#hakuba-goryu

#hakuba-goryu

"As we wrap up the season, I want to thank our loyal guests who showed up smiling day in and day out to support their local hill. I also want to thank our dedicated staff whose immense efforts and pride in their work kept Eldora running all season long. We hope everyone comes to celebrate the season with us this weekend." - Andrew Gast, Eldora's president and general manager.

Instead of trying to trick the public with some humorous fake news, the ski area set up small obstacle courses in the lift lines, forcing skiers and snowboarders to put in a little bit more effort to get on the slopes.

The 2025-26 winter saw extreme weather, with the eastern half experiencing consistent cold and heavy snowfall, while the western half endured record warmth and a lack of snowfall.

Whitefish/Kalispell, Montana: United Airlines has expanded its direct service from San Francisco to Glacier Park International Airport, a short drive to world-class Whitefish Mountain Resort and the smaller, family-owned Blacktail Mountain Ski Area. You won't find either on the Epic or Icon passes, which means fewer skiers and shorter lift lines. The proximity to Flathead Lake, even larger in surface area than Lake Tahoe, also means stunning views and a phenomenon called snow ghosts when ice crystals form on the pines.

You won't find either on the Epic or Icon passes, which means fewer skiers and shorter lift lines. The proximity to Flathead Lake, even larger in surface area than Lake Tahoe, also means stunning views and a phenomenon called "snow ghosts" - when ice crystals form on the pines. Both resorts have long, lazy runs for multigenerational skiers and boarders but also challenging terrain for advanced skiers and riders.

The Mount Hotham Airport station recorded a temperature of 0.9°C on Thursday, with a feels-like temperature of -5.1°C and strong south-southwest winds gusting over 30 km/h. The resort's weather station also recorded the coldest reading in the state, at -2.2°C at a nearby monitoring point.

The grand château-style resort sits at the base of the 40-passenger aerial tram, the most direct way of accessing the ski area's notoriously steep and deep terrain; Alyeska has beginner areas, but it's great for intermediate and advanced skiers. Across more than 1,600 skiable acres are 76 named trails, among them the North Face, North America's longest continuous double-black-diamond ski run.

I spent 18 seasons here before moving to Park City, UT, in 2018, and I long to come back every day. This place shaped me as a man and a skier. It forged my career and gave me a skillset that has translated into an ability to ski all over the world, and I'm forever grateful.

A massive, six-story reinforced steel and concrete castle in Akabira, Central Hokkaido, has hit the market for a staggering 10,000,000 Yen-approximately $64,000 USD. Built in 1991, this isn't a crumbling ancient ruin, but a modern structural feat totaling 1,571m² of building space on a sprawling 5,045m² freehold lot.

WeatherJapan is lined up for a busy January 8-18 stretch with multiple snow-producing waves, highlighted by a major weekend dump and several follow-up refreshers before a warmer, windier finish late week. Central Honshu is the headline with multi-storm totals reaching 50″-80″, while Hokkaido's open resorts keep stacking frequent, generally higher-quality snow that adds up to 20″-65″, with periodic wind impacts on the most exposed terrain.

Lift lines often feel like a complete waste of time. You're just sitting there, waiting to be given the opportunity to go back uphill. A short line isn't that big of a deal, but a longer, 15-20 minute line can be mind numbing. Japan's Inawashiro Ski Resort has found a rather interesting way to make the lift line feel more productive, offering a free, fast waxing for your skis or snowboard while you're waiting.

Anyone who visits Japan, whether it's just for sightseeing or for skiing/snowboarding, needs to do some karaoke. In the U.S., most karaoke is done in a bar with everyone watching. In Japan, most karaoke is done in private rooms for just you and your friends. It really takes things to the next level. Skiers and snowboarders at Hakuba Goryu Snow Resort in Japan don't need to go far out of their way to get some karaoke in.

This video serves as yet another reminder of how important it is to ski or snowboard with a buddy if you're planning to head off trail, even just to pop into the woods. While trail hazards might be well marked at some resorts, you can run into hidden rocks, trees, or even holes no matter where you are. That's especially true outside of the country, where off-piste terrain isn't necessarily mitigated like it is in North America.

Just recalling this wild video out of Niigata Prefecture in central Japan where a boar attacked a snowboarder on the slopes of Alpen Blick Snow Resort in Myoko City back in 2023. After taking one snowboarder to the ground, the boar switched directions targeted another man who was able to defend himself by swinging his snowboard at it. NHK reported resort officials and police estimated the animal was 1-meter long.

Industry NewsThe incident occurred around 9:15 a.m. on Friday morning when the woman disembarked the Tsuga No. 2 Pair Lift near the summit of the resort in Otari Village in the Nagano Prefecture. According to a statement by the resort's CEO Tsuneo Kubo, a strap got caught as she reached the top station. She was dragged around the top station by the lift and was left hanging in midair at which point lift attendants hit the emergency stop.