JAPAN TRIP!
In February this year my brother and I headed for Japan for a 2 week holiday. We planed to do some snowboarding in some of the best snow in the world. Thats righ Japan is't just suped up cars, neon light and hello kitty they have some bliss snow all over the incredible alps.
After Arriving in Tokyo and stepping out into 4 degree high temp weather we were pretty pumped to head for the alps and rip it up on the snow. We spent the next 2 days shopping around Tokyo and just enjoying the amazing city. We booked a bullet train to Nagano, the home of the 1994 Winter Olympics. This was the fastested and most direct way to the Alps.
Shortly after departing from Tokyo central station in the The bullet train (Shinkensen) we were hitting speads of what seemed like 180kmph whilst still in the massive spead out built up city. The rails we set up high on a continuous concreat type of freeway overpass that let the train just speed along over the busy city and eventually speed up to 300kmph as we headed towards NW towards the alps.
The bullet train took just 3 hours to arrive in Nagano, a small little industrial city. From there we got a bus to Hukuba where the massive mountains were waiting for us.
Sadly the incredible snow season Japan was having with massive dumps of snow since early December 05, was nearing its end and the snow had not fallen in few days. The mountain was bliss and huge! The snow was a bit compacted at the time but we planed to leave Hakuba and travel to Hokido on the north island for some crazy powder and to hopefully catch up with my good mate Cam, before exploring the rest of the country.
I was not too worried as the conditions were still good and the snow runs were massive! The following day we hit the slops and ripped it up, it was a great day out; the runs were so long I had to give my legs a break before I got to the end of the bigger runs I was hammering along and loving every minute.

The following day was to be a good day with clear skies we headed out early. By 10am I was getting comfortable in the terrain park, doing a few jumps and grabs I was having a ball. I found the kickers on the jumps much more full on that the ones I had been on in Australia and NZ and the snow condition was a bit firm as there had still had not been any falls. I decided to do one more run in the terrain park before lunch but that small decision was a big mistake.
Hitting the same jumps I had hit many times that morning I don't know what exactly when wrong but this particular time I was roosted way to high and a little off balance. Eventually landing nose first my upper body was slammed into the firm ground. The impact was huge I bounced and I continued to tumble down the hill all the time as I tumble I knew my arm was in bad shape it was swinging around like a rag doll. I eventually landed facedown in the snow and the pain was nothing like I had ever experienced. My arm was killing me I was still locked into my board and I was desperately trying to kick my legs as I could not stand the pain. Laying there in pain I looked down to my chest trying to grab my left arm with my right arm and hold it against my body. But it wasn't there, I was sure it was under my chest, but looking over my shoulder
I saw it in a total opposite direction to what I was felling, It was inhumanly backwards and I couldn't move it. I eventually grabbed it with my other arm and pulled it in towards my chest. At this point I was positive it was dislocated as it was clearly not connected and I knew dislocation was apparently a very painful experience. Laying there in the snow I was screaming in pain and eventually the medics turned up and the pain was not getting any better, I was dripping with sweet and screaming at Hamish to put snow on my head. The medics checked my shoulder and established that my arm was not dislocated so they put me on a painful skidoo which I nearly fell off and sent me to the medical centre near the top of the mountain. Holding my arm as the skidoo went over bumps moguls, my bones clanged around like a bag of sticks and of corse this was not making the pain any easier to deal with. We arrived at the medical centre and I was put on to a bed and then told That they could not help me and I need to go to hospital, so I was put on the cable car and sent to the base of the mountain. At this point I was in the most extreme agony and couldn't stop thinking what is wrong with this place where is my fkin!!! Stretcher give me a fkin helicopter, fk
what is wrong with these people!!

Finally we made it to the base of the mountain Hamish helped me get off the moving cable car, to meet the transport the lovely medical centre had organised for me to travel in to the hospital. Taxi, yes that's right! A taxi, at least the Japanese taxi driver knew were he was going. With a lot of trouble I got into the back of the taxi eager to get to hospital. Ready to go a girl opens the door and I give her a really painful pissed off look as if to say what hell are you doing, can't you see this is my taxi!!! As it turned out she was opening the door to put her Russian boyfriend in who had broken his leg. Thumbs up for the medical centre once ageing, 2 birds with one stone. Well at least we didn't have to que up at the taxi rank.

10 mins later we arrived at the hospital and the nurses were more worried about my snow board boots bringing snow inside than the fact I was going to fall over and have a bone sticking through my arm.










In a hotel in Tokyo awaiting a flight back to Melbourne

The hospital x-rayed me roughly plastid up my arm and then I was
quietly told by a nurse to go to another hospital. The doctor there was dodgy. So with some generous help from the lovely people I was staying with they took me to the next hospital in Omachi 50 mins away. More x rays, pain and more plaster. After the real doctor had accessed the damage and informed me that I had broke my humourous horizontally across and the upper section was split like a peg vertically straight up and into the ball joint that also had a few breaks. I was in need of an operation but was able to head home for it. I was very reluctantly released and I went back to the snow lodge and waited 5-6 days for insurance to get me a flight home. The pain was really bad. I was almost passing out when I tried to move during the nite. Although the days became bearable and within 48 hours. The great people at the lodge were even nice enough to take us to see the Monkey Onsen a couple of hours drive away. The monkey Onsen is a natural hot spring pool in the snow where the monkeys hang about in the hot water to keep warm and clean.

This is me 2 days after the accident at the monkey Onsen. It was a brilliant day and a great experience
yes, I'm the one on the left...

 

Below a few more pics of the monkeys just hanging about.

 

Finally 6 days after the stack insurance reluctantly but finally came thru with a flight from Tokyo.
I arrived home in Melb, dad picked me up and took me to hospital. Then after a 3 day wait I had the operation, 2 plates, 18 bolts and 32 staples.

Now it is a month after the op and the pain has decreased a lot. I still have pain but in comparison to what I went thru before and after the op it is not too much to deal with. Sleeping is much less of an issue but still uncomfortable.

At the moment I am doing work from home and getting to be not a bad at typing with a single hand.

Looking back at Japan it was awesome, and the treatment on the mountain was fine, there really were not too many other options at the time, not sure about the taxi though.

Anyway no snowboarding for a year.

Wal