Sometimes you go till dark. On this day, Travis Rice, Shin Biyajima, Gabe Langlois and myself went on a little scouting mission up an unfamiliar tram before arriving back at our favored lift for an afternoon lap. We hiked out as darkness fell and found lights still on by a cat track near the bottom of the resort. Travis hiked to the top and slashed a little powder on the side with his headlamp for guidance. THE SAFETY POLICE “Avalanche is dangerous, come down quickly! Avalanche is dangerous, come down quickllllyyyyyy!” A few hundred feet below, in the parking lot, a chubby little man has gotten out of a chubby little police car and is broadcasting over a megaphone. His tone is urgent as he repeats himself a dozen times. We’re busted. “Avalanche is dangerous, come down quickly!” His voice is getting louder, higher in pitch. The talent, higher upslope than the heavily laden media crew and already strapping in, comply by slashing a little rib to the bottom. The policeman’s tone changes. “Avalanche is dangerous, come down slowwwlllyyyy, and careeeffff-fuulllyyyy…” Shin, who could get in real trouble, hides in the trees as we boot back down. The police are polite, communicating through Google Translate. Who are we? Where are we staying? “It’s so beautiful to be in the mountains,” Travis replies, attempting to kill them with kindness. “You guys are so nice. You should hang out with the cops in San Diego…” The dumb foreigner act works, and they leave with a wave and a smile. Still, we’ve been shut down again. It’s starting to make sense why most people opt for Hakuba. Safety is a big deal around Yuzawa. 064 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 17.1: Page 64
