Final ride?

This past Saturday I had another great day of snowboarding (and snow-tubing and snow-fighting) with Aki, Lisa, and Ryuta. The spring snow was a bit slushy, but we had a fine time nonetheless. The weather has warmed considerably the past couple of weeks, and I'm not sure if I'll have the opportunity to ride again this year (though one mountain in Yamagata Prefecture apparently has "spring skiing" well into June. The next few weekends will likely be spent at cherry-blossom viewing parties (a tradition/obsession in Japan), on the golf course, and in general enjoying spring as much as possible.

Below, a few pictures from the day at Zao ski resort. Ryuta is on the right in the photo below; his name translated means "Fat Dragon Small Bear". Yes, he is just that cool (also the best rider among us...).



Aki and Lisa have a laugh near the Zao summit. The evergreens in the background are completely covered by snow most of the winter and resemble "snow monsters". However, this winter has been mild and it was much too late to see them.



Lisa, on my back, smiling, and completely unaware of the fact that later in the day she'll be the recipient of what is known in my family as a "facewash"--a handful of snow rubbed vigorously into the face, OR shoving the face directly into the snow with a mopping motion. In response to her snowball to my forehead, I opted for the latter. No doubt she will have her revenge...