REPORT

The 2023-24 winter resort reports, which began on 10/6 (Fri.), have reached their final installment for the season. This morning, I was greeted by a group of four people from Aichi (pictured) who told me they were Snownavi fans, with the man on the far right adding, “Yesterday I came to Shiga Kogen from Kyushu, where I was back home visiting family, and skied at Yokoteyama. The sea of clouds was so beautiful! Today I came to Shibutoge because it’s open early in the morning and I wanted to ski on some nice, firm slopes.”
[Shibutoge・Gemut Course]

Shibutoge’s groomed Gemut (pictured) and Waver courses had hard-packed, granular snow conditions, and It took me a while to regain the feel for skiing on firm slopes since I’ve been skiing on loose, granular snow for some time now. Snow coverage on the courses was more than sufficient, and there were no areas of exposed bushes or dirt, so I was able to ski comfortably at speed.
[Shibutoge・Gemut Course]

The more I skied, the more excited I became, thanks to the wonderful views of the peaks floating amongst the clouds (pictured) and the surrounding pine forests; the type of scenery which can only be seen at resorts over 2,000 meters above sea level. The parking lots around Shibutoge were almost full at around 5:30 in the morning. From the top of Mt. Yokote (Yokoteyama, fourth photo), I could see the Myoko-Togakushi mountain range, the five mountains of northern Shinshu, the Northern Alps, Mt. Asama, and even Mt. Fuji.
[Shibutoge・Gemut Course]

At the Yokoteyama ski area (pictured), which is connected to Shibutoge near the summit, it’s still possible to ski the longest run in Japan at this time of year, a full 4 km from the summit to the base of the mountain! The strong southerly wind, that began to blow as the sun got higher in the sky, felt good since I was warmed up from moving. I noticed just a slight amount of dirt-stained snow on the groomed portions of the Yokoteyama First and Second Slopes.
[Yokote summit]
　
*Thank you very much for reading this season’s resort reports. See you next season!
*The snow depth listed at the top of this report is the highest reported throughout the Shiga Kogen area. Currently, that amount of 80 cm applies to Yakebitaiyama, Kumanoyu, and Yokoteyama / Shibutoge.

　
[Availability Information on 5/3 (Fri.)]
*Available Courses … (Yokoteyama) First Gelende, Second Gelende, King Cours, (Shibutoge) Gemut, Downhill Piedmont, (Yakebitaiyama) Panorama, South and totally 14 Courses
*Available Lifts … Yokoteyama No.1 Sky (6:00～), No.2 Sky, No.3 Sky and totally 12 lifts
*Fees … 4/1- Spring Discount 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY6,500, Middle & High school students, over 60 y/o JPY5,900, Under 12 y/o JPY3,200

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