Niseko Now: Wednesday 12th January 2022
- Jan 12, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 18cm
Snowfall at base this season 543cm
Posted on Wednesday 12th January 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Well, it's not actually the nicest of mornings. (But don't worry... it's not rain!)
This morning is not quite as cold as it has been though, and you can kind of tell with the quality of the 18cm of snow I have just measured. It is heavier than the delightful light and fluffy snow we often get here. I'm interested to see the larger numbers being reported by the report below too. Wind has definitely been a factor. Whatever, a decent amount of snow and it is still incoming.
After a day of lift disruptions yesterday, it seems inevitable that today will also see a bunch of lifts not being able to get going. At 8:30am, top lifts are on hold, as is the Niseko Gondola (at Niseko Village) and Hanazono seem to be on standby (though I can see the gondola moving on the webcam).
I was just outside and it didn't feel too windy to me, but a day of snow and wind is forecast (especially this afternoon) and at least the snow will probably spill over into tomorrow and possibly even the day after.
OK, time for some toast.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -1℃, 40cm snowfall, wet snow. Moiwa 800m: -5℃, 50cm snowfall, snowdrifts development. Annupuri 1150m: -7℃, Westerly wind 5-15m/s, 50cm snowfall, snowdrifts at the deepest point 120cm, Hirafu peak ridge: -7℃, wind is not too strong but the visibility is low. SSE15m/s. Coastal data Benkei cape: WNW16m/s, Kamui cape: SW14m/s, 987hPa, 1.1m waves.
Snow in town starts to thaw as the mixed snow and rain falls. 30-40cm wet low pressure snowfall at 300m elevation. 40-50cm dry low pressure snowfall at 600m elevation with the temperature below freezing. Snowdrifts are developing above 700m elevation with south east wind. Wind is light due to the low pressure system over the western Japan Sea, but westerly winds will pick up after 9 am. Snowfall above 700m elevation is extremely small low pressure crystals. As unstable slabs continue to develop, it is likely to slide at knolls and steep slopes. There is a large amount of heavy snow in the treeruns under 800m elevation, which is interesting to ski. Beware of the cracks around 700m elevation, they are hidden by the new snow. Avalanche risk will drastically increase as the northwest wind and snow pick up after 10 am. Beware of snow transition. It’s better to stay on the groomers today. Do not stay in the gully bottom. Roads are also treacherous today, please drive carefully. All the summit gates will be closed today.
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Planned ski area operations: Wednesday 12th January 2022
The below snow depth and snowfall data is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day (nature might intervene).
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 310cm (+10cm)
- Base: 150cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 30cm
- Base: 30cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 252cm (+7cm)
- Base: 190cm (+12cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 25cm
- Base: 30cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 230cm (no change)
- Base: 155cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- All lifts operating
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 260cm +30cm
- Base: 160cm no change
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
- Observation: This data does not appear to be updated every day
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Wednesday 12th January 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 543cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 41 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 307cm reported on 23 days January 2022 snowfall 151cm 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.