REPORT

Iwatake, which had been operating for sightseeing since 12/15 (Fri.), pre-opened for skiers and boarders at noon yesterday, 12/22 (Fri.), by opening up the East Slope. Today, 12/23 (Sat.), the North Slope (pictured) opened as well for Iwatake’s grand grand opening to the 2023-24 winter season! I met three visitors from Shizuoka Prefecture on the slopes who told me, “We love your site, and this is the first time we’ve run into someone from Snownavi! We have season tickets for Iwatake, so we’ll be coming here to board this season.”
[North Slope]

After passing through a fluffy, ungroomed section of snow at the start of the East Slope (pictured), the rest was groomed with a well-packed, powder snow surface. There were a few stalks of grass peeking through the snow in spots, and somewhat thick fog at times, but neither affected the skiing.
[East Slope]

Dropping into the ungroomed area long the 4sen lift (pictured), I was met with over 60 cm of fresh snow that accumulated over the last two days! I could hear people shouting for joy as they slid down, and it’s been a while since I sensed that amount of enthusiasm.
[East Slope]

I caught up with another pair of snowboarders from Nagano Prefecture (pictured) who also said they were fans of Snownavi, and added, “We were boarding at Happo yesterday, but during a break, we found out about the Iwatake pre-opening and came over in a hurry yesterday afternoon. There weren’t many people, so we had more powder than we knew what to do with.” The North Slope was also groomed with a moderately firm, powder snow surface that was easy to ski.
[North Slope]

　
[Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field Availability Information on 12/23 (Sat)]
*Available Courses … North, East
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00-), 3-sen North, 4-sen East
*Fees … Special In-Season Rates 1 Day Ticket Adult & Over 60 y/o JPY4,700, Over 70 y/o JPY4,600, 6-12 y/o JPY2,700 *A preschooler will be free per adult.
　
＊Printable Rental Discount Coupons!
Carving Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY3,000 / Outerwear JPY2,500!
Carving Ski・Snowboard High Performance Model Rental JPY500 OFF!
Kid’s Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY2,500 / Outerwear JPY1,500!
　　
reported by Snownavi