REPORT

Maiko Snow Resort, which opened on 12/27 (Sat.), has finally reached “fully open” status. This morning, I headed to the highest-elevation Okusoechi Area first, riding the gondola (2,800 m) up from the day-use ski center. In terms of access from the Shiozawa–Ishiuchi I.C., snow-melting pipes installed along the center of the road kept the pavement mostly clear, making for easy and stress-free driving.
[Maiko Gondola]

I spoke with a resort staff member who told me, “The snow started falling around 6 a.m.” The GuiGui Course (pictured) had about 10 cm of fluffy new snow on top of a moderately soft packed powder surface, and with the base still soft underneath, it was easy, smooth turning, and quite enjoyable.
[GuiGui Course]

The steep, ungroomed GunGun Course also had about 10 cm of fluffy new snow, with a firm undulating base underneath. I ran into two visitors from Saitama (pictured) who commented, “We always read your reports. We come to Maiko often because we really like the course layout and the long runs from the gondola summit station. Today, the groomed runs with fresh snow on top feel fantastic.”
[Okusoechi Quad Lift Base]

The Okusoechi RunRun and SuiSui courses were also easy to ski, with smooth packed powder similar to GuiGui. On the way back down, I skied from the GinGin Course to the ByunByun Course and then the Nagamine RunRun Course. GinGin, with its well-set, undulating wet-snow base, had about 10 cm of slightly moist new snow, while ByunByun through Nagamine RunRun had 5 to 10 cm of moist new snow on top of moderately firm groomed wet snow. The snow that had been falling steadily during my coverage picked up even more in intensity around midday.
[GuiGui Course]

　　　
[Maiko Snow Resort Details on 1/8 (Thu.)]
＊Fully OPEN (Except for Choichoi, Haglöfs Tree run area)
＊Operatin Lifts … Maiko Gondola (8:30-) and totally 9 lifts
＊Fee … 1-Day Pass Adult JPY7,000, 13 to 17 y/o JPY6,000, 6 to 12 y/o JPY3,500
　
＊Request for the original data of our photographs
　
reported by Snownavi