REPORT

In addition to weekends, Yakebitaiyama Ski Resort has been conducting early morning operation on weekdays as well since 4/12 (Sat.), with the exception of Wednesdays when the resort is closed. I spoke with Kevin (pictured, left) and a Yakebitaiyama regular (pictured, right), who were lined up for the First Gondola before it opened, and they commented, “The snow conditions at 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. feel completely different—it’s like skiing at two different resorts. It’s definitely worth waking up early for.”
[Yakebitaiyama・Giant Slalom Course]

During early morning operation, all courses are open except for Panorama In, Shirakaba, Karamatsu, Buna, Okushiga Contact, YAKEBI WALL, YAKEBI VALLEY, and YAKEBI COAST. I enjoyed picking up speed on the firm, groomed granular snow, cruising from the Giant Slalom Course to the Olympic Course (pictured).
[Yakebitaiyama・Olympic Course]

It wasn’t until around 8 a.m. that the groomed snow surface finally started to soften. A skier I met at the base of the First Gondola mentioned, “Yesterday the snow was extremely sticky, but today it’s much easier to glide.” Many skiers were making laps on the Giant Slalom Course using the First Gondola.
[Yakebitaiyama・Giant Slalom Course]

The Panorama Course on the Second Gondola side was less crowded, and I was able to carve wide turns without worrying about others. Both the Panorama Course (pictured) and the South Course below it offered smooth, fast conditions! Starting tomorrow, 4/19 (Sun.), the Second Gondola will begin operating as well, and combined with neighboring Okushiga Kogen, you’ll have access to a 21 runs and a 540m vertical drop by way of 7 lifts—including 3 gondolas.
[Yakebitaiyama・Panorama Course]

　
＊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, while Yakebitaiyama is reporting 180 cm.
*The planned final day of operation for each lift can be found here.
　 　
[Shiga Kogen Details on 4/18 (Fri.)]
*Available Courses … (Yakebitaiyama) Giant Slalom, Gondola Contact, Gondola detou, Olympic, Super Giant, Panorama, Middle Contac, East, Middle, East connecting route, South connecting route, (Okushiga) 1st, 2nd Expert, 3rd, 4th, 6th, Downhill, Kumaotoshi, Rinkan, Hillside, Detouring, (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