My Default Blog
In case you haven't looked an inch above here already- I've put some photos from our Japan trip in Jan/Feb!
Well well it's been a long time!!!! I shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to, step to step to, step to, step to, step to (chicki chicki)
Well the season is LOOONG over, every day is flippin' hot here, and the wakeboards have come out in force!! I've only had a day on the water though, there's a lot going on right now, because there's only 5 days until I leave for JAPAN!!! It's a rarity to have boards and outerwear scattered on the lounge floor when everyone is basically melting in the heat. This time it's for real though, not just a jump around the living room floor or comandeering a trampoline, but it really means something!!i! It's all a bit crazy, packing, organising, back and forth on the phone practicing my best Nihon-go, but man is it going to be worth the months of saving!! We've got a relatively big budget for the trip ($12,000??) so we can actually enjoy ourselves over there... I'm only taking one camera lens (was going to borrow a 70-200 F2.8 but the plane couldn't take off with that in my bag)- but I can promise some good photos on the way in a month or so!!
It's so hard to believe that on a hot, still, balmy night like this, in less than a week We'll be cruising the Shinkansen on the other side of the world..... Yeow!!!! Haha.
-Heiwa
I did it!!!! My one real goal this year, and I finally did it!
It got to about 3:30 and Cris decided to take his leave, with his friends, so Alannah and I were deciding what to do for our last run, we headed up the top T-bar (where else would yo go) - and When we got there she said "Which way should we go?" (meaning left or right) - and I thought about it for a bit, and said "Up." Initially we were just gonna go a few hundred metres, just to get some of the nice untracked snow up there. A few hundred metres turned into "We'll hike till 4 and see how far we get", then 4 o clock rolled around, and we were like ".......50 more steps!" - and they came and went, and we did 50 more, and 50 more...... Well by this stage it was clear that to strap in and ride down from anywhere less than the summit would be cheating ourselves, and although we were only about 1/4 of the way up by now, we just kept going and going....
50 minutes later and we made it!!!!! I've been told it's a 1.5 hour hike. It was the most incredible thing I've ever done with snowboarding!
It's nothing like I expected up there. The summit plateau is BIG- and the lake is silver! It's so strange to think that the lake doesn't really have a bottom.... It's strange to stand there and stare into the mouth of an active volcano, that just 2 weeks ago was threatening to throw its toys....
Eventually we had to ride back down, although I could have stayed there untill it got dark.. We strapped in, and I had the HUGEST run of my life!! The altitude meant that the snow was drier the higher we got, so the first part was pure heaven! I was on my Japan board, which is oh-so- fast, and we had SO MUCH ROOM! It was close to 5pm by the time we dropped in, and we were the only people there! We literally had all that snow to ourselves! We were all over it too- pushing out so far to the sides, laying back HUUUUGE turns, then dropping sections straight and then craaaanking on an edge and slingshot-ing around.... Oh man it was unreal!!! Most of my big runs to date have been snowboard in, hike out, so you know what's coming up, but this time we'd done all the hard work and all we had to do was just enjoy it! And we did! If you ride at Ruapehu and haven't yet hiked the summit, DOOO IT!
No cameras, all we had was Lana's phone cam (which is less than ideal)
Aaaand here's my graphical synopsis:
3927 feet of vertical right there!!!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
"The principal casual leisure of snowboarders is reading, socializing, watching films and videos, and watching television. Here...socializing, in its many different expressions, reigns supreme. By contrast, tending to the email and walking the dog were the least popular. And the snowboarders reported by far the largest average amount of daily time devoted to leisure: 3.5 hours. In good part, this figure can be explained by the fact that many of them held part-time jobs, or were unemployed."
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
I got a new truck!!
...Now it's sleeping in the muc down by the river :(
I hope I can get it out tomorrow!! Check out this cute dog!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Yesterday I rode the best snow I have ever seen since I started in 2000. 3 Of us took the day off and headed up to Turoa, which for the last 3 days has been having heavy snowfall. It was still stormy low altitude and you couldn't see the mountain from Ohakune. Was it a bad choice to come today? We got to the top, and it was blue-bird, with no crowds!!! Jesse's internal snow radar proved itself once again...... Anyways we spent the whole day making new tracks, all over the mountain, it was so so sick. At one stage I turned around to se my friend Querps up to his neck in powder :O
For the most part the day was clear and blue- we had one or two spots of snow though!
