Able Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort opened on Saturday, November 30th. Kazushige Fujita, The North Face/Genten Stick rider and Hakuba resident, reports on the first day of the event, which was blessed with more snow than expected.
November 30th (Saturday) 8:00 a.m. -2 degrees Snowfall at the summit is 50cm at night and 2-3cm during the day
Hakuba Goryu opened on November 30th last year. I don't think it will be possible to open in November this year. That atmosphere disappeared overnight.
"Oh, isn't it going to open tomorrow?"
When I woke up on the morning of the 29th, there was a winter landscape all around me. That's probably what all the Hakuba villagers thought when they saw the snow that continued to fall, in addition to the 20 cm of snow on the cars.
If so, collect information on ski resorts in the Hakuba area. People working at ski resorts must have been busy dealing with an endless stream of calls.
On the afternoon of the 29th, the three ski resorts of Goryu, Happo, and Tsugaike announced that they would open on the 30th. Hakuba suddenly became overflowing with energy, as if the excitement of just a few days ago was a lie. Also, in Hakuba, ski resorts compete with each other to see which one will open first, and this year the winner was Tsugaike.
Tsugaike opens at 8am, Goryu opens at 10am, and Happo opens at 11am. It is said that some of the strongest skaters choose to hop according to the time and ski all the way.
That's why the Hakuba area successfully opened on the last day of November, just like last year.
On the first day of opening, all the ski resorts were crowded with people as if they had been waiting for a long time.
Snow, then a blast, then snow. Inspired by the approximately 50cm of snow that has fallen
At Hakuba Goryu, we have opened a panoramic course of the Alps-daira ski slope at the end of the gondola ride. This is a standard every year, and the number of courses gradually increases as the snow falls.
By the way, on December 1st, the second day of opening, the first course of Hakuba47, which connects at the top, will also open.
Another interesting part of Goryu's friendly efforts is the standard ``behavior curry'' held on the first weekend of opening. At the gondola mountaintop restaurant "Alps360," you can enjoy unlimited curry with as many refills as you like for free.
``We'll have curry at Goryu for lunch.''
Many Hakuba Valley season pass holders travel all the way from the neighboring slopes.
The line waiting for the gondola grows at 10am. There were fewer people than I expected, about 200 people. Probably because Happo and Tsugaike are also open. Even in the lower parts of the world, people are excited by the knee-deep snow. The time spent waiting for the gondola passes quickly as we talk about our reunion after a long time. Especially at this time of year, there are many locals and enthusiasts, and you can feel the deep connection of the community. It is also a moment when you feel that the snow is supporting the region.
By the way, the first person in line had apparently been in line since 5:30 in the morning. That person was in the lead last year and I really like him.
At the end of the gondola ride, there was soft powder snow, a contrast to the wet snow below. The snow running on my board made me feel excited all at once. The compacted snow on the panorama course is about 40m in the middle, which is about half the width of the course, and the uncompacted snow on the sides is about 80cm of powder. Everyone hurries to get to the next lift.
However, just as I was safely on the lift, a problem occurred.
I was so excited that I didn't notice, or rather, I just pretended not to notice, but the lift stopped due to the occasional strong wind, and when I turned around, there was a long line waiting for the lift.
When we made it to the top, even though our board was about to be blown away,
the patrol said
``We'll be out of service for a while!'' (tears) Everyone is thinking, ``Wow!'', but this is no one's fault, and it's not a bad thing to be able to feel the power of nature. I can't help but think. Still, you can ski at least one! Riding with a new mindset.
"Ah! It feels so good!" he said, giving a high five.
Everyone is exclaiming, ``This, this!'' as they feel it for the first time in six months.
And because the number of passengers is increasing, there are people who are not dissatisfied with the suspension of service. On the contrary, they seemed to be having a lot of fun talking.
Everyone eats curry, hikes up, and skis. Hiking up is normally prohibited, but on this day there was no stopping patrolling. Everyone's ``love'' was overflowing when they saw 100 people who couldn't fit in a room hiking up and having fun.
After that, the wind stopped around 13:00 and business resumed. There were probably some people who couldn't wait to go home and enjoyed a comfortable ride.
Although there were some natural troubles, Hakuba Goryu was always smiling from start to finish. From today until Golden Week, the signal for the start of a long winter has been sounded.
opening movie
■Information
Able Hakuba Goryu Ski Resort
22184-10 Kamishiro, Hakuba Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano 399-9211
Official Website: https://www.hakubaescal.com/winter/Official
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