Happo-one / ◎200cm / Partly Cloudy2020.Dec.29
The clear skies early in the morning provided great views of the Northern Alps from the village below. However, by the time the resort opened a thin covering of cloud hung over the upper slopes (pictured). Even still the wind was light and infrequent and enough sunlight penetrated the fog so that it didn’t feel particularly cold.
[Usagidaira Slope]
Some thirty minutes later, the morning fog began to slowly melt away. A man visiting from Mie prefecture greeted me saying that he always checks our page and that the condition of the groomers was “fantastic”. He also mentioned that he was staying in town until the 5th of January and that he was looking forward to the forecasted snow over the next several days.
[Kurobishi Slope]
I was worried that the persistently warm high-temperatures over the last several days would negatively affect the snow, but the groomed southern portion of the Usagidaira slope (1st photo) as well as the course running alongside the No. 2 Kurobishi Quad (2nd & 3rd photos) somehow managed to maintain reasonably good conditions. The ungroomed sections of trail, particularly those along the Alpen Quad and Kurobishi No. 3 Pair now have some tightly packed mid to large-size moguls.
[Kurobishi Slope]
The Skyline course likewise was in good shape with a well-groomed compacted powder surface. The snow along the Kitaone cat track traverse is holding together well, and the Sakka slopes were close to hard pack conditions. The Shirakaba slope was not groomed this morning, so the tracks and slough from skiers and boarders in the area the day before simply hardened in place overnight.
[Skyline Course]
[Availability Information for Dec. 29]
* All Areas Available (except for Urakuro, Omusubi)
* Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00 a.m.–), totally 14 lifts
* Lift Price … Adult: JPY5,500, Child under 12: JPY3,200, Senior : JPY5,000
