REPORT

The thick early morning clouds slowly faded away as the morning progressed to reveal clear blue skies, and the trees on the resort’s Mountain Side (pictured) were covered in rime ice that shone beautifully in the morning sun! On 12/24 (Sun.) the View 2 lift began operating, which opened up VIEW C and VIEW D for skiing.
[North Slope]

Both VIEW C (pictured, max. 24 degrees, avg. 16 degrees, 1,150m long) and VIEW D (max. 25 degrees, avg. 15 degrees, 1,440m long) were groomed with moderately firm powder snow surfaces. The conditions allowed me to set my edges and ski comfortably at speed, and because there were no areas of exposed brush or thin snow from top to bottom, the skiing was worry free.
[VIEW C]

The immaculatgely groomed East Slope (pictured) and North Slope also had moderately packed powder snow surfaces. The snowfall from last night and the day before yesterday erased all traces of the grass that was visible on the first day of opening. The ungroomed areas on the sides of the trails were covered with 10 to 15cm of fluffy new snow.
[East Slope]

I spoke with a local snowboarder from Hakuba who told me, “The snow that fell yesterday was wet at the foot of the mountain, so I was a little worried about the conditions today, but the snow is good on the mountain.” Visitor turnout was slow today since it was a weekday, but the view first thing this morning, of the sea of clouds and the village below covered in snow, from the South Slope was beautiful.
[South Slope]

　
[Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field Availability Information on 12/26 (Tue)]
*Available Courses … North, East, VIEW C, VIEW D
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00-), 3-sen North, 4-sen East, VIEW 2
*Fees … 1 Day Ticket … Adult Weekends & Holidays JPY5,200, Weekday JPY5,000, 6-12 y/o Weekend & Holidays JPY3,200, Weekday JPY3,000, 60-69 y/o JPY4,800, Over 70 y/o JPY4,600 *A preschooler will be free per adult.
　
＊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!
　　
reported by Snownavi