REPORT

After a temporary closure from 12/23 (Tue.) to 12/25 (Thu.) due to a lack of snow, Hakuba Cortina Ski Resort resumed operations today. Since the reopening announcement on the official Facebook page went out at 7:00 a.m. this morning, there were surprisingly few people lining up at the 2nd Quad and the 4th Pair lift stations despite the solid snowfall (pictured). From around 9:00 a.m., the 1st Pair also began operating, making the Ipponmatsu Course skiable as well.
[4th Pair Lift Station]

On the Mt. Hieda Forest Course, where moist snow and new snow had been mixed and pressed together by the groomers, 5 to 10 cm of fluffy fresh snow had accumulated on top. Dropping from there into Mt. Hieda Course 1 (pictured), I was greeted by a similarly soft layer of 30 to 40 cm of fresh snow. The combination of the gentle, not-too-hard undulating base and the buoyant feel of the new snow made for an especially enjoyable run.
[Mt. Hieda Course 1]

The ungroomed Itadaira Course (pictured) had 30 to 40 cm of fluffy new snow, though low shrubs were still visible in various spots along the course, though they were spaced far enough apart to ski around. On the Ikenota Slope, grooming had been done on the skier’s right side to the width of two to three grooming machines.
[Itadaira Course]

This morning, the fog and steadily falling snow resulted in whiteout conditions. I ran into Zamaaan from “Tekkoboo Mura no Kajiya (pictured, left) who called out to me with a grin, saying, “Today is amazing!” That same zamaaan also takes part every year in the JAPAN FREERIDE OPEN, which will be held on 2/7 (Sat.) & 2/8 (Sun.), with 2/9 reserved as a backup day.
[Mt. Hieda Forest Course]

[Hakuba Cortina Details on 12/26 (Fri.)]
*OPEN Courses … Ikenota, Hiedayama Forest, Hiedayama 1, Itadaira, Ippon Matsu
*Available Lift … No.2 Quad (8:30～), No.1 Pair (9:00～), No.4 Pair
*Fees … Adult JPY5,700, 6 to 12 y/o JPY3,200, Pre-schooler FREE
　
*Request for the original data of our photographs
　
reported by Snownavi