REPORT

The forecast is calling for a warm air mass moving in this weekend, which should result in a relatively mild Christmas. Times like these are exactly when you’ll want to head to Hakuba Goryu & Hakuba 47 — a resort known for having plenty of courses kept in great condition. Even within the snow-rich Hakuba area, the key advantage here is the abundance of high-elevation, north-facing slopes that help preserve snow quality.
[Upper Route 8]

Today, fine-grained snow was falling, carried by a light northwesterly wind, while fog repeatedly thickened and thinned across the mid to upper slopes. On Route 8, the upper section featured moderately soft, powder-packed groomed snow, while the lower section (pictured) had moderately firm, groomed moist snow. The 3 to 5 cm of new snow felt slightly heavy, but I still enjoyed the full 2,800-meter long run.
[Upper Route 8]

Routes 4, 5, and 6 were topped with 1 to 3 cm of slightly moist new snow, creating a surface where moist snow and powder had been mixed and pressed into a nicely firm finish. My skis ran smoothly, allowing for clean, controlled turns just as I intended. The only brush visible was along the lip of the halfpipe on Route 4 (pictured, background).
[Route 4]

A group of people from all over Nagano Prefecture who were sessioning a natural feature between the lower sections of Routes 2 and 3 (photo) greeted me with the familiar catchphrase, “We always read your reports” The woman in the center added, “The groomed runs feel great today! The ungroomed stuff was… well…,” while the man standing to her left chimed in, “We’re heading down this way and then going to Grindel for lunch!” (Oops, actually, Grindel is closed until the end of January.)
[Route 3]

　
*Sunday, 12/21, will be the first “Kids’ Ski Day” of the season, where elementary school students can ski for free with complimentary 1-day lift passes!
　
　
[Hakuba Goryu & Hakuba47 Details on 12/17 (Wed.)]
*Most courses are OPEN (Except for Iimori)
*Available Lifts … Tele-cabin (8:15～), Line-8（8:00～) and totally 9 lifts
*Fees … 1-Day Pass Adult JPY9,500, 13-22 y/o JPY6,500, 65-79 y/o JPY7,500,6-12 y/o JPY4,500, Under 6 y/o & Over 80 Free *JPY500 deposit will be required

*Advance Discount Lift Tickets (*Available 9/1 to 12/19)
Adult 1-day pass JPY9,000 → JPY7,000!
Child 1-day pass JPY4,000 → JPY3,300!
(*A JPY500 deposit is added at purchase, JPY7,500 for adults, JPY3,800 for children, and refunded when the IC card is returned.)

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi