Has there ever been a case in which a ski brand, or a company that handles ski brands, has operated a ski resort? Aside from Wing Hills Shiratori, which is still operated by Alpen, the company that manufactured Hart skis, I have never heard of such a case in Japan. Looking around the world, it is unlikely that a mega brand will openly operate a ski resort
Amidst the numerous headwinds facing the winter ski industry, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change,the Jigatake ski resortone company has taken over the operation ofIcelantique skisimports and sellsFreefloat.
INDEX
- What is Hakuba Valley like?
- Why restart the Jijigatake Ski Resort?
- Reviving ski resorts through DIY
- The best debut slope, Grandpa Mt
Freefloat is a company based in Omachi City that importsIcelantic skisdomestically, and also actively engages in community development projects and creative activities. As you can see from theirwebsiteskis are characterized by their robust construction, made in the USA, and beautiful graphics. Their lineup, which covers a wide range of uses from the park to the backcountry, is mainly supported by intermediate and advanced skiers, and they have a very high level of recognition among core brands distributed in Japan.
A company that sells skis aimed at hardcore skiers has been entrusted with the operation of Jigatake Ski Resort, a ski resort popular with beginners and families. This mismatch creates the feeling that something is about to happen. Before we get to the main topic, let's first review the overall picture of Hakuba Valley
Hakuba Valley is like this.
Have you ever skied at Jigatake Ski Resort?
I'll leave the details to the article above, but to give you a rough overview, Hakuba Valley is a ski area that spans the three villages of Omachi, Hakuba, and Otari. Hakuba Valley, with 10 ski resorts scattered across an area measuring about 25km from north to south, has long been renowned as one of Japan's top ski areas. The Ushiro-Tateyama mountain range lies behind the ski resorts, and towns spread out at the foot of each ski resort, making it a place where you can fully enjoy a mountain resort
Although the ski resorts are only a dozen or so kilometers apart, each has a different climate and snowfall. Making the most of their scenery and majestic mountain ranges, each ski resort offers a large difference in elevation, a wide variety of runs, ungroomed runs, various parks, and carefully maintained groomed runs, making them all highly comprehensive ski resorts
One such ski resort that Freefloat decided to work on was Jigatake Ski Resort, located at the southernmost point of Hakuba Valley. Located in the valley on the eastern side of Mount Jigatake, the base of the ski resort is at an elevation of 940m, and the top is at 1200m. While the majestic Northern Alps mountain range is barely visible from the ski resort, the plains of Azumino stretching all the way to Matsumoto and the Utsukushigahara Plateau beyond are visible
The resort has four lifts, and 70% of its slopes are gentle courses suitable for beginners, with an average gradient of 13 degrees. In particular, the main Echo Slope is a beautiful, wide, flat run with no incline whatsoever. It is not only ideal for beginners, but is also popular with instructors for being easy to teach on.
In addition, there is a dedicated kids' park slope, and next to it is a large, towable sled called a "Troika," which is rare these days. The ski resort is 100% geared towards beginners and families.
Why are you taking on the task of restarting Jigatake Ski Resort?
What are your motivations and how does it relate to Icelantic skiing?
We spoke to Yada Shota, the representative of Free Float, which will be running Jigatake Ski Resort, about the Jigatake Ski Resort update project
"Originally, there were five ski resorts in Omachi city: Aoki Lake, Yanaba, Omachi Ski Resort, and the still-running Kashimayari and Jigatake. When Jigatake was facing a crisis, we were approached and asked to try running it. That's the general flow of events
For a company of our size, this is a big gamble, but as a company that imports and sells skis, we felt that the closure of ski resorts in Omachi City, where we are based, would be a crisis that threatens the very existence of ski culture. When we talk to people in this area, we find that although the ski resort is small, many people say that their first skiing experience was at Jigatake. There are many older people who say, "The first time I skied was at Jigatake," and at least in the area from Omachi to Matsumoto, it seems that there are very few people who haven't skied at Jigatake.
Because of this background, if the ski resort disappears, a part of the local culture will be lost. A part of history will be cut short. There are still ski clubs of around 100 people in Omachi, and some of these clubs are based at Jigatake, so if the ski resort disappears, these people will lose their home slopes to ski on.
This would mean an even greater decline in the number of skiers, so we wanted to stop that from happening
Also, as a manufacturer, it is precisely because of the ski culture that core users are nurtured and they reach the core brand level. Without the beginner skiers who are the foundation of that, we would not be able to survive
Just because we deal with core brands, we didn't really think about changing the ski resort from one that was aimed at beginners and families to one that would satisfy Icelandic users
Jigadake is located about 8km from Omachi Station, close to the city, and is easily accessible without having to drive long distances on snowy roads. The weather is also relatively stable within Hakuba Valley, making it the perfect environment for people looking to try skiing or snowboarding
It's true that compared to other ski resorts in Hakuba Valley, the elevation difference is smaller and the mountains aren't as big. But on the other hand, we see this as an environment that's welcoming to beginners and families, and we wanted to create a positive environment where people who want to try skiing or snowboarding for the first time, want to do it after a long time, or want to bring their small children can come."
On the other hand, Icelantic has a strong image as a core brand, so how did the home country view the move by an import agency that was carrying the brand's name? We asked Arai Yu, who serves as the liaison with the home country, about the situation
"Icelantic is in the freeride category, and we have a policy of making skis that anyone can ride, but not skis specifically for beginners.
