Overall Rating

Madarao

Madarao4/515
Madarao4 out of 5 based on 15 reviews
  • Recommend
    93%
  • Would Revisit
    93%

Madarao - Reviews

Madarao - Reviews

Madapow Madawow!

26/05/2018

POWDERHOUNDS.COM

Powderhounds Ambassador
Powderhounds Ambassador

POWDERHOUNDS.COM

Powderhounds Ambassador
Powderhounds Ambassador
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Month Visited:
    December
  • Admin Rating
    5

Madapow Madawow!

26/05/2018
Powder hound heaven
Storm riding at Madapow
More Madawow
Had to be careful not to lose the ski poles
Yes that's our car - took a while to dig out!
The Powderhounds coined the term "Mad-a-Pow" some years ago when we first caught a bad case of Mad Pow disease, and on our visit in the 2017-2018 season it lived up to the hype of its slogan. The pow was absolutely mad! It snowed 1.5 metres in 2 days, so if you have a look at the video it’s no great surprise that the face shots just kept coming thick and fast and the GoPro was often caked in powder! To some it seems like a sin to say this, but there was almost too much snow.

The powder was soooo deep on that first day at Madarao that it was initially difficult to find slopes that were steep enough to maintain momentum, but it was oh sooo worth the effort. By day 2, the snow had consolidated a little whilst still being deep, so the tree skiing was divine. Day 3 was absolute bliss.

A major plus of the big snowstorm was that barely anyone was out there making the most of it. We scored line after line of fresh powder. It was peak season but where was everyone? This was surprising considering that on our previous visit (see previous review) we’d noticed the powder chasing crowds were increasing.

Not much has changed with the Madarao ski area since our last visit. They’ve perhaps gladed a couple more trees (and opened up another tree area at Tangram) but none of the lifts have been upgraded.

The village is starting to change a little, and a dozen or so properties have recently been purchased by foreigners (some of the Japanese pension owners are in their 80s). This has the benefit of adding a couple of dining and drinks establishments, but if the foreign ownership grows any further, the village may outgrow the capacity of the ski area.

See the Madarao Ski Resort page for our thoughts on the pros and cons of Madarao and see our Japanese ski resort ratings to see how it fares against other Japanese ski resorts.
See our video here