i’ve never pushed my limits mentally and physically as much as i did on this trip. at times, i felt like quitting, i felt frustrated, i felt overwhelmed, i felt weak, i felt hopeless, and i felt like giving up. i even felt like i was going to die. but now that it’s all over, i’m glad i had this experience for my body, mind, and soul. it will definitely make me a stronger person, a harder worker, and a happier man. thank goodness!
on this day, i was a wreck. everything you could possible think of went wrong. i was like a beginner surfer trying to surf pipeline for the first time. and yes, i lost. it was so foggy, snowing, raining, and the worst possible conditions to be in the mountain. on this particular drop, i fell a little earlier and my goggles landed under the snow. it was full of snow and i couldn’t get it out because it turned to ice. so i put it back on and kept going. i was pretty much blind. then i took it off and the snow/rain/frost made my vision even worst.
this was my view. imagine flying down a mountain like this? it was one of the scariest moments of my life to be honest. but once you’re up in the mountain, there’s only one way down. i went down by feel.
that night, we had the boys night out. just us guys laughing at all the stories from the day. and guess what? i was the laugh of the night. haha. thank you Osamu-san, Hayato, Takahashi-san, Taniya-san, Tokura-san, Kimura-san, and Jacksan for the crazy laughs!
laughing and eating amazing food. here is fish fresh from the ocean of hokkaido. it was so good!
and shirako is my favorite food! this and a cold beer will make a tired man happy.
this fish only lives in hokkaido. very interesting.
and the drive home in the most dangerous weather. stormy and little visibility. i was sitting in the back seat pretty nervous.
then woke up to a brand new day. a brighter and better day! more classic stories to come. thank goodness i’m still alive to tell you the story of a stupid foreigner going up into the minus 10 degree mountain with such little clothes. yes, that was me.
for now, getting on 2 flights to get back to hawaii. one to fukuoka, and one to honolulu. can’t wait to get back to tshirt, shorts, slippers, and mr. sun!
