REPORT

I drove carefully up the icy road from the Kanbayashi chain-up area and reached the Yozaka parking lot near Yokoteyama’s Second Slope around 8 a.m. The digital signboard read a brisk -9.0°C. About 10 to 15 cm of new snow had fallen since yesterday, and the slopes were in surprisingly good powder condition. I started the day on the 2nd Slope (pictured), where the groomed surface had set up firm and smooth thanks to the fresh snow.
[Yokoteyama・2nd Slope]

After putting the camera back in my bag, I took two more runs on the 2nd Slope, then rode the 2nd Sky Lift and the 3rd Sky Lift up to the summit of Yokoteyama. Strong winds pushed both clouds and fog quickly across the ridge, and from time to time the rime ice-covered trees (pictured) and patches of blue sky came into view. Whenever the view opened up, nearby passengers reacted with comments like, “Wow, that’s incredible!”
[Yokoteyama・3rd Sky Lift]

I ran into a skier from Saitama Prefecture (pictured) whom I had recently met at Ontake. He said, “Are you with Snownavi? I always check your reports! I came up to Nagano for a weekend event and chose Yokoteyama because the conditions looked good. The groomers first thing this morning felt fantastic.” A ski area staff member also mentioned, “We’re planning to open a snow park at Shibutoge starting on 4/1 (Wed.), so please come check it out.”
[Yokoteyama Summit]

At the summit, I met an instructor from the Tsurui Ski School called out, “Snownavi! We always check your reports—please take our photo! These students (pictured) started from zero and can now ski all the way down from the summit.” The students from Saitama Prefecture, staying at the Shiga Palace Hotel, said simply, “It’s a lot of fun!” From the top, I cruised down the King Course and back to the 2nd Slope. Both runs were freshly groomed with well-compacted packed powder, and I took my time enjoying the ice and snow-covered trees along the way.
[Yokoteyama・Second Slope]

＊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 Yokoteyama is reporting 125 cm, and Shibutoge is reporting 140 cm.
　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 3/4 (Thu.)]
*Fully OPEN (Except for Shibutoge Simple, Yokoteyama 5 & 6, Panorama In, Yakebi Wall, YAKEBI COAST, Maruike A)
*Available Lifts … Yokoteyama No.2 (8:30～) and totally 40 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