栂池高原 / ×25cm / 雪｜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。

tsugaike Report

Tsugaike Kogen / ×22cm / Snowy2020.Dec.04

The snow that was lightly falling around Hakuba Station this morning as of 7:00 a.m. grew more intense as we drew closer to Tsugaike by car. Upon reaching the base of the resort, there appeared to be around 3cm of fresh snow blanketing the Kane-no-naru-oka area (see photo). The thin covering of light dry snow seemed to be gently resting on the carefully-cut grass slopes.

[Kane-no-naru-oka]

On this morning the northerly winds were relatively calm, but the high clouds above were still moving quickly; intermittently revealing small glimpses of blue sky and transient rays of sunlight before they were quickly swallowed again by the persistent gray cloud cover. At around the midpoint of the Han-no-ki slope where the trail splits, (see photo) there was between 5 to 8cm of accumulation.

[Han-no-ki Slope]

The Tsuga-no-mori slope at the resort’s apex was covered in an average of around 25cm of snow, of which the top 10 to 15cm was freshly accumulated powder sitting on a layer of windblown crust from recent snowfalls. Due to the effects of the wind on the exposed slope, there were a range of conditions present – from knee-high snowdrifts in spots to areas where there was almost no fresh snow to speak of.

[Tsuga-no-mori Slope]

Taking a look at the current state of things on the Tsuga-no-mori slope, it seemed that three or more good snowfalls would be necessary to create the conditions needed to open the area up for skiing and snowboarding. The same held true for the stretch of slope alongside the Han-no-ki High Speed Pair Lift, usually the first run to open at Tsugaike each season. Presently there is only a meager 5 to 10cm in the area, but just a few more accumulations should be enough to fully cover the exposed undergrowth.