There were so many cliffs to be dropped and so much deep powder to be slashed- I just didn't want to stop and take photos! Fortunately I have some, which I can share with you here. Enjoy! I did :)
On the access road.....
Didn't look too good as this stage!
Still climbing, still cloudy....
Q-Daddy, suiting up!! It was flippin' cold, so the bandannas are actually functional, not just there so we can look like we're gonna rob the place.
Cold lift ride! Look at those crowds.......
Querps making some tracks!
Hiking the glacier!!
Jesse, jumping off a pretty flippin' big cliff!
We got allot of 1st drops like the one in the above photo, there was no-one around to drop them before us!! I don't have photo's of me because I can't do two things at once. Jesse took some though, so if you're lucky..... Haha
Peace!
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Published by trees_rule: 12:41 AM
Updated On: 10/15/2006 at 5:44 PM
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This was my dream car!! Till some nice dude took the time to crash into me 
FINALLY!! I just came back from the best weekend of my entire life! Alannah and I have just driven 12 hours back to Ohakea (and she has 6 to go)- I have work in two hours but I don't care because all I can think about is my love affair with snowboarding...... MT HUTT (where it all began for me) opened on Saturday, and I took 2 busses, a plane, and 3 cars to get there!! We took my dad's Pajero, but it blew a water hose off the back of the engine half way there, but by an amazing stroke of luck (or was it...?) a guy I used to know from somewhere I used to live happened to drive by- so Ryan, Alannah and I jumped in their tiny 4wd over- loaded with all our gear and kept on truckin!! (I was in the boot)... Well I'm gonna try this "Picture is worth a thousand words" thing out....  So so ready...  In my dad's wagon outside my parents house....  .... And dad's wagon broken on the side of the hill!  Rescued!! Back on our way (taken from in the boot)  Finally there!!! Back at the old stomping ground....  Seeing if I've still got it!! ;)  (Ryan's derinately still got it)  End of the day- waiting for the tiredness to hit haha. This was the best day snowboarding of my life!! Check the other pics in my gallery. Thanks to all the other crew we met up there for making it such a rad day. Anthony, Mike, everyone else I got to ride with. Sorry about the truck dad!! (he had it fixed in no time) Peace!
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Published by trees_rule: 9:39 PM
Updated On: 6/14/2006 at 11:13 AM
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Much better :)
Well it's 4 DAYS today until snowboarding kicks off for the year!!! It's freezing and we had good snowfalls, then they had a nice warm rain patch which washed everything away! I'm going south for my first weekend riding so it doesn't affect me, but Mt Ruapehu had to start from scratch! They had over 1 metre a week ago and now look at what they're working with:  I mean seriously, snowmakers are good and stuff, but even that's pushing it!!
There's snow falling now! I guess it makes the living in a freezing house worthwhile when you know that you'll be snowboarding soon. I can't wait to take my camera out onto the mountain! Then I'll have something of worth to upload! (It's been summer since I joined the site)
I WENT SURFING!!!!!!!!
i know, I was excited too.
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Published by trees_rule: 8:14 AM
Updated On: 5/16/2006 at 8:26 AM
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And then I wash my hands of your blood
Trying to convince myself that my actions
Aren't the only reason that your blood must be shed.
Betrayed with a kiss
Yet I deal you the same insult every day that I'm alive
I pretend that it's alright - I pull the wool over my own eyes
Sheltering myself from a reality I couldn't survive
With a sheild of deciept and complacency
While I should be helping you carry your cross
I stand in the crowd and hope that no-one will notice.
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Published by trees_rule: 12:01 AM
Updated On: 5/8/2006 at 12:03 AM
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Well well, I've been a busy unit the last few weeks!
