REPORT

The strongest cold air mass of the season so far arrived the day before yesterday, bringing substantial snowfall to the Hakuba area. And with that, at 11 a.m. today, 12/5 (Fri.), the Hakuba Happo-One Ski Resort finally opened for the winter season! Even with heavy, dense snowfall and low visibility in the fog, Panorama 1 (pictured) was open to skiers.
[Panorama Course]

Even though skiing was limited to Panorama 1 and the south side of the Kokusai 3 Pair was closed, the sheer width of Panorama—stretching up to 400 meters wide—made for an enjoyable run. The groomed surface had a moderately soft feel, and was topped with 20 to 25cm of fluffy new snow. I also enjoyed 50 to 60cm of new snow from the past two nights on the ungroomed shortcut sections along the Panorama Forest Road.
[Panorama Course]

“Hey, long time no see!” “We knew you’d show up!” These were a few of the cheerful exchanges I had with visitors from all over Japan (pictured), many of whom also told me, “We always follow Snownavi. We’re looking forward to another great season!” A big thank-you as well to the instructor from the Hakuba Happo-One Ski & Snowboard School (pictured, back left) for joining the photo.
[Panorama Course]

Even though the opening announcement came in the morning of the same day—and it was a weekday—there was already a line of 30 to 40 people at the gondola base station around 10:30 a.m., showing just how popular Happo is. Since the snowfall remained intense even past noon, expectations grew for more slopes to open in the coming days.
[Panorama Course]

　　
[Happo-One Details on 12/5 (Fri.)]
*Avaiiable Course … Panorama
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00～), Panorama Pair, Kokusai 3 Pair
*Fees … Special Price 1-Day Pass Adult JPY4,000, 6 to 17 y/o JPY1,000

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi