REPORT

Happy New Year! After taking a few days off for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, we’re getting right back to our reports today, 1/2 (Thurs.)! I spoke with one of the first groups on the Riesen Grat Lift (pictured), and was told, “We came out for the day from Tochigi Prefecture! As we expected, the snow quality in Hakuba is fantastic! By the way, what time does the Grat Quad start running?” (Note: The Grat Quad started operating around 9:10 a.m. this morning.)
[Riesen Grat]

Kurobishi-daira (first photo) was shrouded in fog, but the top of the ski resort was above the cloud cover. I glided through the first part of the Grat on the soft, groomed powder base with 5 to 10cm of light snow on top, on my way toward the steep slope on the second half of the run (pictured). Riders dropping into the ungroomed area, with around 15 to 20cm of new, light snow, could be heard shouting things like “Amazing!” and “So good!” as they enjoyed the excellent conditions.
[Riesen Grat]

As the snow fell and the wind gusted strongly on occasion, the sky brightened from time to time in spots over Riesen Grat (pictured). The Panorama, Riesen, and South-side routes of Usagidaira, as well as the area along the Kurobishi Quad, had soft, groomed packed powder bases topped with 2 to 3cm of light new snow. Meanwhile, the harder packed wet snow surface on the Shirakaba slope had some icy patches here and there.
[Riesen Grat]

Rewinding back to the morning, I spoke with a couple from Kanagawa (pictured) who commented, “We’ve been skiing since 12/28 (Sat.) and welcomed the New Year with the best snow conditions!” Many others also shared “Happy New Year!” greetings with me on the slopes. By around 10 a.m., a long line had formed at the Gondola base station, and both the nearby paid parking lots and the No. 6 parking lot near the Nakiyama slope were completely full.
[Usagidaira]

　
＊The Grat Quad lift began operation on 12/28 (Sat.)!
＊On weekends and holidays between 1/4 (Sat.) and 3/2 (Sun.), the “HAPPO First Tracks” event will be held, allowing you to ski the first run of the day on the Riesen course. The event kicks off at 7:30 a.m., and is JPY7,000 each for the first 30 general participants, and JPY3,000 each for the first 30 season pass holders.
　
[Happo-One Details on 1/2 (Thur.)]
*All Courses are available (Except HAPPO PARKS)
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00～) and totally 18 lifts
*Fees … 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY8,000, 6-17 y/o JPY4,000, Over 65 y/o JPY7,700

*Printable Rental Discount Coupons!
Carving Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY3,000 / Outerwear JPY2,500!
Carving Ski・Snowboard High Performance Model Rental JPY500 OFF!
Kid’s Ski・Snowboard 1-Day Rental Set JPY2,500 / Outerwear JPY1,500!

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi