REPORT

The rain that began yesterday afternoon had stopped by around 7:00 a.m. this morning. On the slopes, I ran into the owner of NIKU-Masa (pictured), who appears somewhat regularly in our Tsugaike Reports, and was told, “The snow today has a really deep soft layer. Also, check this out—it’s an original hoodie from the Nagano Ski Federation. Pretty cool, right?”
[Han-no-ki Slope]

On the groomed Han-no-ki Slope (first photo), the granular spring snow base was quite slushy. Some dirt was visible on the surface from the middle to lower section, and the snow conditions caused a slight braking sensation at times. The Gotemba Course, which winds through the forest (pictured), had a slightly softened granular surface. The snow was smooth, my skis glided well, and there were no fallen leaves or branches on the groomed areas, making for an enjoyable run.
[Gotemba Course]

On the Tsuga-no-mori Slope (pictured), the soft surface layer on the groomed granular snow base was less deep, offering both good edge hold and smooth glide, making for clean, controlled turns. Even in April, there are still many international visitors this season (including the child pictured here), and they especially stood out on this otherwise quiet weekday.
[Tsuga-no-mori Slope]

I met two visitors from Thailand (pictured) who waved as they gently made their way down the mellow Karamatsu Slope that continues past this point. Since the Han-no-ki No. 3 Quad will operate only until 4/13 (Sun.), from 4/14 (Mon.) onward, access to the mid-to-lower sections of Han-no-ki will require a return to the top via the gondola. Although only a light southerly breeze was felt on the slopes, clouds were moving quickly overhead, and from around 9:00 a.m., the sun was increasingly obscured.
[Han-no-ki Slope]

　
*The Tsugaike Ropeway will operate on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 4/4 (Fri.) to 4/27 (Sun.), and daily from 4/28 (Mon.) to 5/6 (Tue.)!
*The Tsugaike lift operation schedule for the remainder of the season can be found here.

[Tsugaike Kogen Details on 4/11 (Fri.)]
*Most Courses are OPEN (= Except for Umanose, Champion, Maruyama, Kane-no-naru-oka No.2, Kane-no-naru-oka)
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00 a.m.-) and totally 4 lifts
*Fees … 3/24- Spring Season Discount 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY5,500, Elementary School Students JPY3,400

*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