Alts Snow Park & Resort Skiing & Snowboarding

Like a lot of Japanese ski resorts, the Alts Snow Park and Resort has shrunk a bit over the years and it’s now rather small. The western section of the Alts Bandai Resort is now snowcat accessed, whilst the eastern portion is dependent on whether the gondola will operate into the future.

Due to the ease of access of Alts Snow Park from Niigata City and Tokyo, the ski area scores big crowds on weekends and holidays, which mostly hang on the frontside of the mountain near the base. Other parts of the Alts Bandai ski area are pretty quiet, and on weekdays the mountain is practically deserted.

Near the top of the Peak Chair is an interconnecting path with Nekoma Ski Resort. Those with backcountry gear can easily head between the two ski resorts, whilst in spring an official walking route is usually open in the middle of the day. The walk takes about 10-20 minutes. There are plans afoot for a new lift to be installed that connects Alts Bandai and Nekoma.

Lifts

Alts has 8 lifts that include 2 quad chairs (one with a bubble hood), an assortment of pair lifts of which a couple may not operate unless it’s busy), and a magic carpet. There is also a gondola but who knows whether that will operate or not.

The Japanese love night skiing so the resort stays open on Saturday nights in the peak of the season.

Lift Tickets

Sometimes there are Aizu lift pass deals for foreigners, although like other Japan ski resorts, the lift pass rates are very reasonable anyhow. You can purchase a lift pass just for Alts Bandai or for an additional fee you can get a dual lift pass for Nekoma. Hoshino Resorts owns both Alts Snow Park and Nekoma.

Alts Bandai Snow

Alts is a bit further north and a bit colder than the Nagano ski resorts, yet the elevation of the resort is low even relative to resorts that are further north. “Alts” definitely isn’t short for “altitude”! A.L.T.S. is an abbreviation for Aer, Lux, Terra, Sol (air, light, earth, sun) and with its mostly southerly orientation there is a lot of light and sun, which can impact the snow quality and make it a little heavy by Japanese snow standards.

The low elevation and aspect also lead to a relatively short season (late Dec to late March).

Beginner Skiing Alts Snow Park

After progressing from the novice area serviced by the magic carpet, beginners can head up the aptly named First Chair. With a blue run feeding into it from above, beginners mix with faster riders which can result in mayhem at times. The gondola provides a long wide beginner run that affords a bit of room for error, although in some places it’s so flat that snowboarders may not have much fun.

Alts Bandai Intermediate Terrain

Alts is well suited to intermediate riders and has some quality groomed blue runs and easy black runs. Like a lot of other Japanese ski resorts, you’ll need to enjoy repeating the same runs over and over.

Terrain Park

The piece de resistance of Alts Bandai is probably the terrain parks. It no longer sports a half pipe, but there are oodles of jumps and hits to keep the physiotherapists in business. At the base is a beginner park and night park for those who haven’t got enough bruises during the day, whilst the Batow chair is dedicated to two terrain parks that are for more experienced riders.

Advanced Skiing & Riding

Alts has a handful of short black runs that are often covered in moguls and are unlikely to keep experienced skiers and snowboarders entertained for very long.

Advanced riders will want to head off-piste into the trees. The off-piste zones include reasonably spaced trees that are rather short before they pop back out onto a run. Off-piste lines are slightly steeper than the piste, and other than the occasional creek, they are pretty easy to navigate.

Further up the hill is some bowl skiing, but you might need to wear a subtle outfit because off-piste skiing and snowboarding are officially not permitted. The tolerance for this continues to increase but it will depend on which ski patroller you come across, or whether there’s an old-timer manning the lifts if you don’t pick your ingress and egress discretely. Definitely don’t ski under the operational lifts, but with care you might be able to play on the old lift lines and in amongst the really well spaced trees. A huge bonus is that most people stay on-piste, so there should be fresh lines on offer.