Mountain Park Tsunan
A Niigata area with 510 metres of vertical whose abolition was announced four years in advance; closed to the public after 2015-16 and now used privately by an English-language adventure camp.
- Region
- Niigata Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1965
- Year closed
- 2016
- Reason for closure
- The local Tokamachi Shimbun reported in July 2011 that the ski area would be abolished by March 2015, when the contract with the operators was due to expire. It closed to the general public after the 2015-16 season.
History
Mountain Park Tsunan (マウンテンパーク津南スキー場) opened in 1965 in Tsunan Town in southern Niigata, deep in the snow country near the Nagano border. It ran five pair lifts at its peak over seven courses, from a 210 m base to a 720 m top - 510 m of vertical, a longest run of 2,500 m and a steepest pitch of 26 degrees. Its ending was unusually well telegraphed: the local Tokamachi Shimbun reported in July 2011 that the area would be abolished by March 2015 when the operators contract expired, and it duly closed to the general public after the 2015-16 season. Three of the five lifts have since been removed and two remain. The site was not abandoned, though - it is now used privately by an English-language adventure camp company for extracurricular educational activities, so the terrain is still in use while the public skiing is gone. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark Tsunan Town.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 847 m; one of two pair lifts still in place | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 761 m; one of two pair lifts still in place | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 943 m; removed | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 535 m; removed | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Double | 332 m; removed |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
37.0143, 138.6525