REPORT

The snow was coming down again today! I ran into a group of regular visitors (pictured) who told me, “We always check your reports. Since Yakebitaiyama is closed today, we came to ski at Yokoteyama and Shibutoge. After getting used to the warm April temperatures, it feels especially cold this morning.” I wore my spring base layers, but it was so cold my whole body was shivering and my hands went numb.
[Yokoteyama Summit]

Making things feel even colder, a strong, brisk wind was blowing at Shibutoge. The Gemut Course (pictured) was covered with 1 to 3 cm of light, powdery snow that wouldn’t even pack into a snowball, on top of a firm, groomed spring corn snow base. I met a skier from Gifu Prefecture at the Shibutoge First Romance Lift who said, “Wow, it really feels like mid-winter out here—the fresh snow is absolutely amazing!”
[Shibutoge・Gemut Course]

“Look at this—my binding snapped!” was the comment from a skier from Aichi Prefecture (pictured, right), who I had previously met back in January at Akakan. His friend from Kanagawa (pictured, left) added, “So you’re with Snownavi! I thought you were with the ski patrol. We’re planning to call it a day early and soak in the hot springs.”
[Yokoteyama・Second Slope]

The Second Slope (pictured) had a firm, groomed base composed of new snow and granular snow, topped with 1–2 cm of relatively dry new snow, making for smooth, easy riding and good edge trip. In the distance, you can see the Shiga Kusatsu Kogen Route, which is scheduled to reopen on 4/23 (Wed.). The clear skies in the early morning gradually gave way to cloud cover, and by around 10 a.m., light snow had begun to fall.
[Yokoteyama・Second Slope]

　
＊The Okushiga Kogen Fourth Pair Lift is closed from Monday to Thursday.
＊Starting today, 4/15 (Tue.), the Snownavi Spring ’25 Edition reports will include frequent updates from Shiga Kogen as well!
＊The base depth at the top of this report reflects the maximum depth across all of Shiga Kogen. Currently, the highest recorded depth of 200 cm is at Okushiga.
*The planned final day of operation for each lift can be found here.
　 　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 4/16 (Wed.)]
*Available Courses … (Okushiga) 1st, 2nd Expert, 3rd, 4th, 6th, Downhill, Kumaotoshi, Rinkan, Hillside, Detouring, (Yakebitaiyama) Giant Slalom, Gondola Contact, Gondola detou, Olympic, Super Giant, Panorama, Middle Contac, East, Middle, East connecting route, South connecting route, (Ichinose Family) Front, Teng, Panorama, Perfecter, (Kumanoyu) 1st A, 1st Mogul Bahn, 1st Shirakaba, 2nd A, 2nd Beginner, 3rd A,3rd rinkan, 3rd Beginner, 4th A, 4th Beginner, 4th Event, Umanose, (Yokoteyama) 1st, 2nd, Kaiwa, Jumbo, King, (Shibutoge) Gemut
*Available Lifts … (Okushiga) 2nd Rapid Pair, 3rd Rapid Pair, Gondola, (Yakebitaiyama) No.1 Gondola (8:00 -), No.2 Gondola, (Ichinose Family) Ichinose Quad, 2nd Pair B Line, (Kumanoyu) No.1 Pair, No.1 Pair B Line, (Yokoteyama) 1st Sky B Line, 2nd Sky, 3rd Sky, 4th Pair, (Shibutoge) 1st Romance
*Fees … 3/31- Spring Fee 1 Day Ticket Adult JPY6,500, Middle & High school students, over 60 y/o JPY5,900, Under 12 y/o JPY3,200

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi