Skiing into the Masterpiece

Enjoying the scenery of the great nature is the attractiveness of skiing. That is why experts call it alpinism. But, unfortunately, the skiers who can enjoy these pleasures are not many. On the slopes crowded with the people, skiers who continue to ride the lifts cannot easily have such a chance for pleasure.

However, when people visit the Atpi highlands, there is room for the skier to enjoy the great natural scenery. Skiing, which utilizes the resistance of gravity, pulls the body of skier down to the ground. The skier has to control this force with splendid technique and muscle strength in order to enjoy the downward acceleration. The enjoyment can be blown up in this perfect scenery of nature.

Let us face the skiing trail on the snow-covered mountain. A hotel (502m above sea level) which is established at the base spot comes into the sight. The front skiing trail, which penetrates the white birchwood, connects the base and summit spot with just one curve. The trail (Hayabusa course), which stretches three kilometers and is located in 800 meters altitude, is wide and straight which remind us of a well-paved asphalted airstrip. Regarding the other 90 skiing courses I have seen so far, such a wide and long straight trail, in this small difference of altitude, has not been found before. The roundabout way (Yamabato course) is also 5.5 kilometers long.

Maemori Mountain is an active volcano, forming a triangular shape just like Mount Fuji. In these types of mountain, the skiing trails are usually designed as fan shape. There are three lodges and 20 trails. All the trails which penetrate the wood have been organized to be wide and long. There are three kilometers and four kilometers long trails. However, most of these trails have two kilometers (8) and one kilometer (7) long courses. The trail near Atpi base has a width of 100 meters.

There are no lines at the Atpi skiing course. Though it has a wide skiing trail, it can contain tens of thousands of the skiers in its spectacularly spacious skiing courses. Although the lifts for daytime use cease at 3 p.m. every day, the lifts for nighttime use operate until 8 p.m. The nighttime trail is spread out to reach the mid-slope of the mountain which faces the front side of Atpi base.

Finally, we have arrived at the downhill course just below the summit. The place is covered up with dry powder snow which cannot be lumped together. Skiing on the dry powdered snow, which has not been straightened out, is fantastic. The recovering strength, which is given out when the bent ski returns to its original shape, softly floats the ski on the snow, making the skier feel as if flying. The Atpi highlands is a popular place for powder ski, just after the snowfall.

The After Ski, a recreation activity after skiing, is another attraction of the Atpi highlands. At the four types of tall and luxurious resort hotels, Grand, Tower, Villa, and Annex, about 22 restaurants serve diverse cuisines from all over the world.

There is a hot spring which shows the type of weak alkali, possessing even an open-air bath. At the main lodge’s resting place, a comfortable food court has been prepared which allows people with only 300 to 1000 yen to dine. At the hotel situated on the base spot, people can ski in and ski out. The other lodgings are located only five minutes away. Among the two gondolas, the Zaira, which is 3494 in length, is the longest one among the 1,000 skiing resorts in Japan.

summer@donga.com