God
I used to believe that we were nothing without God, but I also believed that God was nothing without us.
Now I believe the opposite is true.
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Letter from Shinya
Mr. Hardesty, Patches of winter snow still linger above 1000m, while the mountains are covered in fresh greenery, with kobushi magnolias and wild cherry blossoms in bloom. Just like the Wasatch Range, it is a beautiful season here. The Niseko Avalanche Information was born out of sheer necessity. Forty years
"We must stop confusing academic research with safety education."
My journey to find Akitaya has led me to some unexpected delights. One of the people whom I hoped could provide a path was Shinya-san. He turns 80 years old next year and has been - to oversimplify - the avalanche and mountain weather forecaster (link) in Niseko, Hokkaido since the
Utah - The Greatest...*Rain* on Earth?!?
(originally published in winter 2026 The Avalanche Review) It was towards the end of the 2002/2003 winter when Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Evelyn Lees wrote that the Wasatch range was like “A cake decorated by a child, where they put frosting on top but they forgot the sides.” That
Looking for Akitaya
Even though I lived and skied in Japan (northern Honshu and Hokkaido) for a couple years in the early 1990s, I remain an outsider. I've been looking for Akitaya for quite some time. Some history. On April 2, 1961, a number of large ground avalanches broke out almost