Words and Photos Colin Wiseman T ravis Rice is holding court. He’s smiling, bearded, giddy in a crisp blue kimono. Shin Biyajima waves over his shoulder. Travis just won the Freeride World Tour event in Hakuba. That’s where we were sup-posed to meet them. “It’s Michelin-level food,” Travis says, referring to an ephemeral ryo-kan in the Japanese Alps somewhere beyond Yuzawa. “You guys have to get up here.” Never mind the price tag. On the other side of the screen, seven of us huddle together to grin back at Travis. Elena Hight organized this crew, the first trip of her two-year project with Teton Gravity Research. Hana Beaman’s joined her, along with RED cam operators Gabe Langlois and Sean Aaron, producer Justin Fann, TGR photographer/production assistant Leslie Hittmeier, and me. We’re in the basement of a 10-story, concrete monolith of a hotel, buffet tickets in hand. Vacationers shuffle by in decidedly midrange kimonos, headed for the onsen down the hall. While less visually ap-pealing than the exclusive natural springs where Travis and Shin are currently ensconced, the water is pure. There’s so much hydrothermal activity in Yuzawa that hot water literally gushes out of the streets to keep the town’s tight, two-lane streets clear of inch-an-hour snowfall. The onsen’s revitalizing mineral odor mingles with that of our im-pending meal plan: roast beef, crab legs, five varieties of miso soup and more. Travis has been on a roll here in Japan. He arrived in a private jet belonging to an unnamed benefactor alongside Baldface Lodge boss Jeff Pensiero. They spent a week living large on Hokkaido before Travis went to Hakuba, rode a week of powder, and stood atop the podium. Now, he’s led us to a less-explored corner of Honshu seeking new lines. And where Travis goes, you follow—sometimes that means crowding into a mega-hotel for weekending tourists from Tokyo. 058 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 17.1: Page 58
