Embarking on a tour is a double-edged sword. They’re a great introduction to travelling in an unfamiliar region or country, especially if you are travelling solo, but can be limiting in choices and options. Plus you have to spend a lot of time in close quarters with complete strangers. So what are the dangers, and how do you know if a tour will be the right one for you? Here are the five biggest downsides of going on a traditional group tour when travel, along with the five best reasons to pick an Epic Snow tour.   Fear #1 – Only visiting the most touristy sites We’ve all been there or seen it in action. Gigantic coaches rolling up to major tourism drawcards in a long line, each spewing 40-80 passengers out onto the footpath, cameras around their necks, marching off after their assigned bright umbrella or flag wielding tour guide. They jump the queue to the groans of the masses of patiently waiting individual travellers who, despite pre-booking, will now only be able to catch a faraway glimpse of what they came to see. Meanwhile, if you’ve been on one of these tours, yes, you get an expedited view

7 of our favourite things to take our guests on whenever we are on Tour in one of the most amazing cities… Tokyo. Experience amazing culture, eat some of the best food in the world and sing your heat out in a Karaoke bar.

In today’s world of cheap airfares for long distances flights with limited luggage weight allowances, we as the traveler are always looking to save as much weight and room as we can while still packing everything in. Traveling with your skis or snowboard can be a pain especially when these items take up a lot of our weight allowance and space. If you’re going for an extended time you may want to pay the extra fee on that budget airline and get an additional bag. If you’re going to get the extra bag, look at the not so budget airlines as these usually have the additional baggage allowance built into the airfare price. Here are a few hacks for saving weight and room. Board bag and ski bag. When buying a ski or board bag always keep an eye on the weight of the bag empty. Just because it’s a big bag and you can fit everything in it doesn’t mean it will save you in the long run. A bigger bag means more weight which can mean less gear to take with you. It’s a catch 22. You could get slogged for overweight baggage and the bag might not even

The French Climber Lionel Terray famous term “Conquistadors of the Useless” Which I think is a perfect description of the enlightened ones that call these beautiful mountain towns home for the winter and life becomes a lot simpler. After many years of living this dream myself I dedicate this to our fellow Conquistadors! 1.     You consistently buy bulk instant ramen. 2.     You have all the free Wi-Fi passwords in town. 3.     You think beer is a legitimate form of currency 4.     You use duct tape to fix everything clothing, furniture, vehicles etc. 5.     “Doing Laundry” consists of cycling through different flannels on your floor. 6.     You have a day job anight job and possibly a third job for the “hookups” 7.     You might not have been a gear head but you are now. 8.     You collect all your old seasons passes and grow your moustache all summer for the photo. 9.     Your goggle tan is the only tan line on your whole body. 10. You find yourself storm chasing with a car full of gear, sleeping bags and beer. 11. You yank broken skis and snowboards from a dumpster and think: “With a touch of epoxy, these could last an

Goggles are and can be a very understated piece of equipment when you are piecing this year’s list of essentials together. I’ve done it myself, you put off replacing them for another year claiming that “they are fine, I don’t NEED new gogs.” As the foam falls away from the frame and the lenses have more scratches on them as if the face hugger from aliens has tried to get through them. Trust me. Save the dollars, buy cheap beers, eat instant ramen for a month and treat yourself. Without your precious peepers you will never be able to see that Epic pow run in all its glory or when the blinding spring sun is beaming down on you and your squinting like Renee Zellweger on the beach when she forgets her sunglasses. Goggles mean EVERYTHING! Sure some people wear sunglasses on the mountain, but if you want to be taken seriously and start pushing your riding, invest in a descent set of goggles. From the fit to the Lenses here are some recommendations as to what will get you the best pair of goggles you will ever own: 1. Its all about the fit; The process of buying goggles can

Building Booters Who doesn’t love watching those epic video parts where the pro launches off a perfectly placed booter built in the middle of nowhere, spinning some switch 1660 quadrillion triple cork thing (pretty sure that’s a thing -ha) landing in to a perfect down ramp of untouched powder and riding out like the wizard they are. How did the booter get there? did they use a snow groomer ?why is it so perfect? Well, it takes patience and an understanding of the snowpack. All those backcountry booters are handmade and built by the filming crew and the riders. 1. Find the right location. When searching for that sweet spot, always make sure that there is a good run in where you will have enough speed and good landing zone (if you crash you don’t want to end up cartwheeling into a tree). Test the run in before you build to ensure you have enough speed. 2. How big do you make it? Once you have established that sweet spot you will want to work out the exact size of the height/distance you will travel in the air. If you want to go higher for a steeper landing build the