[Pro Aodoulang] Yuzawa Back Country Expert-Okany
I think that after many people ski to a certain level, they can no longer be satisfied with pure packed snow, and will start to be attracted by non-packed snow. Even more, they will want to brush the powder snow outside the trail to ski and make their first traces. So this time Akudoro invited Okany, a senior Back Country guide in the Yuzawa area, to talk to us about BC (wild snow skiing)~
Editor: Hi Okany, can you introduce yourself a little bit?
Okany : Hi everyone, my name is Okany. I am a snow guide in the Yuzawa area. I have been skiing in Yuzawa for more than 30 years.
Editor Dou: I'm a little curious, why are you calling What about Okany?
Okany : Because my name has the word Okay, people will call me Okanyo (Okay no brother - Oka No NiSan), and finally the abbreviation becomes Ok (laughs).
Editor: Why did you start skiing?
Okany : Actually, I have always wanted to ski since I was a child , but I was born in Tokyo, which is far away from the ski resorts, and skiing is an expensive sport, so I didn’t officially start skiing until I was 26 years old.
Editor: Then why did you choose Yuzawa instead of other ski resorts such as Hokkaido and Hakuba?
Okany : I was initially choosing between Hakuba, Yuzawa, and Hokkaido, but Hokkaido is too far away from Tokyo, which would make it difficult to find my friends in Tokyo. And although Hakuba can still go to Tokyo, the transportation is compared to Yuzawa. It was still relatively inconvenient, so I chose Yuzawa.
Editor Dou: What was the opportunity to start working on Back Country?
Okany : Some time after I started skiing, I started to be a freestyle ski player until I was about 31 years old. However, because the competition wins and losses were dominated by players who started skiing since childhood, I decided to retire from the competitive career. At that time, I happened to discover BC’s The interesting thing is that my BC career started. Although many people in Europe and the United States were already playing BC at that time , there were still very few people in Japan. I was probably the first person to start BC in Yuzawa .
Editor: Does Back Country have restrictions on single or double boards?
Okany : Basically, everything is fine. For example, when I started playing BC, I started with snowboard. At that time, I felt that floating on the snow was very comfortable. But after playing to a certain level, I found that ski can make it easier to reach more difficult areas. place, so later on I started skiing.
Editor Dou: Is there anything we should pay attention to in Back country?
Okany : There are a lot of things that need to be paid attention to. First of all, of course, you need to have a certain level of skating and physical strength. Secondly, you need to bring the three avalanche treasures, and you also need to know how to use them. Otherwise, if you don’t use them when you bring them, it will just be Just think of it as a talisman. The third thing is If you can follow a local guide who has professional knowledge such as terrain, snow conditions, avalanche risks, etc., it will be a good choice.
Editor Dou: Is there any chance to open some BC experiences or courses with Adorou in Yuzawa?
Okany : Of course, I have taken you there before. I hope you can understand the beauty of Yuzawa and use my expertise to help you safely experience the beauty of BC. If there is any cooperation in the future, I will ask you. (laugh)
Aodulang plans to hold junior BC CAMP in the 2024/2025 snow season If you are interested, you can first send a private message to Aodoulang customer service to register. If the class starts successfully, we will contact you again. |
