REPORT

Cold air gripped Shiga Kogen this morning. The chill felt even sharper than the usual crisp mountain air. I spoke with a lift operator who told me, “We picked up a little snow yesterday and again today. Temperatures have stayed cold, and the snow quality has been excellent.” At Hasuike, the B Course (pictured) and the Hasuike Junior Course were freshly groomed and set up firm with packed wet snow that still had a powdery feel. A light dusting of dry new snow sat on top.
[Hasuike B Course]

Sunvalley, Hasuike, and Maruike are reporting a modest 90 cm base, but snow coverage was solid all the way down to the base areas. At Sunvalley, the Main Course was freshly groomed. The upper to mid sections held firmly packed wet snow with a powder-like feel, while the lower section (pictured) had the same firm groomed surface with a bit of granular snow mixed in. The connecting route to Maruike, along with Maruike B, C, and the No. 2 Slope, also featured firm groomed snow with that same powdery feel—and very easy skiing.
[Sun Valley・Main Course]

Two visitors from Saitama Prefecture (pictured) told me, “We came on a bus tour yesterday. The conditions are great and it’s a lot of fun!” Visitors arrived slowly this morning, and the Maruike No. 2 Slope felt almost like a private run. The Maruike No. 2 Pair Lift kept moving quickly, making it easy to lap the run again and again.
[Maruike No. 2 Slope]

Interestingly, even though they sit side by side, Biwa Pond (pictured, background) was frozen solid and completely white, while nearby Maruike Pond (pictured, foreground) remained unfrozen. Early in the morning the sun came and went behind passing clouds, but by around 10 a.m., when I wrapped up my coverage, dry snow had begun falling steadily.
[Sun Valley・Main 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 160 cm is at Takagahara Mammoth, while Sunvalley, Hasuike, and Maruike are reporting 90 cm.
　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 3/13 (Fri.)]
*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