REPORT

Thanks to the arrival of a powerful cold front, the temperatures at Shiga Kogen dropped all the way down to a midwinter-like -12°C this morning, with a cold wind blowing from the north, and dry snow coming down hard. I spoke with a skier who rode the gondola with me after skiing first tracks on the Giant Slalom Course, and was told, “That felt good… and wow, it’s cold! I feel like my ears are going to fall off.”
[Yakebitaiyama・Giant Slalom Course]

The Middle Contact Course (pictured) and East Course had comfortable conditions, with about 3 cm of fresh, silky snow on top of moderately firm, groomed powder snow surfaces. In order to preserve snow in other areas through the spring, the Shirakaba Course and Buna Course were closed on 2/28 (Wed.), while the lower part of the Super Giant Slalom Course, the upper portion of the Middle Contact Course, the upper portion of the East Course, the Middle Course, and the South Contact course will close on 3/4 (Mon.).
[Yakebitaiyama・Middle Contact Course]

The most interesting area this morning was the ungroomed section in the middle of the Giant Slalom Course (pictured). Although I hit some bumps on the underlying terrain, I was able to fully enjoy the fluffy feeling of 15 to 20cm of fresh snow. The well-packed, large wet snow moguls of the Giant Slalom Course were covered in 10 to 15 cm of smooth new snow.
[Yakebitaiyama・Giant Slalom Course]

A special course (pictured) was set up in front of the East Wing of the Shiga Kogen Prince Hotel in order to offer visitors a chance to try riding an electric e-Snow Bike. (*Until 3/3, no license required, must be 15 years old or older, ¥3,300 for 30 minutes) Even though I had never ridden a motorcycle before, I got used to it, and enjoyed it, after one lap around the approximately 200-meter course. A staff member told me to relay the message, “Please come and pay us a visit!”
[Yakebitaiyama・Shiga Kogen Prince Hotel East Wing Area]

　
*The snow depth listed at the top of this report is the highest reported throughout the Shiga Kogen area. Currently, that amount of 190 cm is at Yokoteyama・Shibutoge.

　
[Availability Information on 3/2 (Sat.)]
*All Courses are available (Except for 13 courses)
*Available Lifts … Yakebitaiyama No.1 Gondola (7:50 a.m.- First Track) and totally 40 lifts
*Fees … 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY7,500, Middle & High school students, over 60 y/o JPY6,400, Under 12 y/o JPY3,700

*Request for the original data of our photographs
　
　
reported by Snownavi