Niseko Now: Monday 11th March 2013
- Mar 11, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 15cm
Snowfall at base this season 1387cm
Weather overview Snow, cloud
Wind
Moderate-strong
Temperature -7C base / -10C top
Visibility Not very good
Posted at 8:51am on Monday 11th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Colder again this morning at -6C now, and lots of new snow in the Hirafu area. 15-20cm or so of it, and undoubtedly more on the mountain.
The Niseko Grand Hirafu resort area reports their upper areas snow depth as back up to 500cm. Great stuff for getting on mid-March.
The persistant 'w' is affecting lifts again this morning. Over at Annupuri, the Gondola and Jumbo 3 and 4 lifts are not moving, at Niseko Village the gondola and top Wonderland Chair are stationary and so are the top lifts at Hirafu and Hanazono.
Once they open up, there should be some nice renewed conditions to enjoy up there. For now most of the other lifts seem to be running (or scheduled to run) as planned.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -5C, 30cm new snow, snow drift development. Moiwa 800m: 40cm new snow, snowdrift development, -10C. Annupuri peak: -15.6C. Coastal data: wind NW14m/s, 3.3m waves, pressure 1012hPa.
Avalanche risk is VERY HIGH due to extreme snowdrift growth at all elevations on the mountain from the continuous high winds over the weekend. All gates will be closed today except for gates 7 & 9.
The wind is expected to weaken this morning however the avalanche risk will remain VERY HIGH. Snow drifts that have developed the high wind(18m/s) will easily collapse and cause surface slab avalanches. Also note that with the expected decrease in winds(<10m/s) the high avalanche risk will continue for estimated 4-8 hours.
Many accidents occur on slopes holding snowdrifts during and directly after storms. Do not risk riding leeward and steep slopes today. Avalanches always run to the valley bottoms, try to avoid spending time there too. The snow in the trees is heavy and deep from the high winds, the groomers are better choice today. Spring is not here yet.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Monday 11th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1387cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 96 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 443cm reported on 26 days February 2013 snowfall 316cm reported on 24 days March 2013 snowfall 92cm 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.