Japan

Our traveling reporter Zach Paley reports from Japan for the last time this season. As has been the case all winter, the conditions are changeable and you have to work harder for the powder turns than usual in Japan. Nevertheless, every now and then you are richly rewarded. Next stop for Zach: Alaska.

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.

A single photo had taken over our minds. It was an aerial view of an island in the deep blue Sea of Japan. At its center stands a lonely mountain with snow-covered slopes. Deep furrows carve out gullies, form wide slopes and gently run out towards the forested coast. We had to go there - to find out if it really exists.

Winter. It came for a brief moment. We welcomed snowfall in the valley with more gratitude than usual. Hope that our favorite runs would fill in was briefly restored. Whisky consumption had a positive rather than bitter note to it.

Unlike Godzilla, who is from Japan and stands for the saying "It came from Japan", I took the opposite route and made my way to the land of the rising sun. Why Nippon? Not because of the sushi, but to beat our rather disappointing winter and ride some deep powder.

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?

The day after skiing the northeast face of Shirouma promised for optimal weather. We decided it was time for round two. Burning the candle at both ends with these long days, I couldn't help but allow 'Brown Girl in the Ring' to creep into my head while walking in the dark. Sunrise couldn't have come soon enough.

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.

Rather than a dreamy peak observed from our window, Goryudake hides a bit further back with a less straightforward approach. When observed from the correct angle, its diamond shaped rock formations become obvious, revealing a couloir seemingly cut by Zorro himself. It's a tantalizingly close, deceptively far objective that usually requires a tent and some luck.

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.