Hakuba Now: Friday 25th January 2013
- Jan 25, 2013
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Hakuba region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 30cm
Snowfall at base this season 351cm
Weather overview Heavy snow, yey!
Wind
Moderate to strong
Temperature -
Visibility Poor
Posted on Friday 25th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here.
Wow it's a very snowy morning here in Hakuba.
It started snowing late afternoon/early evening yesterday and it has obviously been busy at it overnight.
How much has fallen?
A lot.
Asking a few people around different areas of the Hakuba and Otari region this morning and you'll get different numbers. I would say about 40cm here in a rather central location, but I have also been told 30cm and up to even 50cm by some excited friends. Take your pick. Basically, a lot.... and it is still falling now and not looking like it wants to stop. Snow of the heavier variety from where I'm looking.
As for the resorts, Hakuba 47 are reporting 30cm of new snowfall at the base of the resort. Happo-one are reporting an increase of 30cm at Usagidaira this morning. Goryu have yet to update their report - perhaps snowed in! I'll try to update that later on when they get it updated. Tsugaike have increased their base snow depth by 50cm and Cortina are reporting 40cm on upper slopes.
So anyway, heavy snow continues to fall, clouds and fog and poor visibility. For now though only a slight wind in the village but stronger winds on the mountain. Bit of confusion regarding lifts. Strong winds affecting lifts at 47/Goryu as the time of writing and Cortina is only part open. Happo seems to be pretty much open as planned though we can perhaps expect some lifts to be operating at reduced speed.
And surprisingly it's not too cold either in the village this morning, about -3 right now at Happo base. Temperature up at Usagidaira at 1400m is -6.8C with an average NE wind speed of 2.4m/s.
This heavy and ongoing new snowfall on top of the weak upper snowpack will have greatly increased avalanche hazard. Staying within resort boundaries is highly recommended in these conditions. Don't take big risks - stay safe and take care out there. There is a ton of fun to be had on the resorts with more than enough fresh snow for everyone.
This storm is due to continue through today and tomorrow, perhaps into Sunday but generally calmer conditions forecast.
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Official snow depths and operations @ Friday 25th January 2013:
Hakuba Goryu:
25cm of new reported on lower slopes and up to 40cm on upper slopes from Hakuba Goryu this morning.
Official snow depths:
Alps daira - 300cm;
Toomi - 160cm;
Iimori - 130cm
Hakuba 47:
30cm of new snowfall reported at base by Hakuba 47 this morning - surely more higher up.
Official snow depth:
Upper - 255cm
Lower - 170cm
Happo-one:
Official snow depth:
Usagidaira - 230cm
Nakiyama/Shirakaba - 120cm
Sakka - 120cm
Tsugaike Kogen:
Official snow depth:
Upper slopes - 300cm
Lower slopes - 160cm
Hakuba Cortina:
20-40cm of new snow reported by Hakuba Cortina this morning.
Official snow depth:
Upper slopes - 330cm
Lower slopes - 185cm
Hakuba Iwatake:
Official snow depth:
Upper slopes - 190cm
Lower slopes - 100cm
Hakuba Sanosaka:
Official snow depth:
120cm
Hakuba Minekata:
100cm
Hakuba Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Friday 25th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 351cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 35 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (9th and 10th December, 25th January) November 2012 snowfall 47cm reported on 4 days December 2012 snowfall 185cm reported on 19 days January 2013 snowfall 119cm reported on 12 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Hakuba. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.