REPORT

New Year’s Eve is steadily approaching, and I spoke with a staff member of the Hotel Green Plaza Hakuba who told me they expected the parking lot to be almost full this evening with people who have reservations to stay overnight during the holiday period. It was a clear morning with blue skies and no wind, and I was able to link controlled, comfortable turns on the Ikenota Slope (pictured) and Ipponmatsu Course, which both had firm, groomed wet snow surfaces.
[Ikenota Slope]

I had a conversation with a man from Ishikawa Prefecture (pictured right), who told me, “I love your site, and I also follow you on Instagram! I came to Hakuba to snowboard for the first time in about 30 years, since I was a child. My local ski resort also got a lot of snow last week, but the quality of snow in Hakuba is great!” There was still powder snow to be found on the early to mid part of the Hiedayama Forest Course, which had a moderately firm groomed surface.
[Hiedayama Forest Course]

The groomed wet snow at the end of the Hiedayama Forest Course was also moderately packed. The Hiedayama Course 1 (pictured) was ungroomed, but was relatively easy to ski since the moguls and tracks across the surface weren’t hard packed. The Itadaira Course had an irregular, bumpy surface that was turning moist in the intense sunlight, and stalks of silver grass could still be seen sticking through the snow.
[Hiedayama Course 1]

The center of the Rabbit Course was groomed to the width of about three grooming machines and had a moderately firm wet snow surface. Despite the staff member’s comment about the parking lot being full in the evening, the slopes were still empty in the morning, with the number of people starting to increase around 9:30 a.m., mainly around the base area.
[Ikenota Slope]

　
[Hakuba Cortina Availability Information on 12/28 (Thu)]
*All Courses are available (Except for Snake C, Kamoshika C, Itadaira one C, Hiedayama C3)
*Available Lifts … No.2 Quad (8:30-), No.1 Pair, No.3 Quad, No.4 Pair, No.6 Pair
*Fees … Adult JPY5,200, 6-12 y/o JPY3,500, Over 60 y/o JPY4,500
　
*Print and get a great deal! Discount Coupon!
Paper Coupon → Adult 1 Day Ticket + JPY1,000 Meal Ticket = JPY7,400 → JPY6,200!
Paper Coupon → Child 1 Day Ticket + JPY1,000 Meal Ticket = JPY5,000 → JPY4,300!

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi