REPORT

With the No. 1 Gondola closed as of 4/19 (Sun.), Yakebitaiyama is now running only the No. 2 Gondola, starting at 6:00 a.m., with the Panorama (pictured) and South courses open. A light snowfall from late last night into early morning left a thin layer of wet new snow in shaded areas near the No. 2 Gondola summit station.
[Yakebitaiyama・Panorama Course]

The Panorama Course was groomed with granular snow of different character from section to section. The surface of the upper section had softened slightly, the mid section had a deeper soft layer, and the lower section (pictured), facing the morning sun, had turned into loose, slushy granular snow. My skis ran well on the steeper pitches, while the flatter sections created slight drag.
[Yakebitaiyama・Panorama Course]

The South Slope (pictured) had soft, slushy granular snow covering a groomed base from top to bottom. I ran into a snowboarder from Kanagawa Prefecture (pictured, far right) who told me, “I always check your reports! I’m staying at my family home in Nakano City and came here to ride with my mother (center) and younger brother (left). I’ve been able to ski a lot this season, starting from the opening day at Yokoteyama through today at Yakebitaiyama. Thanks to the snow that fell last night, the surface this morning is running well and feels great!”
[Yakebitaiyama・South Slope]

Rain and wind during the day yesterday left scattered debris and some surface discoloration, but the groomed portions of the two open courses had no exposed dirt, and I skied the full 2.4 km top to bottom without issue. The slopes were quiet right after the resort opened and started to get busier around 7:00 a.m.
[Yakebitaiyama・South Slope]

　　
*From 4/1 (Wed.), the Nagano Prefecture 150th Anniversary “Learn More! Shinshu Experience Discount” offers 50% off one-day lift tickets for Nagano residents and 20% off for non-residents.
*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 100 cm is at Shibutoge, while Yakebitaiyama is reporting 90 cm.
　　　　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 4/24 (Fri.)]
*OPEN Courses … (OKUSHIGA) 1st, 2nd Expert, 3rd, 4th, Rinkan, (YAKEBITAIYAMA) Panorama, South, (ICHINOSE FAMILY) Front, (KUMANOYU) 2nd Beginner, 3rd Biginner, 4th Beginner, (YOKOTEYAMA) 1st, 2nd, King, (SHIBUTOGE) Gemute, Weber
*Operating Lifts … Yakebitaiyama No.1 Gondola (8:30～) and totally 12 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