REPORT

Feather-light snow was falling slowly at the No. 1 Gondola day-use parking area, where the temperature plunged all the way down to -15°C. The Panorama Course (pictured) featured moderately firm, groomed packed powder topped with about 10 cm of light new snow, while the South Course, had a more firmly compacted base and around 5 cm of the same new dry snow. From there, I carved straight down in one continuous run to the No. 1 Gondola base station.
[Yakebitaiyama・Panorama Course]

After heading back up, I made my way to YAKEBI COAST (pictured), which marked its first day of operation this season and will now open daily at 9:30 a.m. I met a staff member from BRAVO MOUNTAIN (pictured, far right) who told me, “I always check your reports. I came to Yakebitaiyama Ski Area to gather material for an article. I’m amazed by how light the snow is. Now that the sun is coming out, it looks beautiful.”
[Yakebitaiyama・YAKEBI COAST]

The surface of YAKEBI COAST had large, firm bumps and tracks with a soft layer of roughly 20 to 30 cm of snow sitting on top. The snow was so light that staying afloat took effort, and hidden bumps occasionally threw off my balance. I ran into a ski area staff member (pictured) who handled the terrain smoothly, saying, “This is a really fun course!”
[Yakebitaiyama・YAKEBI COAST]

From YAKEBI COAST, I took the gondola connection route and rode the Ichinose Yamanokami No. 2 Lift. At Ichinose Yamanokami Ski Area, both the Monkey Course (pictured) and the Kamishika Course had 5 to 10 cm of dry new snow on top of moderately firm groomed packed powder. The slopes were busy with families and lesson groups.
[Ichinose Yamanokami・Monkey Course]

＊The base depth at the top of this report reflects the maximum depth across all of Shiga Kogen. Currently, the highest recorded depth of 150 cm is at Takamagara Mammoth, while Yakebitaiyama is reporting 130 cm.

[Shiga Kogen Details on 1/29 (Thu.)]
*Fully OPEN (Except for Shibutoge Simple, Yokoteyama Jumbo, Maruike A)
*Available Lifts … Giant Pair (8:30～), Shigakogen Resort Gondola (8:30～) and totally 41 lifts
*Fees … 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY9,000, Middle & High school students JPY6,700, Under 12 y/o JPY4,100, over 60 y/o JPY6,900, 1 preschooler free per paying adult.

*Request for the original data of our photographs