There was a great dump of snow in Hakuba Valley in 2022. Due to the amount of snow dumped in the 21/22 ski season, the end of the ski season in Hakuba in 2022 lasted until Golden Week, a series of four national holidays in the span of a week at the end of April and the beginning of May.

On May 7th, people arrived at the foot of Goryu ready to hit their last snow of the season. It was 13c on May 7, 2022 at the summit of the ski mountain already at 0900hrs! Skies were blue and the runs that were open boasted a base of 125cm. The last lift was scheduled for 1610hrs. Three lifts in total were still operating between Goryu and Hakuba 47.

While the higher mountains were still white with snow at their peaks, the valley and lower lying mountains had lost their snow. When we travlled up the Gondola on Goryu, patches of snow were scattered over pistes but not enough to ski them. Ski gloves, poles, and even the odd ski littered the thawed out ski runs as we moved to toward the summit.

At the top of the mountain, although limited runs were open, it was spectacularly warm and yet so many snowboarders and skiers all dressed in winter kit. The pistes were covered with more than enough snow and no rock, gravel, etc showed through.

Most of the skiing was limited to the highest two ski lifts.

At the top of Hakuba Goyu, there is a a restaurant called Alps 360 with indoor and outdoor seating. You can check it out here. The name speaks for itself. Some wonderful full panoramic views of the Hakuba Valley while watch skiiers and snowboarders alike come down the hill.

Goodbye to season 2021/22 and looking forward to another great season of snow in 2022/23.