REPORT

A total of nine ski areas are still open during the spring skiing period that started on 4/1 (Wed.). Yokoteyama–Shibutoge, Kumanoyu, Ichinose Family, Yakebitaiyama, and Okushiga Kogen operate daily, while Takamagahara Mammoth, Ichinose Diamond, and Terakoya run on weekends, holidays, and during Golden Week only. Even though April Fools’ Day was yesterday, old man winter seemed to be playing tricks with us, as it looked like midwinter at Yakebitaiyama (pictured) today.
[Yakebitaiyama・No. 1 Gondola]

I spoke with a couple from Kanagawa Prefecture (pictured) who told me, “We always check your reports. We’ve been staying at the Shiga Kogen Prince Hotel since Sunday. The early boarding service that lets guests ride 10 minutes early is great. Yesterday afternoon’s rain changed to snow around 7 a.m. this morning, and everything was quickly covered in white.” About 10 cm of new snow had built up at the No. 1 Gondola summit station, and the Giant Slalom Course (pictured) had a smooth and untouched surface—hard to believe for April.
[Yakebitaiyama・Giant Slalom Course]

The Giant Slalom Course held a groomed, moderately firm granular base with 5 to 10 cm of wet new snow on top. The surface stayed fast and smooth, not grabby, and I was able to really enjoy the fresh snow. I followed the Gondola Detour Course (pictured) down to the No. 1 Gondola base, and found no exposed brush or thin snow coverage anywhere along the way. The snow stayed consistent and ran well all the way down.
[Yakebitaiyama・Gondola Detour Course]

Rain was coming down hard in Nakano City this morning, but it turned to a mix of rain and snow near Bouhei Bridge, then to dense snow once I entered Shiga Kogen. The road from the Hasuike intersection to Yakebitaiyama was snow-covered and slippery. By around 10 a.m., strong winds were driving the snow sideways as I wrapped up my report.
[Yakebitaiyama・Gondola Bypass Course]

　　　　　　
*Starting 4/1 (Wed.), the Nagano Prefecture 150th Anniversary “Shinshu Experience Discount” will offer 50% off one-day lift tickets for residents of Nagano and 20% off for visitors from outside the prefecture.
*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 140 cm is shared by Ichinose Family, Ichinose Diamond, and Shibutoge, while Yokoteyama is reporting 110 cm.
　　　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 4/2 (Thu.)]
*OPEN Courses … (OKUSHIGA) Fully OPEN, (YAKEBITAIYAMA) Panorama, Panorama In, Okushiga Connection, Giant Slalom, Gondola Connection, Gondola Detour, South, East Connection, Okushiga – Yakebitai Connection, (ICHINOSE FAMILY) Front, Tengu, Panorama, Perfecter, (KUMANOYU) 1st A, 1st Mogul, 2nd Shirakaba, 2nd A, 2nd Beginner, 3rd A, 3rd Rinkan, 3rd Biginner, 4th A, 4th Beginner, 4th Event, Umanose , (YOKOTEYAMA) 1st, 2nd, Kaiwa, Jumbo, King, (SHIBUTOGE) Gemute, Weber
*Operating Lifts … Yakebitaiyama No.1 Gondola (8:00～) and totally 16 lifts
*Fees … 1 Day Pass Spring Discount from 4/1: Adult JPY7,000, Middle & High school students JPY6,500, Under 12 y/o JPY3,500, over 60 y/o JPY6,500

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi