Hakuba Now: Thursday 5th January 2017
- Jan 5, 2017
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Hakuba region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 70cm
Posted on Thursday 5th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here.
Yesterday was an odd one with that mix of wind (and then another spell of wet conditions to put the boot in down at lower levels). But there was some decent snow falling higher up, with Hakuba 47 reporting 5cm of fresh on upper areas by late afternoon.
So the gusty winds did ease off a bit and let the resorts open up not long after my report.
There seems to be less wind this morning though it still sounds like it's out there. For example the Happo gondola was delayed opening - but seems to be operating as normal now.
I noticed that the Champion Dynamic course at Goryu is also now open (but they are saying conditions aren't the best and only suitable for skilled riders).
Light snow at the moment here at base but I can see from the webcams that it's snowing more up there and visibility looks pretty limited in places too. Snow clouds should be with us for the day today and we're hoping they'll deliver some more goods.
Clearer weather conditions are forecast from tomorrow through Sunday presently with the next snow due at the end of the weekend and into the start of next week.
Let's keep an eye on the forecast, without wishing time to pass too quickly of course. One day soon, all the resorts will be "fully open". I eagerly await that day!
Hakuba 47:
The resort was reporting 5cm of fresh snowfall on the upper areas yesterday, no additional reported this morning.
The top connection with Hakuba Goryu is open.
Operating lifts and course info:
- All lifts operating apart from Line D.
- All courses now open apart from Route 7.
- The Tree Riding Zones are not yet open.
Official snow depth
Upper: 120cm
Base: 25cm
Hakuba Goryu:
The resort is reporting 0cm of fresh snowfall.
The top connection with Hakuba 47 is open.
Operating lifts and course info:
- All lifts apart from the Alps Number 2/4, Iimori Number 1 pair and Cosmo quad lift are operating.
The following courses are open:
- Grand Prix
- Panorama
- Super
- Champion Dynamic
- Woody
- Toomi
- Soft Cream
- Powder Snow
Official snow depth
Alps: 125cm
Toomi: 30cm
Iimori: 20cm
Hakuba Happo-one:
The upper areas of Hakuba Happo-one are open.
You can now ski or board back down to base via the Riesen Slalom and Nakiyama South course.
Downloading via Gondola or lift required in the other areas.
The resort is reporting 3cm of fresh snowfall.
Operating lifts and course info:
- Most lifts are now operating with just a number of base area lifts still to get moving.
The following courses are open:
- Kurobishi
- Usagidaira
- Skyline
- Riesen (part)
- Panorama
- Nakiyama South (part)
- Kita-one 3
Official snow depth:
Usagidaira: 90cm
Kurobishi: 130cm
Lower: 20cm
Tsugaike Kogen:
Tsugaike Kogen is part open.
Operating lifts and course info:
- Most lifts are now operating.
The following courses are open:
- The Tsuga-no-mori, Upper Han-no-ki, Lower Han-no-ki, Maruyama and Oya-no-hara areas are open.
- The Forest course, Shirakaba and Kane-no-naru-oka areas are part open.
- The Uma-no-se course and Champion area are closed.
Official snow depth:
Tsuga-no-mori: 110cm
Han-no-ki: 100cm
Maruyama: 40cm
Oya-no-hara: 25cm
Kane-no-naru-oka: 25cm
Hakuba Cortina:
The resort is reporting 0cm of fresh snowfall.
Operating lifts and course info:
- Hakuba Cortina is now mostly open.
- Snake course closed.
Official snow depth:
Top: 134cm
Base: 85cm
Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field:
Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field is currently part open.
Operating lifts and course info:
- Gondola
- Paradise triple
- 3-sen North lift
- 4-sen East lift
The following courses are at least part open:
- East
- North
- Paradise (part)
- by1
Official snow depth:
Top: 60cm
Base: 30cm
Kashimayari:
Kashimayari is currently part open.
Operating lifts:
- Number 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 lifts.
Official snow depth:
Top: 30cm
Hakuba Norikura Onsen:
Hakuba Norikura Onsen is currently mostly open.
Lift info:
- All but one lift are now operating with most courses planned to be open.
Official snow depth:
Top: 70cm
Hakuba Sanosaka:
Hakuba Sanosaka is now part open.
Official snow depth:
Top: 25cm
Hakuba Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Thursday 5th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 70cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 12cm (8th December) November 2016 snowfall 1cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 64cm reported on 11 days January 2017 snowfall 5cm reported on 3 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.