REPORT

Today, 12/9 (Fri.), was a busy day of ski resort openings across the country, and the Happo-One Ski Resort’s Panorama Course was pre-opened on extremely short notice at 12:30! The opening wasn’t announced until 10:50, and the crowds were noticeably thin at the start of business less than two hours later. The groomed areas on the north side of the Panorama Course were moderately soft, and the ungroomed areas had about 35cm of fresh snow.
[Panorama Course]

The fresh snow at the end of Panorama (first photo) was a little slushy due to being in an area with direct sunlight. Around 50 to 70% of the snow cover extending across the width of the Panorama forest road (pictured) was bumpy and uneven, but the snow itself was soft enough to ski on with relative ease. My skis sent up a nice rooster tail of spray as I skied into the shaded, ungroomed spots on the forest road course.
[Panorama Forest Road Course]

I measured around 40 to 45cm of snow on the ungroomed part at the end of the Usagidaira Slope (pictured). A Happo regular that I spoke to (pictured, right) said, “I love your site! I’m pretty anxious to ski this slope, too. I bet if we get one or two more snowfalls it’ll open, don’t you think?”
[Usagidaira Slope]

In other news, I headed over to Kitaone Kogen this morning to check out the conditions without realizing the resort would be opening. There was quite a bit of snow, so much so that I was only able to go as far as the Skyline 2 Pair by car. From there, I first hiked up to Kitaone Kogen (pictured), before continuing on to the Panorama Course through an extra 30cm of snow that had me working hard and breaking a sweat. When I arrived at the Panorama Pair I was surprised to see that it was operating and that a member of the ski patrol was checking the course. He called out to me saying, “I know it’s short notice, but I think we may open today.”
[Kitaone 3 Slope]

[Availability Information on 12/9 (Fri)]
*Available Courses … Panorama Course, Panorama Forest Road Course
*Available Lift … Gondola（12:30～16:00）、Panorama
*Lift Fees … Adult JPY2,000, 6-17 y/o JPY1,010円

 

[Good Deal! Advance Ticket (Until 12/16）]
Adult 1 Day Ticket JPY6,500 → JPY5,800!

[Good Deal! Advance Ticket (Until 12/16）]
Adult 1 Day Ticket JPY6,500 → JPY5,800!
　
*Click here to purchase photos found in this report
　
reported by Snownavi