The 4530 foot (1382 meter) Mt Madarao is covered in 30 runs across its unique bowl shaped sides, serviced by 15 lifts. Slopes cater for ability levels almost evenly, with 30% beginner, 35% intermediate, and 35% advanced. While famous for powder skiing, Madarao also offers plenty of groomed slopes for those who aren’t fans of the fluffy stuff. The resort bills its 13 marked tree runs as the most of any Japanese resort (most resorts do not mark their tree runs on their trail maps), and there‘s night skiing on weekends.
Madarao shares a boundary and a joint lift pass with neighboring Tangram Resort. Tangram overlooks Iiyama & Nozawa Onsen in one direction and, on blue sky days, the spectacular mountains of Myoko Kogen and the Japan Sea in the other. Tangram is small with a 1706 feet (520 m) vertical drop and is best suited to beginners and intermediates. The base area features a Western-style hotel, restaurant overlooking the slopes, a snowmobile track, an indoor swimming pool, and onsen, plus a health club and games arcade.
Madarao’s shape lends itself to freeriding and was the reason the resort was chosen to host Japan’s first Freestyle Skiing Competition. Anyone hunting for freshies in forests head for Crystal Bowl, PowderWave I & II, Usagi, and Riverline for tree slopes. More advanced riding is found in the gladed tree skiing zones Ninja – similar to a side country freeride zone – and Sawa – a large natural halfpipe – where a combination of natural and man-made terrain allows for deep powder turns and drops. Watch out for the log-jam – a ride-off pine log ending in a drop of around 15 foot (3 m) depending on the snow base.
Backcountry Tours
North Nagano Outdoor Sports has guides available to lead tours into Madarao’s excellent sidecountry and backcountry. There are several routes of about 20 minutes suitable for beginners. It is possible to hike right to the top of Mt Madarao from the highest chairlift.
Experienced backcountry skiers and boarders can expect steep and consistent fall lines of up to 700 vertical meters through beautiful scenery and magical glades.
Mountain Stats
| Vertical | 440m (1443ft) |
| Top Elevation | 1350m (4429ft) |
| Base Elevation | 910m (2985ft) |
| Average Snowfall | 1300 cm (511 in/42 ft) |
| Beginner Terrain | 35% |
| Intermediate Terrain | 40% |
| Advanced Terrain | 25% |
| Trails | 30 |
| Parks | 1 |
| Pipes | 1 |
| Winter lifts Total | 15 |
| Chair Lifts | 12 |
| Surface Lifts | 3 |
| Longest Run | 2.5km (1.55 mi) |
| Season Opens | December |
| Season Closes | May |