REPORT

Following the heavy snowfall that began after sunset on 12/11 (Thu.), the official base depth at Tsugaike jumped a massive 84 cm—from 62 cm yesterday to 146 cm today! I ran into Motomura-san from the avalanche control team first thing this morning, and he commented, “It really dumped out there! …By the way, we’re looking for people to help with avalanche control for DBD.” Afterward, I hurried straight down to the steep pitch along the Han-no-ki No. 3 Quad (pictured).
[Han-no-ki Slope]

Along the Han-no-ki High-Speed Pair, a light coating of dry new snow sat atop a nicely set, ideal powder-groomed surface. And then—the highlight of the day—the ungroomed area along the Han-no-ki No. 3 Quad (pictured) was a full-on powder playground, with more than 60 cm of deep, fluffy new snow! The float was so good that I couldn’t help but let out a “Wow, this feels amazing!”
[Han-no-ki Slope]

All around me, shouts of “Deep powder!!!” and “Yeeeeaaaah!!!” rang out as huge plumes of snow billowed into the air. With just a single snowcat-wide strip groomed down the center, the midsection of Han-no-ki felt like a sea of powder stretching in every direction.
[Han-no-ki Slope]

On the lower section of the Han-no-ki Slope, grooming had been laid in a strip about 10 meters wide, and conditions had recovered well—much like the midsection—with only a few small patches of bushes still visible. From today onward, you can comfortably ski the mid to lower part of Han-no-ki even on brand-new skis. Everyone who skied all the way down to the gondola mid-station was clearly buzzing, smiles all around.
[Han-no-ki Slope]

　　
[Tsugaike Kogen Details on 12/12 (Fri.)]
*OPEN Courses … Tsuga-no-mori, Han-no-ki, Cat Track, Shirakaba, Karamatsu
*Available Lifts … Gondola (9:00～), Tsuga 2, Han-no-ki High-Speed Pair
*Fees … Off Peak 1-Day Ticket Adult JPY6,100, 6 to 12 y/o JPY3,800 (Until 12/12)
　　
*Early-bird Lift Tickets (Sales period: 9/12 to 12/21)
Adult 1-day pass JPY8,200 → JPY5,900!
Child (elementary) 1-day pass JPY4,900 → JPY3,800!
Adult 1-day pass + JPY1,200 lunch voucher= JPY9,400 → JPY6,700!
Child 1-day pass + JPY1,200 lunch voucher= JPY6,100 → JPY4,600!
　
*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi