REPORT

Sunday, March 26th marked a turning point in the season, as most of the ski resorts finished up their last day of the season. Here at Nozawa Onsen, there is plenty of snow, more than half of the trails are skiable, and visitors are still able to ski down to the bottom of the resort! I spoke with a family from Nara Prefecture (pictured), who told me, “We love your site! It rained the last two days, but for our last day today, we’re thankful that the snow that fell last night has reset the slopes!”
[Uenotaira Slope]

The upper portion of the ski resort had 5 to 7 cm of moist fresh snow. The Kokenashi Slopes A (pictured) and B, Uenotaira Slope (first photo), and Yamabiko D and E Courses had moderately soft, groomed surfaces composed of a mix of fresh, wet snow and granular snow! The trees running from the top of Mt. Kenashi (elevation 1,650m) down to the Paradise Slope were covered in rime ice.
[Kokenashi Slope・A Course]

The top portion of the mountain as well as the halfpipe (pictured), which opened around 9:45 a.m., were blessed with a good amount of snow. The moderately packed granular snow was well maintained and allowed for good speed and height through the halfpipe. The other elements, including the kickers and waves were also in good shape.
[Uenotaira Slope]

Incidentally, the terrain park element on the left side of this photo can be ridden as a bank when coming in from the side, or skied over the top like a wave. Entering Paradise before 10:00 a.m. I found a crisp snow surface. On Schneider, the groomed area on the first half had a moderately soft granular snow surface, while the moguls on the second half of the run were stained with dirt and noticeably softer. There was still enough snow at the end of the Forest Course, the only connection between the top half of the resort and the Hikage slope, to last until this weekend.
[Uenotaira Slope]

　
[Nozawa Onsen Availability Information on 3/27 (Mon.)]
*Almost All Areas Available (= Yamabiko A・B・C・D・E, Uenotaira G, Paradise G, Schneider C, Challenge, Challenge39°, Utopia A, Forest trail, Hikage C, Hikagenokabe, Isemiya G, Nagasaka G, Forest trail short cut, Kumataka C, Kitsune C, Karasawa liaison, Snowpark, Half-pipe are open)
*Available Lifts … Nagasaka Gondola (8:30-), Hikage Gondola (8:30-) and totally 13 lifts
*Lift Fees … Adult JPY6,000, Under 15 y/o JPY3,600, Over 60 y/o JPY4,800 (From 4/3 Spring Discount Adult JPY4,700, Under 15 y/o JPY2,800, Over 60 y/o JPY3,800)

*Click here to purchase photos found in this report

reported by Snownavi