Ski resorts in Japan are prized for having some of the deepest, lightest powder around. A winter of exceptionally heavy snow — some areas had more than 12 feet of snowpack this week — should be a skier or snowboarder’s dream.

       The ski terrain in Japan this winter is “super big and super gnarly,” the Austrian professional skier Tao Kreibich, 27, said in a video about a recent backcountry excursion in the country. “You can do some crazy stuff.”

       Yes, but …

       While many of Japan’s 500 or so ski areas are having a banner season, giant snowdrifts have led to challenges that have dented profits and raised safety concerns.

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       Kagura Ski Resort in February.Credit...Kagura Ski Resort

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       The resort this past summer.Credit...Kagura Ski Resort

       “Heavy snow is both a joy and a worry” for resort workers, said Shinichi Imoto, a spokesman for Washigatake Ski Resort, which is seeing some of its largest drifts in a decade. “There are concerns if it doesn’t fall, and concerns if it falls too much.”

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       Some resorts have had to close lifts to give crews more time to shovel out. Road closures have cut off access for would-be visitors. In some places, more skiers and snowboarders than usual have gotten lost in the backcountry or stuck in avalanches.

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