REPORT

Today was the long-awaited opening day for the Usagidaira (pictured) and Kurobishi slopes. As the day began, I spoke with a skier from Tokyo (pictured) who first told me they were fans of Snownavi, and then went on to say, “What a perfect day. I’ve had my picture taken by Snownavi quite a few times before, but none of them have made it into a resort report yet.” Well then, allow us to use your photo to commemorate this important day of terrain expansion!
[Usagidaira]

Last night’s extreme winds almost seemed like a dream on this calm, cloudless morning. I watched as a patrolman skied down the steep, ungroomed, and untouched slope along the Alpen Quad (pictured), and overheard people saying things like, “Oh, that’s not fair!” and, “That looks incredible.” Later I spoke with the patrolman who told me, “There’s a layer of crust on the surface and it’s hard to tell the difference between the groomed and ungroomed snow. Also, there are some areas with hardpacked snow, so have fun, but please be careful too.”
[Usagidaira]

As I went from the well-packed, groomed surface at the top of the Usagidaira south route to the ungroomed area along the Alpen Quad, I was greeted by snow drifts with over 50cm of virgin snow. I heard quite a few skiers and boarders mentioning things like, “It’s been a while since I’ve skied powder, and I’m really enjoying it!” and, “I don’t know when I’ll be able to ski fresh snow again, so I’m gonna make the most of today.”
[Usagidaira]

The conditions along the Kurobishi Quad were perfect, with a moderately firm, groomed powder snow surface! There I met up with SAJ demonstrator Kasumi Kirikubo (pictured, right) and Rossignol rider and Hakuba Happo-One Ski & Snowboard School staff member Haruka Kagawa (pictured, left), who told me, “The groomed snow is super nice!” Happo now has 7 runs spread out over three different slope areas: Panorama (north side, south side, Panorin), Usagidaira (Alpen Quad, south side, Sodeguro), and Kurobishi (Kurobishi Quad)!
[Kurobishi]

　　　　
[Happo-One Details on 12/8 (Fri.)]
*Available Courses … Panorama Course, Usagidaira, Kurobishi
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00～16:00), Panorama Pair (8:15～15:30), Kokusai No.3 Pair (8:15～15:30), Alpen Quad (8:30～15:00), Kurobishi No.2 Quad (8:40～15:00)
*Fees … Early Season 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY5,000, 6-17 y/o JPY1,500円, Over 65 y/o JPY4,500
　
*Good Deal! Advance Ticket (Sales Period until 12/22)
Adult 1 Day Ticket JPY7,200 → JPY6,500!
Adult 1 Day Ticket + Lunch Ticket JPY1,500 = JPY8,700 → JPY7,300!
　
*Printable Rental Discount Coupons!
Carving Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY3,000 / Outerwear JPY2,500!
Carving Ski・Snowboard High Performance Model Rental JPY500 OFF!
Kid’s Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY2,500 / Outerwear JPY1,500!

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi