Niseko Now: Saturday 11th January 2014
- Jan 11, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 25cm
Snowfall at base this season 590cm
Posted on Saturday 11th January 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
First the great news.
Another 25cm of snow since yesterday. Yes, it just keeps on coming. And so do the cold temperatures, so snow conditions out on the mountain are just really great at the moment.
Less great is that wind is causing a few issues this morning - at Annupuri the Gondola, Jumbo 3 and 4 lifts are not moving at the moment; at Niseko Village the Gondola is on hold; and here at Grand Hirafu the top lifts at both Hirafu and Hanazono are on standby. Subject to change of course with the weather conditions. Fingers crossed on that score.
One more thing that I think I forgot to mention yesterday. Today and tomorrow are the weekend of course, but in Japan Monday is also a holiday making it a long weekend and one of the more popular 'ski weekends' of the season with Japanese. So it will be - and is already - busy.
Without wanting to sound repetitive, the snow should continue today and tomorrow and probably Monday too.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -10C, 30cm of fresh snow. Moiwa 800m: NW15m/s, -13C, 20cm of fresh snow with heavy development of snowdrifts, bad visibility. Annupuri 1000m: strong wind and bad visibility (6am), -11C, 20cm of fresh with snowdrift development. Hirafu1000m: 30cm of fresh, relatively protected from the wind. Annupuri peak 1308m: NW14.8m/s, -17.3C. Wind frecast at noon: NW18m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW16m/s, Kamui cape WNW12m/s, 2.4m waves, 1018hPa.
Snowstrom is persisting and generating heavy snowdrift development. The avalanche hazard is extreme in 800m leeward steep slopes. Peak gates will be closed. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Heavy snowfall and the new snowpack is deep and heavy. Cornices and knolls are extremely unstable. Do not stimulate these features. Avalanches are most likely to occur during stormy conditions. The snow in the trees is deep and good, but also easy to get stuck, stay close to the course. Beware of tumbles and suffocation. The snow condition is ever changing.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 340cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 250cm
Base - 180cm
Annupuri:
Top - 205cm
Base - 180cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Saturday 11th January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 590cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 42 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 35cm (14th, 15th and 24th December) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 275cm reported on 22 days January 2014 snowfall 192cm reported on 11 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.