REPORT

In preparation for today’s final Shiga Kogen resort report, I arrived at the Yozaka parking lot at 5:30 a.m. to cover the 6:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. early morning operation of Yokoteyama’s Second Slope (pictured). My car’s temperature gauge read a brisk -6°C, and I was cold wearing a short-sleeved undershirt, a long-sleeved shirt, and my ski jacket. Put another way; it was freezing! There was plenty of snow remaining on the groomed slope, and the granular snow surface was hardpacked.
[Yokoteyama・Second Slope]

I ran into Sakura (pictured, left) and Hinano (pictured, right) Oshima, who were dressed in their midwinter gear. They told me, “It’s great to be able to practice on firm slopes this time of year!” The low temperatures and cold north wind made my fingers numb and I had to fight the urge to leave without waiting for the start of normal business hours. I ended up spending time warming up in my car before heading over to Shibutoge.
[Yokoteyama・Second Slope]

Normal operation for Yokoteyama & Shibutoge began at 8:30 a.m. The snow cover on the First Slope, located at the bottom of the mountain, was narrowing slightly, but the groomed snow surface stretched all the way to the end of the run. At Shibutoge, the outermost surface of the groomed granular snow began to soften up around 9:00.
[Shibutoge・Gemut Course]

I spoke with a group of eight people from Osaka (pictured), who told me, “We love your site! We’ve enjoyed our time skiing here the past two days.” The groomed Downhill Piedmont and Gemut courses were easy and enjoyable to ski. In other news, the Shiga-Kusatsu Kogen section of Route 292 will open on 4/26 (Wed.) at 10:00 a.m. (*To celebrate, the Shibutoge Romance Lift will open early on 4/27 (Thurs.), starting at 6:00 a.m.!)
[Shibutoge・Downhill Piedmont Course]

　
[Availability Information on 4/23 (Sun.)]
*Available Courses … (Mt. Yakebitai) Gondola Connecting, Panorama, South, Giant Slalom, (Ichinose Family) Ichinose Family Front, Tengu, (Okushiga Kogen) No.1, No.2 Expert, No.3, No.4, Forest, Kids Frorest, (Kumanoyu) Umanose, No.2 Beginer, No.3 Forest, No.3 Beginer, No.4 Beginner, (Mt. Yokote Shibu-toge) Yokoteyama No.1, Yokoteyama NMo.2, Yokoteyama Kaiwa, Yokoteyama King, Shibutoge Weiber, Shibutoge Gemute
*Available Lifts … Yokoteyama No.1 Sky B-Line (8:30-) and totally 17 lifts
*Lift Fees … From 4/1 Spring Discount Adult JPY5,500, 13-18 & Over 60 y/o JPY5,100, 6-12 y/o JPY2,700

*Hotels of Shiga Kogen

*Click here to purchase photos found in this report
　
　
reported by Snownavi