REPORT

The continuous snowfall from yesterday through to this morning has pushed Madarao Kogen Ski Resort’s officially reported snow depth to a season-high 130 cm. Before operations began, I parked at the No. 1 Parking Lot (※paid) and headed toward Paradise (pictured). After enjoying the soft, packed powder on the groomed slope, I dropped into the ungroomed section on the skier’s left side, where the deep, fluffy powder delivered that unmistakable light, buoyant feel underfoot.
[Paradise]

“I always read your reports. There was no bottoming out at all in the fluffy powder—it felt absolutely amazing,” was the comment from a skier (pictured) who had just come down from the upper part of Giant. On Champion, roughly half of the slope on the skier’s left side was groomed, while that on skier’s right remained ungroomed with smooth, untouched snow.
[Upper Giant]

A man from Tokyo whom I rode the Super Quad with told me, “The snow on World Cup first thing this morning was also fluffy and felt great. I hope SAWA opens for skiing soon.” From the traverse on well-set packed powder, I dropped into Crystal (pictured), where the intense cold temperatures had tightened up the powder nicely, creating a crisp, grippy groomed surface that felt fantastic underfoot.
[Crystal]

To catch Lift 3, which starts operating at 9:30 a.m., I skied from Crystal along the Heidi Connection Course and rode back up on the Quad Lift 2. However, when I arrived at 9:00 a.m., it was already too late—the powder rush was in full swing. At the lift loading area (pictured), where fat skis were lined up in rows, I met two men from the U.K. and Australia who said, “Today’s powder is incredible again. What do you call this kind of powder in Japanese?” I replied, “It’s called Madapow—pretty amazing, right?”
[No. 3 Lift Loading Area]

*Starting on 1/7 (Wed.), a limited-time lounge area called “Après Madarao Mountain Lounge” will open at Restaurant Heidi, offering a relaxed après-ski space to unwind after a day on the slopes.
　　
[Madarao Kogen Details on 1/6 (Tue.)]
*Fully OPEN (Except for Powder Line, Powder Theater, Powder Wave2, Adventure Aisle, Crystal Bowl, NINJA, SAWA 1-3, Rabbit, Kamoshika, Bear)
*Oparating Lifts … No.1 Triple (8:30～) and totally 8 lifts
*Fee … Mountain Pass Adult JPY8,500, Over 55 y/o JPY8,000, 6 to 12 y/o 5,500 / 5-Hour Pass JPY6,900,Over 55 y/o JPY6,300, 6 to 12 y/o JPY4,200, *Pre-schoolers FREE
　
*Request for the original data of our photographs
　　
reported by Snownavi