Niseko Now: Thursday 11th January 2018
- Jan 11, 2018
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 653cm
Posted on Thursday 11th January 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I have a good 10cm of fresh snowfall to report this morning. It's a cold morning and the snow delivered to my door looks to be suitably lovely dry quality. The kind we like!
It should be a really nice morning actually as there is a mix of cloud, blue sky and sunshine at the start of the day.
And happily the wind seems to have calmed down.
Nice.
Some local forecasts are showing the chance of some sunshine in the day tomorrow as well, though there's regular snowfall sprinkled across the forecast into early next week as well. So perhaps we can expect modest regular top-ups?
I'm not wishing my days away though; I think I am going to go out and sample the goods this morning. Hope to speak to a few of you on the lifts!
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -7, 10cm snowfall, calm. Moiwa800m: -11.9℃, 15cm snowfall, calm. Annupuri 1150m: -12℃, 20cm snowfall with snowdrift development. Hirafu 1250m: -15℃, 15cm snowfall, SW10m/s, spots of snowdrifts. Coastal data: Benkei cape SW3m/s, Kamui cape SSW20m/s, 1001hPa, 2.2m waves.
The general weather is calm under a low pressure zone, except some area closer to the center of the Low pressure such as Kamui cape near the Sea of Japan. The snowdrift development has settled during the night and snowdrifts are stabilizing. No notable weakness has been observed in the snowpack during the morning pressure test. The general avalanche risk is low. All gates are scheduled to open from the morning. Listen to the skip patrol’s instructions and prepare yourself to the backcountry. The snow is in excellent condition. Hazards of slides from deeper layers are still present, do not stimulate knolls and cornices and do not stay put at the bottom of the valleys.
The ski patrol stopped some people as they tried to skin up from closed Gate 6 in Moiwa. Gates are being closed for good reasons and Niseko Rules does not allow anyone going out of bounds when gates are closed. The Niseko Rules are implemented for the safety and freedom of all resort users. Touring safely in bad weather conditions require considerable experience, knowledge and commitment. The gates are within the resort and anyone using the resort facility must abide by the resort’s regulations, which are the Niseko Rules. Have a nice day.
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Thursday 11th January 2018
Resort specific information (operations subject to change):
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts are generally operating
- 'Early Morning' services from 8:00am until 8:20am (Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift). Until 28th January. 500 yen special ticket required.
Official snow depth:
- Top: 360cm
- Base: 160cm
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts are generally operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 270cm
- Base: 150cm
Niseko Village
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts except Country Road Chair are generally operating
- 'Early Gondola' service from 7:30am until 8:30am (Niseko Gondola). January 13th-14th, 20th-21st, 27th-28th; February 3rd-4th. 1,400 yen special ticket required.
Official snow depth:
- Top: 260cm
- Base: 160cm
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Floodlit 'nighta' skiing:
Night skiing is planned for every evening at the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas. There is no nighta at the Niseko HANAZONO area. Ski lifts that are scheduled to be operating for nighta are noted below (subject to change):
* Niseko Grand Hirafu - Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 quad, Hirafu Gondola, Holiday Number 1 pair
* Niseko Annupuri - Jumbo Number 1 quad lift
* Niseko Village - Village Express, Upper Village Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Thursday 11th January 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 653cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 46 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 38cm (21st December) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 406cm reported on 27 days January 2018 snowfall 59cm reported on 8 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.