REPORT

Today I spoke with a snowboarder living in Hakuba Village (pictured, far right) who told me, “I always check your reports! Today, I’m heading up above Happo Pond with a friend from Shiga Kogen (center) and another from Hakuba (far left), and we’re planning to ride down from there.” The slushy corn snow on the Happo Nature Trail (pictured) was firm enough that it was easy to walk without sinking too deep, even without snowshoes.
[Happo-One Nature Trail]

The clouds overhead grew thicker shortly after the resort opened this morning, culminating in an overcast sky. The Riesen Grat Course was left completely ungroomed, and featured shallow tracks and bumps near the top, and larger, irregularly-spaced moguls from the middle to lower sections (pictured). Thanks to the soft corn snow, conditions were easier to ride than they looked.
[Riesen Grat Course]

Right from the morning, the somewhat soft corn snow on the Panorama Course (pictured) and Usagidaira Slope made for smooth gliding and easy, enjoyable turns. Grooming was done to the width of two grooming machines on the Riesen Slalom Course and one machine width on the Shirakaba Slope. Both areas had soft, slushy corn snow with no exposed dirt or brush in sight.
[Panorama Course]

Preparations are underway for the HAPPO BANKED SLALOM event, set to take place on 4/12 (Sat.), on the skier’s left side of the Panorama Course. One of the staff members working on the course (pictured) told me, “The course is long and the banks are big, so you’ll probably be exhausted by the time you reach the bottom, haha. We’ll have everything perfectly ready by race day!”
[Panorama Course]

　
＊The planned final day of operation for each lift can be found here.
＊The Happo Riesen Quad and Nakiyama 3 Triple will be closed from 4/7 (Mon.) to 4/11 (Fri.), and will operate for the final time this season on 4/12 (Sat.) and 4/13 (Sun.). Skiers will still be able to descend from the Riesen Slalom Course to the gondola base station.
＊The toilets at Happo-ike Sanso and Pilar are currently unavailable due to a water supply issue.
＊There has been a change to the shuttle bus schedule on 4/5 (Sat.) and 4/6 (Sun.).
＊More and more exposed ground is becoming visible on the northern side of the Nakiyama Slope.
　
[Happo-One Details on 4/10 (Thu.)]
*OPEN Courses … Riesen Grat, Usagidaira, Kurobishi, Urakuro, Skyline, Panorama, Riesen Slalom, Shirakaba
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00～), Alpen Quad, Panorama Pair, Kurobisi Quad, Skyline 2, Grat Quad
*Fees … 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY5,500, 6-17 y/o JPY2,500, Over 65 y/o JPY4,950

*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