REPORT

The official base depth has now more than doubled, after the heavy snowfall continuing through to this morning far exceeded forecasts, going from 65 cm on 12/6 (Fri.) to 140 cm on the morning of 12/7, 155 cm on the morning of 12/8, and 168 cm this morning, 12/9. The dawn brought clear skies, though cold air remained over Hakuba, and occasional strong northwesterly winds swept the light snow off the surface, carving swirling patterns into the slopes.
[Kurobish]

The ungroomed steep slope along the Kurobishi 3 Pair (pictured) was blanketed with 20 to 30 cm of fresh snow. While some areas at the top were wind-packed, the majority offered soft, fluffy snow with no hard base beneath—just pure, smooth turns. The air was filled with powder spray and enthusiastic cheers as skiers eagerly dropped in one after another.
[Kurobishi]

The soft, groomed slopes along the Kurobishi Quad (pictured) also offered the delightful feeling of powder, allowing skiers to carve effortless turns with precision. Crowds flocked to the powder areas of Kurobishi and Usagidaira in the morning, leaving the corduroy-patterened groomers here beautifully intact for an extended period of time.
[Kurobishi]

Before the Alpen Quad began operation, a group of four from Aichi Prefecture, Matsumoto City, and Nagano’s Matsukawa Village (pictured) shared their excitement with me, saying, “We always follow your reports! The snow quality and weather are perfect today. The powder is tempting, but we’re starting with the groomers.” The groomed area of Usagidaira (pictured) and the Panorama Course featured a moderately packed powder snow surface that was ideal for smooth, controlled turns.
[Usagidaira]

　
＊The official Hakuba Happo-One Ski Resort website provides twice-daily snow updates, in the morning and afternoon.
＊After the ski resort opens, the snow depth section on the right side of this page will display the morning snow depth for Kurobishi as reported on the official website. The number in parentheses represents the amount of new snowfall recorded over approximately 24 hours since the previous morning’s observation (based on measurements taken by our reporter).

　
[Happo-One Details on 12/9 (Mon.)]
*Available Courses … Panorama Course, Upper Panorama Rindo, Usagidaira, Kurobishi
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00～), Panorama Pair, Kokusai No.3 Pair, Alpen Quad, Kurobishi Quad
*Fees … Early Season 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY5,000, Over 65 y/o JPY4,500, 6-17 y/o JPY1,500 (Until 12/20)
　
*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi