ALPINE WINDSURFING
On May the 9th we released ‘Straight Mountain’, my Japanese windsurfing project. We went to Rishiri Island, way off the northern tip of Japan with the plan to do alpine windsurfing. I took a customised windsurf board with special footstraps and fins; I ended up using wetsuit booties with socks underneath. We basically wanted to recreate the sensation of windsurfing but on a mountain in powder snow. It was just like wave sailing. I had my 4.7 and we hiked into the mountains. I was there for twenty four days and the last two weeks was mainly alpine hiking, sometimes 7-900 metres a day. I have never been physically pushed that hard in my life. It was almost like sleep walking sometimes when I was hiking. It was unbelievable, I adapted to it and it turned out to be one of the most unique experiences of my life! When you had the right powder snow and the right wind direction it was insane. I was just laughing to myself as I went down the hill. I wish I could have shared that experience with another rider. All the sensations and technique is similar to windsurfing on the water but you are flying down the mountain laying powder carves. It was fun and I’d love to go back with some more windsurfers with me and do it again.