Niseko Now: Tuesday 10th January 2023
- Jan 10, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 14cm
Snowfall at base this season 472cm
Posted on Tuesday 10th January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another 15cm or so of snowfall to report this morning since yesterday.
It is snowing still as I put this report together, but it is again quite bright with a hint of light blue in places. (It feels like we might get to see some sun. Or maybe not!)
Beyond today there will likely be several days of mostly clearer weather conditions and it is also due to get milder, especially on Friday.
I heard on the news that it might get to almost 20C in Tokyo on Saturday. Obviously Tokyo is a long way from here, but it does look like Japan in general is going to be getting positively toasty for a few days late week. Up here it's set to get colder again from later Saturday.
At least temporarily, I'm taking the 'new snowfall reported by ski area' numbers for the Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri lists below the. They just don't seem to be updating that number (especially Village), even when there is clearly new snowfall across the mountain (like today). That is potentially confusing. As someone looking at these every day and wanting to report good information to you, it is somewhat frustrating. I'll continue to monitor that situation and may bring them back if/when they report.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -5C, 20cm new snow, mild blizzard. Moiwa 800m: -8.1C, WNW12.8m/s, 20cm snowfall, snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100m: -11.1C, WNW8.1m/s, unstable snowdrift development. Mizuno no Sawa: -9.7C, N8.6m/s, Hanazono 1000m: -10.6C, NNE12.5m/s. Hanazono 3 Base: -8.1℃, N5.8m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape N15m/s, Kamui Cape N17m/s, 1013hPa, 2.8m waves.
The isobars are tight and a strong N wind is up. At 600m in the trees, reset and snowdrifts from wind and blown snow. Around 800m snowdrift growth is continuing but still stable, above 1000m there is rapid accumulations of snow. From observation and tests the avalanche risk above 900m is high. On Back Bowl sidewall, the N wind has caused unstable wind slab to form. If we get an avalanche around 1000m here it will clean the valley out. Don't go into the valley bottom. Cornices are weak at all elevations and could easily collapse. Also on steep open leeward slopes, 40cm surface avalanches are likely to occur. To avoid avalanches, pay attention to how the snow falls. Accidents often occur during times of wind and snow. Blizzard snow is heavy, loose and slow. And also prone to deadly avalanches. Have a good day.
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Ski area information for Tuesday 10th January 2023
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day, weather permitting.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 285cm (-10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 105cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Ace Number 4 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 160cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 130cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open until 7:30pm for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair [* normally open on weekends and holidays]
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 145cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 130cm (+5cm yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Wonderland Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Tuesday 10th January 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 472cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 42 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (2nd January) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 336cm reported on 27 days January 2023 snowfall 119cm reported on 10 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. 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.