REPORT

Five guests from Itoigawa City and the local village of Otari (pictured) greeted me this morning, saying, “We always read your reports! We’re mountain skiing friends, and the two on the left are here at Cortina for the first time this season. Today, we’re going to check out the back side of Cortina together.” The snow that had been falling softly as larger, damp flakes early in the morning, grew heavier around the time the resort opened.
[Ipponmatsu]

The moderately-packed groomed powder surface of the Ikenota Slope (pictured) had a thin layer of slightly damp new snow on top about 1 to 2cm deep. Despite the snowfall and light fog reducing visibility of the snow surface, my skis ran smoothly and the slope felt easy to glide on. By the way, the Mt. Hieda Course 2 is closed due to a crack in the snow surface, and will remain closed until there is enough snowfall to sufficiently cover it.
[Ikenota]

The Mt. Hieda Forest Course (pictured) had a light 2 to 3cm layer of new snow on top of a perfectly-packed, groomed powder surface. The ungroomed Mt. Hieda Course 1 had a moderately packed irregular surface marked with tracks and topped with 5 to 6cm of new snow that was easy to ski. Many of the visitors who lined up early at the No. 4 Pair lift headed into the tree areas.
[Mt. Hieda Forest]

The snowboarder (pictured) who was the first to ride the Itadaira Course told me, “I’ve been skiing at Cortina yesterday and today.” The Itadaira Course, with 3–4 cm of new snow on top of groomed, well-packed powder, was very easy to ski, and I was eager to make this my first run this morning. As for the planned expansion of open terrain, the No. 1 and No. 6 Pair Lifts will start operating this weekend, connecting Cortina to the neighboring Hakunori area!
[Itadaira]

　　
[Hakuba Cortina Details on 12/17 (Tue.)]
*Available Courses … Ikenota, Ikenot arinkan, Hiedayama forest, Hieda mountain 1, Itadaira
*Available Lifts … No. 2 Quad, No.4 Pair
*Fees … Off peak 1 day ticket Adult JPY4,000, 6-12 y/o JPY2,500, Pre-schoolers FREE (Until 12/20)

*Print and get a great deal! Discount Coupon!
Adult 1 Day Ticket + JPY1,200 Meal Ticket = JPY8,000 → JPY6,800!
Child 1 Day Ticket + JPY1,200 Meal Ticket = JPY5,200 → JPY4,500!

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi