Hakuba Iwatake / ◎160cm / Light Snow2021.Jan.06
The persistent snowfall that began on 12/30 (Wed.) has finally begun to wind down, and on this morning it was only snowing lightly. Fog settling on the upper half of the mountain reduced visibility, making it hard to distinguish variations on the snow surface. Yet thanks to these conditions, the trees at the top of the resort were wonderfully covered in a layer of rime ice, combining with the fog to create a magical atmosphere.
[South Slope]
The South Slope was immaculately groomed (pictured), while the Gezan course saw 1 to 2cm of fine powder snow accumulated atop the moderately packed surface below; perfect conditions for getting a good edge and gaining speed confidently. The intermediate to advanced guests flying down the slopes and running laps on the south side using the 5Sen South lift or heading all the back to the gondola really stood out first thing in the morning.
[South Slope]
The Sawa Lift began operation on 1/4 (Mon.), opening up the Sawa (pictured) and Hikage courses to skiers and boarders. The well-groomed Sawa course was in top form, and around 5cm of new snow covered the previous day’s tracks on the ungroomed Higake area. Snow below the new accumulation was soft underfoot, making it easy to push the pace and lay down sharp turns.
[Sawa Course]
The fog was gone by around 9 a.m., and visibility improved greatly. The gentle Sunny Valley course and Paradise slope had a dusting of fine snow layered atop the tightly packed grooming, making it easy to link together comfortable turns. And by around 9:30 a.m. the clouds had melted away enough for the sun to partially light up the bottom portion of the mountain.
[Sunny Valley Course]
[Availability Information for Jan. 6]
* All Areas Available (except for Dangan/Sonezawa)
* Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00 a.m.–), totally 7 lifts
* Lift Fees … 1-day Ticket Adults JPY4,600 / Children JPY2,800 / 60-69 y/o JPY4,100 / 70 and Over JPY3,200
＊HAKUBA S-CLASS … Adults JPY8,800, Children JPY4,400, Free for under 6 years old (Dec. 26 Scheduled to open）
*Request for the original data of our photographs
