Jiigatake / ◎160cm / Sunny2022.Mar.11

Thanks to this winter’s abundant snowfalls, Jiigatake has announced it is extending its ski season by pushing the originally scheduled closing date of 3/13 (Sun.) back to 3/21 (Mon., holiday). Even still, spring skiing discount prices went into effect as planned on 2/28 (Mon.), giving visitors the fantastic opportunity to enjoy long cruising runs from top to bottom at a substantial discount. Today’s calm, clear, windless weather made for the perfect day to hit the slopes.
[Kids Park]

There were soft, wet-snow conditions throughout the well-maintained Kids Park. The principal of a daycare in Nagano City told me they had come out to celebrate the graduation of the oldest children by sledding and playing in the snow. The air was thick with the excited shrieks of of children flying down the slope on their sleds.
[Kids Park]

Conditions were very much spring-like on the Rabbit (pictured) and Raicho courses, where the groomed wet-snow surfaces exposed to strong sunlight had softened and begun to turn to slush. Conditions deteriorated pretty quickly on the popular Raicho Course, but the groomed corduroy snow lasted for a relatively long time on the quiet Rabbit Course. I found both courses to be fun for fast runs.
[Rabbit Course]

I spoke with a woman (pictured) from Nagano Prefecture’s Ikeda-machi who was taking a lesson with the Kis Snowboad School. She told me, “I’ve wanted to give snowboarding a try for a long time, and I decided that today was the day. I have plans to come back tomorow with my family, so I wanted to try and learn before that.” The Echo Slope (pictured) had similarly-soft, groomed wet-snow conditions that made for smooth, easy skiing.

[Echo]