This is why I haven't been around:
Look where I spent my Easter!!! Does this background look fake or what!
I hope everyone had a wicked nice Easter :)
Well that was the easiest night shift I've ever done! We got there, had dinner and went home. My camera has been taking a thrashing over the last few days! (can you thrash a camera??) - There's been lightning storms for three days now and I just can't get the right picture! But my flat mate had a primo idea to get a photo of rain drops frozen in space on their way down. They're so hard to focus on! I took one today but it'll take practice. Though it was raining I only managed to get one drop in shot. Yesterday I went down to the closed down and scary as hell 1930s mental hospital awsell. It was my 2nd time down there (both in the middle of the day) - and it still freaks me out! I can't wait to go there at night.... What is it about old abandoned mental hospitals?? One time (at one down south) we found patient records and stuff. Scary stuff..... Anyways here's my first attempt at a raindrop shot. I'll chuck some mental hospital pics up as they come. I bugged out of there pretty quick though after I heard gunshots! Okay, picture time.... 
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Published by trees_rule: 2:40 AM
Updated On: 4/10/2006 at 2:43 AM
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Well I have to say Friday was one of the busiest days I can remember! OK it started at 0500 when my alarm went off, for a 0520 start at work!! I worked alll day, untill just before 1700 friday evening, raced home, got changed into my service dress, quickly gave my parade shoes a polish and what not, and headed back to base for an 1800 start at the RNZAF 69th anniversary thing. We were there till about 8, then raced away back home, where I got changed into a suit etc, and we charged into palmy for a ball that started at 8! Stayed there till around midnight. Man today (Saturday) has been soooo mellow... The last 6 weeks I've been constantly on courses, duty crew, and night shift! Next week I'm away with the 1NZSAS (special forces oh yaa) - then the next week I'm on nights (again!!) - then finally back to normal!! Doooooo it!
Hmmm so what's been happening over the last few days? OK my dad came to visit last night!! It was good as to see him, and he got to see my new house (he was posted to the same Air Force Base almost 30 years ago), and I got to see his new 4x4! I love it, I think it's inspired me to sell my subaru and get one like it! I already wanted one for awhile but it's hard ot let go of my legacy- it's so fast and fun to drive :P I WENT TO A DRIVE IN MOVIE SUNDAY NIGHT!!!!! It was so sweet, I'd never been to a drive in movie. Exactly how I imagined it to be too. Alannah and I went, it was only $5/car! you tuned your car stereo to a certain freq. for sound. We got heaps of food etc before hand, it was primo.. Now I'm listening to the Aerosmith CD I bought in an online auction on the 6th, and its finally turned up! "My back 9's are killing me!"
I took some of the best photos of my life tonight! far out ya'll mite not think they're that good, but there's something about the mood of them. See what you think!   Now that I've found my cord again I'll post some new pics from the last few days. Hope you like them :)
Day light saving happened last night. It was wack, like, BAM, its dark, and it's only 7PM! Man it gets me thinking about winter again!! It was such a hot day yesterday the river was dead flat in Wanganui and all I wanted to do was wakeboard on it, but come night time, thoughts changed to Winter and I got those nice feelings when you've had a good summer and everything, but you know winter is coming....
Mmmm I hope it's a cold one. But right now there's other things to think about. Like how in 20 mins I'll be at work for the day!!!! Gaa.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
I'm on a specialist course right now at work. It's to learn more about the airframe and rotor systems of a helicopter. I'm supposed to be studying. Do i look like I'm studying??? 
Far out, the Snow Park website is doing a pretty good job of begging me down there this year!!! Apartments going in, so much new stuff.... Check it out yo! www.snowparknz.com.
Wellll tonight was about as exciting as it gets in Dave world... Anyone seen The Exorcism of Emily Rose??
I spent my break at work today printing pictures off the internet and sellotaping them together. Such is my desire to snowboard! Matching pants/jacket combos work really well if you're a real good boarder. Haha I'd love to add these pants to my collection.Too soon?
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Published by trees_rule: 5:26 AM
Updated On: 3/9/2006 at 5:29 AM
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