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Wednesday, 05 Nov 08
Normally upon walking into the PM Gear ski factory in Reno I only see foaming-at-the-mouth ski bums or empty boxes of Captain Crunch. But today when coming in from the dusty alleyway, the sights were definitely different. Instead of half-clad models on posters in odd places, there was an actual woman there! My new friend and "Bro Maggot" Tom Greenal introduced Yoshiko Miyazaki to me and informed me—in a few words—that I needed to meet this girl.
While most skiers gear up with hearty advice from gear guides in magazines from all over, one pair of skis you won't find—but will wish you had—are those from Yoshiko. Besides being a badass climber of all disciplines, an equestrienne expert, Patagonia sales associate, and multi-lingual citizen of the world, she makes her own skis from recycled materials! She even uses a natural resin that she obtained from a surfer in England. In fact, wood used for the skis are recycled palettes from a Japanese restaurant she worked at in Chamonix. Using all hand tools, including a Bakuma Saw (traditional Japanese hand tool), and her refrigerator motor as a vacuum pump, Yoshiko is the proud owner of her very own, hand-made pro model. "It was exciting when we finally had the ski in the press overnight [heard the motor running now and then throughout the night]," she says. "It was like Christmas in the morning." She says that it is definitely hard work, but it means a lot to be able to ski on natural skis and it is her goal to be self-sustaining in the newest of her many passions.
The skis pictured here were made in her kitchen (and on the balcony) in Chamonix in an 4m x 1m area. She skied over 100 days on them last year. In her own words, creating the ski was a very rewarding process.
Yoshiko is an employee of Patagonia and cited Yvon Chouinard's approach to making his own climbing pitons as one of the great things that inspired her to start the journey of making her own skis. Another root for this passion is her desire to share the process with friends and help them to design their own skis. As for a top sheet, Yoshiko says she's happy with the "au-natural" look of the wood. She says it reminds her of where it all comes from: the earth.
Yoshiko is currently working with PMGear (manufacturers of the infamous Bro Model ski) to learn more effective and accurate ski-building techniques in order to promote her company and eventually offer recycled skis to the public for order. She is also striving to be an International mountain guide and represent Japan as one of the few women at the top of that field.
We are happy to welcome Yoshiko to this community of Jumpers. Her effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle is commended by the SheJumps community. It is our vision to increase sustainability and conservation awareness through sharing stories like this one. Please send us your stories of how you are doing your part to lessen your impact on our environment and what we can all do to help.
Featured Jumper: Yoshiko Miyazaki
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Normally upon walking into the PM Gear ski factory in Reno I only see foaming-at-the-mouth ski bums or empty boxes of Captain Crunch. But today when coming in from the dusty alleyway, the sights were definitely different. Instead of half-clad models on posters in odd places, there was an actual woman there! My new friend and "Bro Maggot" Tom Greenal introduced Yoshiko Miyazaki to me and informed me—in a few words—that I needed to meet this girl.
While most skiers gear up with hearty advice from gear guides in magazines from all over, one pair of skis you won't find—but will wish you had—are those from Yoshiko. Besides being a badass climber of all disciplines, an equestrienne expert, Patagonia sales associate, and multi-lingual citizen of the world, she makes her own skis from recycled materials! She even uses a natural resin that she obtained from a surfer in England. In fact, wood used for the skis are recycled palettes from a Japanese restaurant she worked at in Chamonix. Using all hand tools, including a Bakuma Saw (traditional Japanese hand tool), and her refrigerator motor as a vacuum pump, Yoshiko is the proud owner of her very own, hand-made pro model. "It was exciting when we finally had the ski in the press overnight [heard the motor running now and then throughout the night]," she says. "It was like Christmas in the morning." She says that it is definitely hard work, but it means a lot to be able to ski on natural skis and it is her goal to be self-sustaining in the newest of her many passions.
The skis pictured here were made in her kitchen (and on the balcony) in Chamonix in an 4m x 1m area. She skied over 100 days on them last year. In her own words, creating the ski was a very rewarding process.
Yoshiko is an employee of Patagonia and cited Yvon Chouinard's approach to making his own climbing pitons as one of the great things that inspired her to start the journey of making her own skis. Another root for this passion is her desire to share the process with friends and help them to design their own skis. As for a top sheet, Yoshiko says she's happy with the "au-natural" look of the wood. She says it reminds her of where it all comes from: the earth.
Yoshiko is currently working with PMGear (manufacturers of the infamous Bro Model ski) to learn more effective and accurate ski-building techniques in order to promote her company and eventually offer recycled skis to the public for order. She is also striving to be an International mountain guide and represent Japan as one of the few women at the top of that field.
We are happy to welcome Yoshiko to this community of Jumpers. Her effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle is commended by the SheJumps community. It is our vision to increase sustainability and conservation awareness through sharing stories like this one. Please send us your stories of how you are doing your part to lessen your impact on our environment and what we can all do to help.
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