Patrick Fux

Over the past few weeks, I was able to put the coordinated set of the UVEX JAKK+ helmet and the UVEX JAKK TO goggle through their paces.

Our long-time Japan correspondent Patrick reports back with a brief report on the conditions. At the PowderGuide Headquarters, we are now considering whether we should start a competition on the topic 'Where is the worst snow situation' under the motto 'Worse is always possible'. Who would like to throw more title candidates into the ring?

The Snowstrike VT from Uvex is a high-tech innovation on the ski goggles market. One of the lenses uses electrical impulses to change not only the color, but also the intensity of the darkening of the goggles. This enables you to adjust the goggles to the current light conditions at lightning speed or let the goggles determine the light intensity themselves using the automatic mode.

A few weeks have passed since my last report from Japan. The weather and snow conditions in Hakuba, Japan, so far in winter 2014/15 are very similar to a convenience store. In such a store, there are so many things that are just as colorful, varied and contradictory as the snow and weather conditions in the past few weeks... Here is my subjective impression of the Hakuba's snow convenience store in winter 2014/15 ...

This year I'm back in Japan for another three months to enjoy JaPow to the full. I arrived in Hakuba on December 13th, which is rather early for skiing in Japan. The snowy season usually doesn't start until January, although it often snows properly around mid-December and the season begins.

Since mid-December I've been testing the Uvex Downhill 2000 Polavision Pro, the first time Uvex has combined Polavision technology to prevent reflections and light reflexes with a Variomatic lens, which adapts to the prevailing light conditions by brightening and darkening. In my personal experience over the last 6 weeks, this has been a successful marriage!

The last 12 days of my Japan powder trip offered almost the entire spectrum on my freeride day rating scale: From a solid 9 out of a possible 10 points down to 2. Fortunately, I spent this day in the cozy lodge writing this report. I will stay in Hakuba for a few more days and conclude my photo reportage with this 8th part. At the moment, the conditions are simply howling or just good enough to do one or two descents a day, but I'd rather leave the camera at home.

Gloves are a matter of taste. Nevertheless, some are more convincing than others. We tell you how the Super Rambla from Black Diamond performs.

After an extremely mixed start to February, the snow situation soon got much better and we were able to experience numerous perfect days. Even though the snow wasn't always at its best and the wind was particularly strong this year, we still got our money's worth. When it storms, almost all ski resorts are often affected and there is only an alternative program left.

Step by step, it got better again and the gloomy rainy days of early February were quickly forgotten. A little fresh snow fell from time to time, albeit not in the usual quantities. In between, the weather was sunny and very warm for a short time - and with it came an increased risk of avalanches.

Before the big rain, I had a few more great days in the backcountry. Although I had to mount the skins a bit more than I would have liked, the compensation in the form of excellent descents was very okay.

Lots of sun, lots of fresh snow and great adventures in the backcountry. In part 4 of Patrick Fux's powder report from Hakuba and the surrounding area, you can see that even in the powder paradise of Hakuba, the sun can shine in high winter, only to soon give way to the next snow clouds.