REPORT

It was an unseasonably warm day, and even haru-ichiban winds were recorded in the Kanto area today for the first time this season, while at Madarao, there were occasional gusts of a lukewarm southerly wind. I spoke with a student from Tokyo who told me, “I came out for a one-night ski trip using a Travel Inn tour bus. It’s so hot.” Overall, there seemed to be a large number of young people on the mountain, which brought a lively atmosphere to the slopes.
[Crystal]

The groomed Champion Slope (pictured), had a firm surface composed of fine-grained granular snow that began to moisten quickly after opening, and by my second run, it had loosened up considerably. From there I headed to Crystal (first photo), where conditions were especially good on the skier’s right side of the well-packed, groomed wet snow surface, which stays shaded for much of the day.
[Champion]

I skied the firmly-groomed, wet snow surface on the lower part of Crystal (pictured), before returning all sweaty to the No. 8 Parking Lot at around 10:00 a.m. (*As usual, I was overdressed). There I spoke with a skier who said, “Wow, it’s so hot! My skis stopped sliding smoothly so I’m reapplying wax.” The lower part of Giant and Paradise were in the sun, and the snow there had a loose, soft feeling.
[Crystal]

The Rinkan (Forest) Course was well maintained from top to bottom, and I observed some skiers heading from Sky View to Tangram and SAWA1 (pictured). The surface of SAWA1 was covered in well-packed bumps and tracks, but the surface snow had begun to loosen up making it easy to manage. In other news, on 2/18 (Sun.), elementary school students can receive a free lift ticket as part of the Ski Children’s Day promotion. (*Preschool children are always free.)
[SAWA1]

　
[Madarao Kogen Availability Information on 2/15 (Thu.)]
*Almost All Courses are OPEN (Except for Powderwave2, River line, Crystal bowl)
*Available Lifts … No.1 lift (8:30-), and totally 8 lifts
*Fees … Area 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY6,500, Over 55 y/o JPY6,000, 6-12 y/o JPY3,500, *Preschooler Free

*The ski area reports of Madarao Kogen will be uploaded once a week.
*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi