Yuzawa is the perfect place to attempt this kind of record as there are so many different resorts in close proximity to one another. WeLoveSnow first broke the record in 2007 with 44 lifts ridden and the same record was equalled in 2008. This meant the pressure was on for 2009 to get past that 44 mark and into the record books. Instead of skiing, this year we opted for snowboards to see if that would improve our chances.
This year’s team consisted of myself (Aaron Doig) from the U.K, Koji Hoshino from Japan, who was the schedule and log book keeper and Kieron Waller also from the U.K, the man with the camera. I’m sure he was relieved he brought a back up camera as the first camera decided to freeze right before the first lift. Work was abandoned for the day to allow this intrepid band a shot at the title.
Conditions had been quite worrying in the days running up to the attempt. Many lifts were closed and there more grass than snow in some resorts. Luckily the snow decided to fall non-stop on the day before the attempt and on the day itself. This meant that more lifts were open which gave us a real boost. However, the conditions proved tricky at Kagura as it was a total white out, making it very difficult to navigate between lifts. One wrong turn could have ruined the whole attempt.
This years attempt took us from Ishiuchi to Gala, Iwappara, Kandatsu, Kagura and Naeba resorts which had a total of 47 lifts open. We rode a mixture of double, triple, quad, ropeway, gondola and magic carpets and finally broke through the 44 mark in Naeba Resort and managed to ride a grand total of 46 lifts. Our gloves and face masks were frozen solid but by the end we hardly noticed anym ore as we had broken the record.
