Niseko Now: Monday 12th February 2024
- Feb 12, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 774cm
Posted on Monday 12th February 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's a mostly cloudy start to the day over the mountain with some light snow still falling in places and up to 20cm of fresh being reported by ski areas.
There's some blue sky and sun looking east.
The next few days are probably going to be getting warmer.
(I'm feeling closer to normal this morning, but still feel the need to get back to sleeping. Once I've had my toast. Hopefully I'll be back to normal by tomorrow).
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6am: -6°, 10cm new snow, calm. Moiwa 800m: -8.6°, NNW11.3m/s(gusts 16m/s@6am, cornice and snowdrift development. Mikaeri 764m:-7.0°, snow depth increasing, good visibility,. Annupuri 1100m: -9.5°, WNW8.2m/s. Village 1000m: -7.9°, NNW6.9m/s. Hanazono 1000m: -9.1°, WNW4.6m/s, 10cm new snow. Hanazono 3 : -6.3°, N3.2m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NNW12m/s. Kamui Cape: NW7m/s, 1021hPa, wave 1.1m.
We are currently on the edge a a high pressure zone with a steep pressure gradient. A strong westerly with snow blew overnight, bringing snowdrift development and re setting areas above 800m. The avalanche risk is elevated on West ridge around 1100m and Backbowl cornice face. Avoid traversing under cornices. Do not wait in the valley or gully bottom. Avalanches are a natural phenomenon, without people involved, accidents would not happen. All gates are expected to be open. Please listen to the Patrols advice before going out the gates. More and more people are mindlessly ducking ropes. For some reason, a high proportion are Japanese. The Osaka Anchan group have been knowingly dropping into Yunosawa and Harunotaki too many times. Although its been decreasing lately, there are still lots of bad boys and hard men around. Do not duck the ropes to enter Osawa or Fujiwara. Do not enter strictly off limits areas. Niseko respects your freedom to ride off-piste, but you must use the gates. If the gates are closed, don't go. The snow is good. Do you have your beacon? It could save you or your friends life. Beware of a sudden change in weather. Have a good day.
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Individual ski area information for Monday 12th February 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 345cm (+15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 140cm (+10cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from King Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad (normal operations)
- The Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four), Hirafu Gondola and Holiday Number 1 pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 18cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 278cm (+13cm since last update)
- Base: 200cm (+15cm since last update)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Hanazono Symphony Gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 258cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 171cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from Morino Chair and Country Road
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
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Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Night skiing is usually until 7:00pm at Hirafu, Hanazono, Village and until 7:30pm at Annupuri.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Monday 12th February 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 774cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 71 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (8th January) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 298cm reported on 24 days February 2024 snowfall 109cm reported on 12 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.