In early December, Kazuhiro Kokubo came to the mammoth for the purpose of slipping in private, not shooting or working.Contrary to the image of the surroundings, he showed a very calm and slow expression except for slipping.But he is very stoic and greedy for snowboarding.Be sensitive to when, where, and when you should slip, and act.I think I'm looking at what I should do now for the long season to come.In this article, I would like to write about Kazu's true face, which I showed while staying at Yukie House in Mammoth.
Text: Yukie Ueda
Kazu's last season in his twenties gives off a thrilling tension
Kazu is the last in his 20s this season.It's a year of competition and there will be immeasurable pressure.It seems that the people around him have already established a solid position, but I wonder if he is still not convinced or satisfied.He is no longer a young man, but he is no longer a legend.It is still in the midst of building the legend of "Kazuhiro Kokubo".Looking at him who had just started the season, I felt that tension was felt.It's not a tension that makes you want to run away, but a thrilling tension that may open the way to a new world.
Kazu always keeps an antenna on the local conditions such as snow, weather and parks, and at the timing when he thinks "Here!", He flies to the target place in a blink of an eye and flies away in a blink of an eye.The greed and speed of movement around that area seems to be one of the top professional snowboarders in the world.
A perfect place for mammoths at the beginning of the season
Starting the season with Mount Baker's powder in Washington, Kazu's next destination is Mammoth Mountain, California, where he slips into buff buff powder and steep slopes with local riders.The sunny weather is good and it is already possible to glide over a wide area, so whether you want to glide a long groomed distance or get used to your body in a handy park, the mammoth at the beginning of the season is a perfect place.For several days when Kazu stayed in Mammoth, he decided to stay at home.
Kazu, who slipped from the first day, came back with a slap, saying, "I'm not used to the altitude."The mammoth is high above sea level, and even in the village where my house is located, it is 2,400m, and the top of the mountain is more than 3,400m.By getting used to this altitude, you can build a body that can move even if you go to other places.
Even so, Kazu sleeps well. "I love sleeping."When I think I've run around the snowy mountains at a tremendous speed like an animal, I'm full and go to bed.It was a repetition.And anyway, Kazu slides fast. (If you add it, you will be ready to slip quickly).I'm amazed at his speed as I skate together.The first few may be slipping carefully or be able to keep up, but once he switches on and speeds up, he quickly disappears.Far from catching up, I have no choice but to lose sight of it.Weekday mammoths are vacant and there are many open burns that overlook a wide area, so it is also the best location to improve the sense of speed.
The real face of Kazu who comes into contact with children naturally
While I was at home, I used to play with my son. The expression "playing" is more appropriate than the expression "playing".Kazu treats children in a friendly manner, but it's not that they are forced to match from a child's perspective, but that it's quite natural.That would attract children again, and my son also clung to the world's best snowboarder like a fellow of the same age, saying, "Kazu, Kazu!"When I saw Kazu's gentle smile on his children and his funny look, I thought he would remember his children.
"If you have a child on your expedition, you will remember your child more."I have the same experience.
That's right, but I'm a man and I don't show the pretense that I miss children, but I wonder how much I will remember the children who are 3 years old and 4 years old when they are in full swing in the long season to start. I'm sad.He is one of the world's top professional snowboarders and the owner of the family.
Kazuhiro Kokubo is also a snowboarder like us
Wearing a snowboard will make you look like a king of carnivorous beasts, overflowing with fighting spirit and ambition, and when you return to your nest (house), you will spend your time eating sweets and drinking tea like a herbivore. "This may be his original appearance, too."
"I and my friends have all been snowboarding and playing together since I was a kid.No one is an elite, I'm not special, I'm a real normal person. "
Recently, he muttered in a confused manner because his face is known to people other than snowboarders on TV.Although it is not new, the image of "Kazuhiro Kokubo" has a strong impact and has become a hot topic in the world.For better or for worse, as the public's reputation grows, he seems to calmly grasp his true self and keep his pace without overdoing it. "Kazuhiro Kokubo" is a young man who likes snowboarding, a family-minded husband, Yancha-kun who is playfully bad with his friends, and as he says, he is a snowboarder like us.And since he was young, he has been rubbed in the top scenes overseas, has a strong will, learned how to convey what he should convey, and has continued to fight stoic.After all, I think he is a special person.
When he was in elementary school, he said that the first overseas visit was a mammoth.Since that time, he has been fighting at the top overseas for over 20 years.The legend he has built is already his own, and even if the people around him admit, Kazuhiro Kokubo's own challenge is still going on.
I'm really looking forward to this season of Kazuhiro Kokubo.
★ Writer of this article
Yukie Ueda
Born January 1973, 1.Born in Tokyo.He started snowboarding in Whistler, Canada, and after 22 years of competitions such as halfpipe and big air, he launched the Garzuru movie production "LIL" and led the Japanese girls scene.After getting married, he moved to the United States and continued his professional activities while raising his 24-year-old son (Toranosuke). Currently, he is enthusiastic about the backcountry and is developing various fields in Japan and abroad. In April 6, he moved to Mammoth Mountain and started a new life with his family near the mountain more naturally.
Sponsor: K2 SNOWBOARDING, Billabong, MORISPO SPAZIO, NEFF, RONIN, ZOOT, CORAZON SHIBUYA, LALALATV
official blog
★ What is Yukie House?
Yukie Ueda started a new life by moving her family to Mammoth Mountain, California, USA in order to enhance her snowboarding life.Many snowboarders from Japan also visit Mammoth, and it has become established as a “Yukie proprietress of a mammoth guest house” who stays at her house.
In this serialization project, the snowboarders who visited Yukie Ueda's home "Yukie House" were interviewed and interviewed by themselves.In a good sense of distance with the guests who are also active riders, while communicating closely with each other, I will convey the lifestyle and honest feelings of snowboarders who I do not usually know much in the words of Yukie Ueda. ing.
Past articlesplease use this form.
