REPORT

With the opening of the South Slope (pictured) on 12/23 (Fri.), and the Sunny Valley Course on 12/24 (Sat.), skiers and boarders can now make their way all the way down to the gondola base station! With the continued heavy snowfall over the last two evenings, the resort’s Mountain Side was completely covered in rime ice this morning, making for a magical atmosphere. The air, however, felt extremely cold due to the strong cold wind that was blowing.
[South Slope]

The groomed snow surface on the top half of the Sunny Valley Course was well-packed powder, while the bottom half (the lower part of the Paradise Slope) was hard-packed. There were thin patches of snow here and there on Paradise, but on the portion towards the middle where the course turns from south to north (pictured), there was no exposed brush, and I was able to enjoy the long 3.8 km run all the way from the gondola summit station without any worries.
[Sunny Valley Course]

I spoke with a visitor (pictured) from Hyogo Prefecture who was traveling with his dog. He told me, “I came to Iwatake earlier this year to enjoy the beautiful autumn foliage, and now I’m back to take advantage of the dog run.” In other news, in addition to the City Bakery and SKYARK which had already been open, Chavaty Hakuba (8:30〜) and the SKYARK Deck Cafe also opened on 12/24 (Sat.).
[IWATAKE WHITE PARK]

It was very good skiing conditions on the East Slope (pictured), with a moderately firm, groomed powder snow surface. I had a chat with a skier from Shizuoka Prefecture (pictured), who said, “I love your site! I was originally planning to go to either Tsugaike or Happo, but after reading Snownavi’s reports, I decided to come to Iwatake because of the strong winds.” (Good choice.) I also heard from an instructor with the Hakuba Iwatake Snowboard School who told me that the school is fully booked for the New Year’s period.
[East Slope]

[Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field Availability Information on 12/25 (Sun)]
*Over half of areas open (=All courses are available except for SAWA C、HIKAGE、DANGAN、Noth G、Kamoshika C、Kometuga C)
*Available Lifts … Gondola (8:00-), 3-sen North, 4-sen East, View 2
*Fees … Early Season Discount 1 Day Ticket Adult & Over 60 y/o JPY3,800, 6-12 y/o JPY2,000 (Until 12/23) *A preschooler will be free per adult.

＊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!

reported by Snownavi