Powder day at Suginohara

Yesterday was our first ski at the Suginohara resort. It was dumping snow all night and still coming down thick and fast in the morning when we set out for Suginohara. There was so much snow that we were skiing boot - knee deep runs on piste and up to mid thigh deep off piste. Unfortunately, the top lift was closed and therefore anything in the mid thigh deep range in the less steep terrain below that lift, actually stopped us in our tracks. There has been some talk online that the top lift has been a bit dicky and the resort has been closing it regularly but reporting that its due to weather/snow/etc in order to avoid any bad press. We asked our lodge owner to phone the resort before we left this morning to see if it would be open. They assured him that as soon as they finished avalanche control it would open, probably around 11am. It didn't open all day, which was pretty disappointing given the awesome snow conditions and the fact that all the good steep terrain is accessed from this lift - strike one Suginohara! If I'd known it wouldn't open, I would have opted for Akakura Akakan where I know I could have gotten some steep and deep stuff.