleasant deep snow.
Finally
The beauty of nature that you can enjoy through snowboarding is a wonderful thing that people want to taste in their lives and that can change their lives themselves, and for some people it is the best moment in their lives. There may also be.I've had that kind of thing, but sometimes that moment can be irreparable in my life, and in that case my family, friends, and other people will be sad.
I think snowboarding is a play.Of course, I think it's a sublime thing that will change your outlook on life even during play, but if you can enjoy it within that range, you can improve your daily level and the scenery you haven't seen yet, when you combine it. I think that you will get a sense of being able to enjoy it, and you will have a positive feeling, such as competing in your life, trying harder on snowboarding, and working harder, so I would like you to go to the snowy mountains a lot.
In the recent backcountry boom, there are many good points such as revitalization of markets and regions, different ways of interacting with snowboarders, but at the same time, the danger of snowy mountains, injuries caused by lack of knowledge and experience, etc. I think that each person's judgment and actions will be required in the future while firmly understanding the dangerous parts such as distress.
Snowboarding and snowy mountains have a fascinating "something" that only those who have done it can understand, and of course the field is not tied to style, but this time I can understand the importance of a guide. Isn't it?
Niseko.I haven't been there for a long time, but I've been interviewing and it's become a place I'd like to visit more and more.
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