CoverPhoto: Grant Gunderson
Skier: Stan Rey, Barclay Desjardins, Anna Segal
Location: Banff, AL, CAN
CONTENTS
"RIDER'S—Message to the Future Vol.2"
Text by Takuro Hayashi, Yoshiro Higai, and Chikara Terakura. Photos by Yoshiro Higai, Ayako Niki, Tomokazu Kuwano, Hiroshi Suganuma, Miho Furuse, and Hiroya Nakata
Daisuke Sasaki,
Hayato Maruyama,
Haruna Kono,
Kenji Furuse,
Kazuya Yamaki,
Satoshi Tsukahara
No matter what, we have chosen to continue skiing and have built our lives around it. So, with the long-awaited season approaching, what kind of season will the riders and guides on the front lines of the sport face? We spoke to six pairs of skiers who have dedicated their lives to skiing, love their families, and live down-to-earth lives
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"KAERAZU 2020 - A full skiing trip across the steep peaks of Fukinoken"
Text by Yuta Shimomura Photos by Tomoki Fuse
Towering over the Ushiro-Tateyama mountain range, Fukino-Ken is a three-peaked symbol of Hakuba backcountry and an icon of big mountain riding in Japan. Beginning with the first descent by Tomohiro Shakawa in 1996, many hardcore skiers from Japan and abroad have taken on the challenge. This is the story of Hakuba locals Yuta Shimomura and Tomoki Fuse, who skied down three peaks in one season, from Fukino-Ken I to III, during the 2020 season, which saw record low snowfall
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"White Powder Canada Part 2 - Local Tour"
Text by Jin Ishibashi, Photos by Tenpei Takeuchi
Fall Line's classic series, "Exploring the Locals," continues from the previous issue, as we travel to the remote countryside of British Columbia, Canada. This time, we're based in Nelson, and we're taking in the Kootenay Ranges with a heli-hike and Whitewater Ski Resort. This is our first visit in 10 years to Whitewater, where, combined with two lifts and a hike-up and hitchhiking, you could claim a powder paradise, including the backcountry, all for yourself
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"Six Years of ROOM SNOWBOARD MAGAZINE"
Text and photos by Nakata Sho
There is a free snowboarding magazine from Hokkaido that has released 12 issues with a total circulation of 60,000 copies. Its creator, Sho Nakata, is a photographer who specializes in snowboarding. What motivated him to continue editing alone, even during the snowboarding season? We look back on the six years of producing the magazine, which sadly announced its hiatus this year
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"Skating Straight and Honestly"
Text by Takashi Endo, Photos by Kei Sato
This top Japanese mogul skier, who represented Japan in three consecutive Olympic Games and stood on the podium multiple times at the World Cup, retired from competition at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and is now coaching the next generation of skiers as the All Japan Team, while also focusing his activities on the freeskiing scene. This is the story of Endo's two days of hard work in the powder area of Asahikawa
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"PHOTOGALLERY"
Fall Line presents a carefully selected selection of exquisite works submitted by photographers from around the world
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"Taro Tamai - The worldview created by skaters is necessary for the coming era."
Text and photos by Taro Tamai
These are the founders of GENTEMSTICK's values and recommendations for the current era, as they spread their message from Niseko to the world
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"Michelle Parker INTERVIEW"
Text by Chikara Terakura, Photos by Takahiro Nakanishi
An interview with a female skier who visited Japan in February. We spoke to her in Hokkaido in February, where she is cute yet a strong skier. What are her values that keep her at the top, and what is the secret to continuing to ski like a woman?
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"Manufacturing by skiers, for skiers: Teton Bros.'s development process, which adheres to a hands-on approach"
Text by Chikara Terakura Photos by Takanori Ota
For the past few years, we have been sending out the series "Craftsmanship by Skiers" on an irregular basis. This time, we focused on field testing. In what environments are they tested, how are they tested, and how are the results reflected in their products? We visited the testing site of Teton Bros., a brand that continues to develop products like a laboratory with a small team, to hear more about their work
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"A Complete Guide to GORE-TEX for the Slightly Geeky: An In-Depth Interview with a Gore Japan Representative"
Text by Chikara Terakura, Photos by Daigo Onozuka
How much do we really understand about this cutting-edge material? While we may think we know, there may actually be a lot we don't. So, we visited Gore's headquarters in Japan and asked the people in charge some honest questions. We discovered some nerdy facts about Gore-Tex that you won't find in any catalog or website
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"The current state of Hakuba SDGs, where big movements have begun
- Hakuba Valley ski resorts have begun synchronizing with POW JAPAN's activities. Text
Hakuba is now taking major action against climate change, ahead of other ski areas across the country. Several ski resorts are already in the process of switching over to electricity, and from next season a significant number of lifts, lighting, and snow machines will be running on naturally derived renewable energy. We report on HAKUBA VALLEY's efforts, hoping that this will eventually spread to ski areas across the country
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"Ski equipment choices and reasons"
Impression by Ryuta Asahi, Takafumi Konishi, Yuu Takeo, Shin Miyajima, Michio Takimoto, Ken Hirose, Kenichi Minegishi
Seven skiers, snowboarders, and photographers share their impressions of their favorite gear. Continuing from the previous issue, we narrowed it down to skis, boards, boots, bindings, and climbing gear, and asked them to choose their favorite gear for different situations and write detailed reports on each
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"LAST SHOT"
photos and text by Hiroyuki Yamada
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■Columns:
Akira Mori "What will happen to the snow this winter?"
Daisuke Mizorogi "How to spend this unprecedented season"
Kazushige Fujita "Artificial terrain parks in 2020"
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■Regular
“PREMIERE DVD & MAGAZINE REVIEW”