So when I told Ben, the founder, that we were going to take over the operation of Jigatake Ski Resort, I thought he would be angry because it would be a departure from the brand's image, saying, 'Why are you taking on such a small ski resort?' But then I got an email from him saying, 'Just like in America, it's the small ski resorts that need to be revitalized, and running a ski resort for beginners is a good thing.'
Apparently, Ben himself had skied there once. It's pretty rare to find the founder of an American ski brand who has skied at a small ski resort on the edge of Hakuba Valley (laughs)."
As we carry out various rebranding projects at ski resorts, the"Return To Nature,". Ben has also come to love this concept and has asked us to embody it, as our corporate culture and management style value sustainability and contributing to the local community.
As we are based in the nature-rich city of Omachi, we have a great sense of joy in being able to create an environment where people can connect with nature with their own hands. Even when renovating ski resorts, we don't rebuild everything from scratch, but rather make the most of what we have and continue in a sustainable way. We
are proceeding according to this way of thinking, so there have been no excessive demands from headquarters. Usually, they would probably ask us to put up a big brand logo, but that's not the case here. I believe that these kinds of activities that contribute to the local ski culture are unique to Japan."
Riders and staff members are taking the initiative
to revitalize the ski resort through DIY methods.
The two biggest changes are the major renovation of the kids' park and the interior redesign of the center house and other facilities. There are also many other smaller, new initiatives, so let's take a look at them in order. All
of these changes are largely due to the experience of Mr. Yada, who is leading the charge. He competed in the Alpine Snowboard World Cup, and after retiring from competition, he worked as an outdoor instructor and photographer. He has leveraged his background, including his various qualifications in heavy machinery, to drive the transformation of the ski resort.
"There were many skilled staff and riders around, including myself, so we did most of the work ourselves. We particularly worked on the kids' park. The slope was tilted, and even the slightest discomfort would make it difficult for beginners to slide down, so we completely eliminated the tilt to make it easier to slide down
The Kids Park slope is 55 meters wide and 95 meters long. The gentle slope makes it easy to move sideways after getting off the troika, making it easy to ski from any angle. We had a rider who could translate his own image into a 3D CAD model, so we had him create it in Perth. Yamashiro "Gacha" Yoshiya, a certified Shinshu mountain guide who can operate heavy machinery, and his team dug up the soil and leveled it beautifully
The staff all worked together to renovate the interiors of the "Echo House" at the center and the rental houses. The old center house retained the atmosphere of the good old Showa era, but we replaced all the floors with new carpet to give it a clean feel. Even if small children put their hands on it, it shouldn't feel unpleasant. We also repainted all the walls white, giving the whole place a brighter impression. The information area, in particular, is furnished with wood as the main material.
The exterior has a weathered, understated feel, but once you step inside, it looks clean and beautiful. Of course, all the rental equipment, including the clothing, has been completely revamped. You can enjoy not only skiing and snowboarding, but also unique vehicles.
To be honest, there are budgetary considerations, but when you hire a contractor, they usually follow their own company's methods. We thought that we could create something better by taking the time to put our ideas into practice ourselves. And by putting our own efforts into it, the riders and staff would develop a stronger attachment to the ski resort."
what Mr. Yada says.
A ski resort built by the staff and Icelantic riders themselves through DIY is quite a rare case.
Because each of them is a real skier and on the ground, they have a firsthand understanding of what is needed at a ski resort right now. And this system that allows them to turn that into reality is a major strength of Freefloat and Icelantic skiing.
In addition, instead of changing everything, they carefully examine what needs to be changed and what does not.
A symbol of this is the large sled called Troika located next to the kids' park. The sled, which resembles a cable car, goes up the slope at almost the same speed as walking and is still very popular with small children who cannot ride the lifts. With a price of 500 yen for unlimited rides all day, it is bustling every day on weekends.
These ski lifts used to be installed at ski resorts all over the country, but now they are rarely seen. Despite their appearance, they require specialized operation, and apparently, there are skilled operators who can run them. They preserve the good old things, while constantly replacing things that have become inconvenient with new ones.
In addition to skiing, they are also undertaking a series of new initiatives, such as the following:
The best slope for your debut: Jii-ga-dake.
Ski here and discover a wider world.
The newly renovated Jigatake Ski Resort is doing well so far. Various measures that were planned have been successful, attracting many local families and beginners, and on weekends, there are long lines at the kids' park waiting for the troika (partly because of the social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of infection).
Information dissemination, including on social media, is also active, so word of mouth may have reached people who had not noticed it before.
Finally, we asked Mr. Yada about his plans for the future.
"This season, our primary goal is to attract attention, especially from locals, by showing that we've been renovated and are operating energetically. We've
achieved our main objective of keeping the flame of skiing culture alive, so we want to take it a step further and create a situation where everyone living in Omachi City enjoys skiing or snowboarding."
And while we're at it, I'd love to see the growth of the kids who made their debut at Jijigatake. I hope they leave this small ski resort and go on to big ski resorts in Hakuba Valley, other regions, and the world. That's the ultimate goal."
The COVID-19 pandemic has overturned conventional wisdom, and it's time for each ski resort to re-examine what kind of enjoyment they can offer to whom.
Amidst the rapidly changing Hakuba Valley, Jigatake Ski Resort continues to follow its own path. If someone asks, "Where's a good place to go for someone trying skiing for the first time?" or "I want to introduce my child to skiing," you can't go wrong by mentioning this place. It
has the perfect environment for someone to make their skiing or snowboarding debut.