REPORT

Dry snow was coming down with intensity at the top of the mountain, while a cold wind was blowing in from the northwest. I spoke with two snowboarders from Chiba, who told me, “The Skyline Course, where the last first track event of the season was held, was in good condition with around 10 cm of fresh snow on top of a moderately packed, groomed powder snow surface.” Over on the Yamabiko D Course (pictured), the groomed snow was nice and soft and the feeling of cutting through the silky fresh snow on top was irresistible.
[Yamabiko Slope・D Course]

However, visibility in the Yamabiko area was sometimes poor due to thick fog and dense snowfall. I overheard a funny conversation in which one member of a group, who was perhaps absorbed in the excellent conditions on Yamabiko D, didn’t notice when his friends turned towards the ungroomed Yamabiko B Course. Through the fog and snow they screamed, “Hey, where are you going? Over here!” And he responded, “Oops, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
[Yamabiko Slope・D Course]

After a day of powder fun, why not wind down with a pizza from Servus Kitchen, located just below the Nagasaka Gondola summit station? The “Nozawana Pizza” (pictured) is a perfect combination of crispy pickled nozawana greens and bite-sized pieces of chicken. Other offerings include the “Berry Pizza,” a special menu item to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ski resort. Each pizza is baked to order in a special oven so you can enjoy it hot and fresh.
[Servus Kitchen]

After taking a break, I headed to the Kokenashi Slope, which was also in good condition with moderately soft, groomed powder snow and about 15 cm of dry fresh snow on top. The ungroomed area between Kokenashi Slope A and B (pictured) had about 20 cm of fresh snow. In other news, free hot cocoa will be served at the White Day event scheduled to be held on the Hikage Slope on 3/14 (Thurs.).
[Kokenashi Slope]

　　
[Nozawa Onsen Availability Information on 3/4 (Mon.)]
*Almost all courses are OPEN (Except for Hachiman, Kandahar)
*Available Lifts … Nagasaka Gondola (8:30 -), Hikage Gondola (8:30 -) and totally 14 lifts.
*Fees … Adult JPY6,800, Under 15 y/o JPY4,100, Senior JPY5,400

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reported by Snownavi