八方尾根 / ◎340cm / 晴｜ゲレンデレポート｜スノーナビ｜白馬八方・栂池・五竜等の観光案内はスノーナビ白馬で。

happo Report

Happo-One / ◎340cm / Partly Sunny2022.Jan.25

The sky was clear and blue this morning before the start of business, with the exception of a few wispy clouds thinly veiling the sun. With the Omicron variant spreading across Japan, the ski resort seemed quieter than usual. Yet still, the Alpen Quad (pictured) was loaded with climbers intending to reach the peak of Mt. Karamatsu, seemingly unconcerned about the coronavirus.

[Usagidaira]

The recent streak of extreme cold temperatures subsided yesterday, and almost no new snow has fallen since 1/22 (Sat.), and as a result the consistency and quality of the snow is starting to change. The north-facing area along the Kurobishi No. 2 Quad (pictured) maintained ideal firm, packed-powder surface conditions, while the east-facing groomed areas of Usagidaira were composed of a mix of wet snow and powder snow. However, I found the conditions made for easy, enjoyable skiing on both slopes!

[Kurobishi]

One level lower on the mountain, the skiing surface of the northeast-facing Panorama Course was still composed of powder snow. This morning the Kokusai No. 3 Pair Lift was suspended, leaving only the Panorama Pair to service the area, and as a result, the southern side of the run (pictured) was noticeably empty. Conditions were good for attaining and maintaining an edge, and I was able to make both wide and tight turns with ease.

[Panorama Course]

Incidentally, Snownavi classifies snow conditions as: powder snow, wet snow, granular snow, slushy snow and icy snow. As the name implies, powder snow is the ideal dry snow type that is smooth and fine like powder, while granular is rough and formed by larger icy pellets. The term wet snow is used to describe snow that falls somewhere in between powder and granualr snow types.