Hakuba

ContestHappening is entering its second round and for the first time, it's back in the new guise of PowderGuide 3.0! It's about time: In a few days the first tour stop of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) will take place, and the first qualifier (FWQ) events have already been held last week. We also present the PowderGuide event calendar, which can be filled by users!

For the first time, the 2* and 4* FWQ events in Hakuba were international freeride competitions on Asian soil. For PowderGuide, rider reporter Michael Strauss reports on his experiences at the contest and at JaPOW!

The contest season has begun. Six competitions have already taken place in the past week: Hakuba, Verbier and Kappl kicked things off. While it was difficult to find a suitable weather and time window in Hakuba due to the constant snowfall, the snow cover in the Alps is still thin, but apparently it is already good enough for contests. Hopefully also for the planned start of the FWT in Chamonix next weekend!

The first contests are coming up, with Japan and Tyrol kicking things off. As the start of the FWT season is still two weeks away, let's take a quick look at the In&Outs of the FWT starting field.

This season, PowderGuide has a new "ContestHappening" section. Over the past few years, we have already reported intensively on the various Freeride World Tour competitions, their qualifier and junior events, as well as the ever decreasing number of independent events. We want to continue to do this, just in a different form: Instead of selective reporting, we will provide an overview of the latest happenings in competition-oriented freeriding in a regular, weekly column in mid-winter. Our rider reporters will also continue to provide a direct insight into individual contests.

There's a lot unsaid about returning home. As much as there is an allure to new adventures, being among good friends in familiar places has a therapeutic quality. And we need this therapy because the snow in Hakuba has been absolute shit. Except for a very small handful of moments in the alpine, Japow has yet to Japow this winter.

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?

It's been no secret through our reports of 'wet dreams' the spring skiing around here has been very premeditated. Whether visible from the safety of the lodge, or the exposure of a steep switchback, there has been one line tugging at the mind more than others. Significantly more. And not surprisingly so.

Continuing with the theme of objectives not immediately in view from the window, the Northeast Couloir of Shakushidake entices the ambitious when viewed from popular resorts to the north of the valley. However dreamy this line seems from afar, it requires an early start just to get to. And like most things in Hakuba, the weather windows are few and far between. It requires much tenacity to get this line in good snow.

On Honshu, the transition from winter to spring can be painful. In March, temperatures rise, but the mountain weather remains as wild as ever. The result is rapid and violent transitions from heat and sun to rain, cold, snow and heavy doses of wind.

One cool thing about Hakuba is that many of the biggest, most aethetic lines are clearly visible from town. Every sunny morning, one can scan the surrounding terrain for signs of instability for the day ahead. While doing this, we usually dream about making turns on many of these lines. Shakushi's Southeast face, and its spines catch the eye very quickly, though the right opportunity to get on this face has eluded us for years. In late March, an opportunity finally presented itself.

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 ...