Deep

The first days of January have been pretty relentless. With Japow in effect, there's been no shortage of some much-needed time in the white room.

Lee on New Years eve at Happo

Matthias demonstrates why skiing in Japan is difficult. Trees disappear

The New Year was brought in with sake at the base and some delightfully deep turns. It was the perfect hangover cure. Through it all, snow continued to hammer down. I'm glad I've started to grow my beard again. It's been keeping my face warm while getting pelted.

Yoshiko Chikuni: My hangover savior

Ryan Gormly

Lee isn't sick of face shots just yet

The last day before high pressure, Cortina received 40cm overnight. There was the usual battle for good turns. In Japan, that means if you start skiing after 2PM, you might have to cross a track.

The morning lineup

Lee

Liza Sarychev, hooked on day 2