REPORT

Today, clear skies followed yesterday’s rain, and the deep blue of the morning sky was especially striking. While riding the 3rd Quad, I had a sweeping view centered on Mt. Kasa (pictured left, 2,076 m), a symbol of Shiga Kogen, with Mt. Myoko visible in the distance to the north (pictured, far right) and the Northern Alps stretching across the southern horizon. If you want to focus purely on your skiing, Kumanoyu Ski Area on a quiet weekday in January or February is the place to be.
[Kumanoyu・1st Shirakaba Course]

I started the day on the Shirakaba Course along the 1st Pair Lift (pictured). On my first run, I skied carefully on the firmly packed granular snow, concentrating on my stance. By the second run, as the surface began to soften, I was able to carry more speed. A couple from Chiba Prefecture (pictured, wife shown) told me, “We always check your reports. We came yesterday too, but it was raining, so we headed down and worked remotely from a café instead. The snow was firm first thing this morning, but now it’s softer and feels much easier to ski.”
[Kumanoyu Ski Area]

After that, I moved to the 2nd Beginner Course and took advantage of its wide layout to make big, sweeping turns. The same couple from Chiba (pictured, left) had just met up with a friend’s family from within Nagano prefecture (pictured, right). They told me, “We love the snow quality in Shiga Kogen, so we bought season passes and come often. We especially like the atmosphere here at Kumanoyu.”
[Kumanoyu・1st Shirakaba Course]

Shortly after 9 a.m., school trip students from Tokyo came out onto the slopes, and the area grew lively. Morning temperatures hovered around 0°C, which is relatively mild for Shiga Kogen, and some people were skiing without jackets. As of 10 a.m., the surface of the groomed runs had turned loose and granular, though the base underneath remained firm.
[Kumanoyu・3rd Beginner Course]

＊The base depth at the top of this report reflects the maximum snow depth across all of Shiga Kogen. Currently, the highest recorded depth of 180 cm is at Takagahara Mammoth, while Kumanoyu is reporting 140 cm.
　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 2/26 (Thu.)]
*Fully OPEN (Except for Shibutoge Simple, Yokoteyama 5 & 6, Yakebi Wall, Maruike A)
*Available Lifts … Kumanoyu No.1 Pair (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

reported by Snownavi