REPORT

The annual Iwatake Thanks Fair, a popular crowd-pleasing event, was held on 1/24 (Sat.) as the strongest and longest cold wave of the season arrived in Hakuba. I ran into a father from Ina City, Nagano (pictured, wearing red) who told me, “I always read your reports! I come to the Iwatake Thanks Fair every year. My daughter’s enjoying juice, and I’m enjoying the complimentary sake—cheers!” The event featured generous offerings including a giant pot of Iwatake pork soup, local sake, freshly pounded mochi, and a large raffle with around 1,000 prizes.
[Base Area]

Heavy snow fell that night, and by the morning of 1/25 (Sun.), the summit was completely white, as you can see. After the IWATAKE WHITE PARK opened, I spoke with children from Toyama and their mother who were playing in an igloo (pictured). “We’re staying at a guesthouse down in the village. We were snowboarding earlier, but now the kids are totally absorbed in playing in the snow,” she told me.
[IWATAKE WHITE PARK]

Dry snow was coming down hard, driven by a cold northerly wind when I dropped into the ungroomed steep slope (pictured, the former Hilltop Course) that shortcuts from partway down South Slope into the Sawa Course. There I found 30 to 40 cm of fluffy new snow. The Sawa Course itself was topped with 10 to 20 cm of fresh snow, and offered easy-to-ski conditions with a moderately firm, groomed powder base.
[Sawa Course]

A family from Suzaka City (pictured, far right) told me, “We always read your reports! We moved here from Tokyo three years ago and come skiing almost every week. We just enjoyed DANGAN with our daughter, where there was 30 to 40 cm of fluffy new snow.” At 9:03 a.m., people began gathering one after another at the entrance to the Iwatake Back Bowl (pictured), all aiming for even more powder.
[View C]

　
[Hakuba Iwatake Details on 1/25 (Sun.)]
*Fully OPEN (Except North, Sonezawa)
*Operating Lifts … Gondola (8:00～) and totally 6 lifts.
*Fees … 1-Day Pass Adult JPY6,300, 6-12 y/o JPY3,900, A preschooler will be free per adult

*Printable Rental Discount Coupons!
Carving Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY3,500 / Outerwear JPY2,500!
Carving Ski・Snowboard High Performance Model Rental JPY500 OFF!
Kid’s Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY2,500 / Outerwear JPY1,500!

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi