Dear China - Don't eat dogs!

We make jokes about it and don't want to believe that's it's true. It is true. Folks in China and Korea - no, not all folks in China and Korea - eat dogs.

Personally, I find that repulsive. I'm not much of a meat-eater anyway but dogs?

Every time S. Korea or China has a major international event, they hide the dog meat merchants. They know too.

This AFP photo shows that some awareness is growing in China, even without the tourists.

If you're seeing this on Facebook or Twitter, go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/ to see the link.

Skier bodysurfs an avalanche

Using a Backcountry Access Float 30 backpack, a skier "bodysurfs" his way safely from an avy. Thanks to Rocky at Backcountry for posting this. If you're seeing this on Facebook or Twitter, go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/  to see the full video and links.

BTW, after the first few minutes, you've really seen it all.


Raw Footage - edit to follow from Jeff Wyshynski on Vimeo.

Colorado wolves

I have a tremendous passion for wolves. My wife and I went to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide, Colorado Saturday night for a Full Moon Tour. As you can see, the interaction with the wolves is remarkable. They are an endangered species and ill-informed people (nice way to say it) continue to try to destroy them. Their role in the ecosystem is complex and significant, including controlling exploding elk and deer populations. No - the hunters aren't very good at that. Populations (as a whole) continue to grow.

The other smaller animals are red foxes...even the white ones. They are bred in captivity for fur, then killed in a most inhumane way. An electrical rod is violently shoved into one of their 2 main orifices - really - then the power is turned on. Obviously, that's horrible but it gets worse. Sometimes it doesn't kill them. Dead or dying, they're hung from a hook and skinned - yes, oftentimes alive. Their fur then goes to coats and other furs - it can take 40 or more foxes for one coat, depending upon the style and size. So, the next time you see Jennifer Lopez, remember what happened and what suffering went into making that coat.

Anyway, I'll try to stop preaching here. To see much more about the wolves and foxes (and coyotes), go to http://www.wolfeducation.org/. To learn about what you can do to try to stop the slaughter, check out http://www.wildearthguardians.org/.

It matters.

If you're seeing this on Facebook or Twitter and want to see the pics, links, etc, go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/

Think snowboarding is difficult, ride a cow

If you haven't seen it by now, a German girl, when told by her parents that she couldn't have a horse, learned to ride a cow.

Actually, she learned to ride it well.

Hell, I thought ice was difficult.

2012 Never Summer Heritage/Heritage X

No, you can't see the 2012 Never Summer catalog yet. However, they've released a few things for us to drool over. Here's the 2012 Never Summer Heritage, currently called a Big Mountain Freestyle board. Sizes will range from a 155/156 (second number is the wider X) to a 165/166. They describe it as follows:

Like the freeride inspired Raptor, the new Carbonium Series Heritage is equipped with the new NS SuperLight woodcore and extensive carbon reinforcement (Carbonium Laminate Technology) to power this big mountain freestyle board anywhere on the mountain. Super snappy, yet powerful and lightweight, the Heritage is comfortable charging full speed down groomers, in the trees, or slaying the park with absolutely no sacrifice in quality and durability. The X is a wide version of the original.

Backcountry Europe - Insane lines and climbs

This video documents runs that most of us only dream about. Riders include Luca Pandolfi, John Minogue, Pier Smaltini, and Michele Valle da Rin. It was filmed by Felix Hentz.

The climbing is excellent, the music is different and entertaining and the film is longer than most - nearly 9 minutes. Amazing what you get for free these days!  Enjoy!

If you're seeing this on Facebook and want to see the video, go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/.

Dolomiti from Felix Hentz on Vimeo.