REPORT

This morning was particularly warm in Nagano, with my thermometer showing +1.0°C even at Shiga Kogen. While Route 292 was dry and smooth, the roads leading to Giant and Nishidateyama were still packed with ice and snow. Before operations began, I spotted some wild monkeys having their breakfast (pictured, please don’t feed them).
[Nishidateyama・Middle Course]

After riding the Nishidateyama Quad and the Nishidate Hoodie Quad, I arrived at the summit of Nishidateyama, where I could see the snow-covered Northern Alps beyond Mt. Myoko, Mt. Kurohime, and Mt. Iizuna. “What an amazing view! Could you take a picture with my phone?” was the comment from a skier I met there. The steep upper section of the World Cup Course (pictured) had a hard packed, groomed wet snow surface.
[Nishidateyama・Upper Portion of World Cup Course]

The Upper Intermediate Course and the lower section of the World Cup Course both had hard, groomed wet snow bases. By around 9 a.m., the snow began to soften slightly, allowing for better edge control. Around that same time, wispy clouds started to spread across the blue sky.
[Nishidateyama・World Cup Course]

The upper to mid sections of the Giant Slope featured hard, groomed wet snow, while the lower area had hard, groomed granular snow. I was impressed by the skill of advanced skiers carving powerfully down the challenging 1,000m-long slope. By the way, the Shiga-Nakano Toll Road will be open for free starting at midnight on 3/16 (Sun.), making access to Shiga Kogen even more convenient!
[Giant・Giant Slope]

　
＊The base depth at the top of this report reflects the maximum depth across all of Shiga Kogen. Currently, the highest recorded depth of 250 cm is at Okushiga and Yakebitaiyama. Nishidateyama and Giant are reporting 180 cm.

[Shiga Kogen Details on 3/13 (Wed.)]
*All Courses are OPEN (Except for Yakebitaiyama Panorama In Course, Yokoteyama Queen No. 5 & 6, Shibutoge Downhill Piedmont Course）
*Available Lifts … Okushiga No.1 Pair (8:40～) and totally 35 lifts
*Fees … 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY8,000, Middle & High school students, over 60 y/o JPY6,400, Under 12 y/o JPY3,700

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi