Taro Tamai – A Scandinavian trip
Surfing and Snowboarding have existed in unity within myself for a long time.
Snowboarding was born as Snowsurfing at the first place. I believe it started with a few surfers trying to surf on snow. There are various views on where snowboarding originates. Some says it started as a hunter’s tool to move around in the snow, which I certainly don’t disagree with, but when comparing a single board to a pair of skis, as a mean of transport, the efficiency not quite the same. Maybe hunters used to carry heavy loads of games on it, and when they didn’t have anything to carry, it’s easy to imagine that they would use it as a sled to ride down the slopes. Probably some of them had tried to stand up ride on those sleds. Sleds are sleds and their main purpose was a mean to transport cargo. I think snowboarding’s real nature is the Fun, Joy and a way to express oneself, not a practical solution to aid a type of work. Snowboarding was born for pure creativity.
Putting the question of which is better than the other aside, the difference between skis, a livelihood tool turned into leisure, and snowboards, born as a tool of self-expression, are quite fundamental and what sets those two snow gliding equipment apart.
For me, when I boil it all down, snowsurfing style is the ultimate form of snowboarding. Snowsurfing is the not just a style, but the essence and the origin of snowboarding.
In this small but great world, during my long but short life, I went to various places with various snow, slopes and people to seek in hopes to find the real meaning of this hypothesis.
In so called year 2018, I live in Hokkaido, that is part of a country called Japan. The reason why I live here, is because it’s a paradise for me. It’s a place where you can find powder snow at your doorsteps in winter, and that has surf relatively nearby all year round. Whether it’s a great wave or not for surfing will depend on eveyone’s point of view, but having not much competition, due to its low water temperature makes it easier to have a purer relationship with the waves.
I have been surfing in various surf spots on earth, and I can say that I am more than content with the waves we have in Hokkaido.
Having said that, I still venture abroad several times a year to seek for some kind of answer.
I went on a long awaited trip to Scandinavia this Spring. I was curious to see how people, while being the same human beings, growing up in a different culture were interpreting snowboarding at their homes. I’m always curious to see what culture to find and whether I would find new terrains and snow perfect for Snowsurfing.
And I have to say, by the end of this trip, I was truly touched to have experienced what I did.
I met riders purely enjoying the fun of snowboarding in Svanstein,
Sweden. Our host, a small group of Finnish friends, organized a demo event at Püha, Finland and I was able to see what kind of environment and riding they’re accustomed to. The wild drive on the Norwegian coastline barely having enough space when passing a semi-truck was as frightening as the high-hazard level snow conditions we met during the trip. But the local guides we met under those circumstances acknowledged what kind of terrains we were looking for and safely guided us to the best possible spots. And of course, all the Snowsurfers we met along the journey. It was a revelation to see that everybody shared that same level of love towards Snowsurfing, the snow, mountains and the waves.
Norway is similar to Hokkaido in the sense that snow accumulates all the way down to the beach. Local Snowsurfers would load their car up with boards for the ocean and the mountain. The true essence that seemed to have been extinct in the mainstream realm of snowboarding, was well alive in Scandinavia, just as it has been in Japan.
I always thought that the environment and the land makes a strong influence in how a cultures are born, and this trip confirmed that I was right.
What matters the most are not races nor borders, but the identity as a Snowsurfer. As I saw the mountains rising from the shore, and their slopes full of natural half-pipes and gully terrains, it didn’t take much time for me to understand why I felt the same vibes that I feel back home.
MORE PHOTOS OF THIS TRIP IN NSM nr.28
