Val D'Isere backcountry Courtesy of Burton

We spent the week riding different resorts in Hokkaido, and the snow was super good. It snowed 6"- 10" (15cm-25cm) every day. That's what riding in Japan is all about, perpetual snow. During this part of our trip, Savina and Olivia Kelly joined us for ten days. Being with Craig's partner and daughter brought back so many great memories of traveling Japan with Craig, riding with him and watching him revolutionize our sport. The imprint that Craig left on Olivia and Savina is as solid as the mark he left on snowboarding. I know he would be stoked to see how strong they are and how well they are doing.

Another temporary member of our posse was Taka, a local Hokkaido 14-year-old ripper. I was in Hokkaido three years ago, and my son George was with me. George and Taka were both 11 at the time and they had a lot of fun riding together. They didn't keep in touch, but once reunited they instantly became bros again. Taka stayed with us for the rest of the week, blowing off school, staying in our hotel and riding powder every day. Burton pro riders Ue and Naru also rode with us while we were in Hokkaido, and we loved their super smooth technical style.

While in Hokkaido, AK set up a promotional event for some of the most hardcore Burton consumer-riders who participate in our Member's program in Japan. 77 riders were invited and flown in from all over the country. They were a lot of fun to hang and ride with. The group included riders of all levels, but they were some of the most enthusiastic people I have been around in a long time. Riding with them was so much fun. We all rode together (78 of us) every run. The sight of us coming down the hill was pretty damn hilarious. They stayed at our hotel and we woke up at 6:00 AM to all stretch together. 78 of us in one room stretching together - some funny shit, for sure.

After Hokkaido, we made our way back down to Tokyo for a couple of days before heading to Europe. Christmas shopping in Tokyo is a spendy experience. But our dinner at Hammah, Tokyo's best Teppan-yaki restaurant (where they cook at the table), set a record for the most expensive meal of our lives at about $250 each. I'm not saying it's worth it, but eating Kobe beef in Tokyo cooked right in front of you is a trip. Kobe beef cows are treated way better than any pet. They virtually live inside the farmer's house, are massaged daily and listen to classical music. Japan is not about excess, but if you are going to do something, do it right. This meal put it all into perspective.

It was then time to leave Japan and conclude our Asian experience. We had been on the continent for three months visiting mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan. We developed a deep understanding and passion for Asian culture and people. As psyched as we were to be heading for the mountains of Europe, we knew there would be so many things we would miss about Asia. Leaving the Burton Japan crew was not easy either. They made our stay there an incredible experience.

"After a very good meal, you get the reward of an 8.5 kilometer (5 mile) sledding run back down into town."

Our destination for Christmas and the first ten days of January was the resort of Val d'Isere/Tignes, located in the heart of the French Alps. We rode there for 14 straight days. It felt great to get our winter legs back, and this was the perfect spot with top to bottom runs taking close to half an hour. Just getting from the closest lift near our house to the park in Tignes took close to an hour. Our next-door neighbors from home came over for a week, and we set up a Snowdeck park off our driveway. It was like we were back home in Stowe, Vermont, and we loved it. We rode a lot and ate massive amounts of cheese after not tasting it for months in Asia. The fact that it snowed a lot didn't hurt. One day we hooked up with a local guide and went deep into the backcountry after a good dump the night before. When eating dinner after the best day of our winter (so far), we found out that a line we had hit in another valley had avalanched two hours later, killing a skier. As they say in France, "I guess it was not your day." Fortunately the next day was not our day either, as we all went paragliding (each with a local pilot) off the top of the mountain and landed safely in town. Watching your seven-year-old point his board down a 45 degree slope launching into the sky felt very wrong.

I rented a garage in the house next to ours and I had the entire 2005 product line in there to test - every boot, binding and about 20 models of boards. I also had every piece of outerwear, thermal, gloves and bags. In the 14 days there, I got to test damn near all of it, and I can assure you that 2005 is going to be a sick product year for Burton. We fell in love with everything we tested. Anything that appeared to be an issue would invariably have already been addressed when I mentioned it to the crew back in Vermont. Nice job you all!

After two weeks and plenty of riding with locals (au revoir Jeremy) and the crew from Burton France, it was time to head for Innsbruck, Austria, home of Burton Europe and our homebase for the winter. Taylor and I drove together from France to Austria. On our way out of Val d'Isere we hit the local ice go-cart track one last time and Taylor kicked my ass. We stopped to ride at St. Anton in the Austrian Arlberg and had a fun day on the hill on the way to Innsbruck.

We only had two days to settle into our house in Axams, Austria before our next road trip. Axams is a small village located above Innsbruck. It has a resort located just above the town with some fun powder lines, tree lines and plenty of kickers. Our first day there was a powder day and delayed my showing up at our office in Innsbruck. The scene at the office was super cool - lots of good people very committed to making Burton and snowboarding happen in Europe. On our first night in Axams we had dinner at the Kemater Alm, a restaurant that is a two-hour hike up from the village. After a very good meal, you get the reward of an 8.5 kilometer (5 mile) sledding run back down into town. Sledding down this private road in a full-on race (at pretty good speeds) with a full moon overhead is a very special experience - as fun as it gets. After just two days in Innsbruck, it was time to head off to Livigno, Italy for the European Open. We had spent less than three weeks in Europe and we were already heading for our fourth country. Our luck with snow had been phenomenal. We were hoping it would continue in Italy.

— Jake Burton, Burton Snowboards