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What is it about Japan? Maybe it’s how out-of-reach that island nation’s sweet turns seem. Maybe it’s the conditions (oh so powdery) or the landscape (achingly beautiful).
Nobody knows that more than Kyoichi Karino, a Japanese ski guide who grew up drawing pictures of his local mountain for homework. But sometimes you take what you have for granted, and Karino spent a lifetime touring and guiding other slopes before finally coming home to ski the mountain that shadowed his childhood — Mt. Kariba.
Patagonia was on hand to record the reunion. The resulting film is by turns thrilling and meditative, but it’s never boring. Check it out and try to turn that jealousy into a newfound appreciation of your own backyard, wherever that may be.
Runtime: 12 minutes
