Niseko Now: Wednesday 11th January 2023
- Jan 11, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 477cm
Posted on Wednesday 11th January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning.
A little snow yesterday morning, and then it did clear up to give us some nice sunshine and rare visual evidence that Mt Yotei does indeed exist!
This morning it is snowing lightly again but generally just kind of cloudy.
We still should expect a few days of milder conditions and sunshine tomorrow and Friday.
All being well, by Sunday it will be back to more January-appropriate coldness.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -5C, 10cm new snow to dawn, calm. Moiwa 800m: -4.7C, WSW5.4m/s, 20cm snowfall, snowdrift development settling after 24hrs of growth . Annupuri 1100m: -7.6C, W9.9m/s, strong winds, continued snowdrift development. Mizuno no Sawa: -6.7C, WNW5.4m/s. Hanazono 1000m: -7.8C, SE3.2m/s. Hanazono 3 Base: -4.0C, NNE3.2m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW15m/s, Kamui Cape SW14m/s, 1017hPa, 1.7m waves.
The isobars are starting to widen, however at 1000m on the west side (Niseko Town) a strong 20m/s wind and snow is blowing with continued snowdrift development. Snowdrifts below 900m are starting to stabilise with winds around 10m/s. Above 600m snow in the trees is reset with heavy wind blown snow. Conditions are a bit tricky though, take care not to hit a tree. Do not hang around in the valley bottom of Kozan no Sawa or Osawa. Do not drop into HigashiOne cornice face without care. An avalanche at 1000m will clean out the valley below. Do not duck Mizuno no Sawa ropes and get into Haru noTaki area. From snowfall data, risk is very high. Even if the top lifts run, avoid riding steep open slopes above the treeline today. There is no safety guarantee in this sport. Beacon? Helmet? Use them! Have a safe day.
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Ski area information for Wednesday 11th 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: ?cm not updated today
- Base: ?cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 285cm (- since yesterday) not updated today
- Base: 105cm (- 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: 3cm
- Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 217cm (-3cm since yesterday)
- Base: 178cm (-2cm 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 (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 130cm (no change since 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 Wednesday 11th January 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 477cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 43 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 124cm 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.