Niseko Now: Tuesday 12th March 2019
- Mar 12, 2019
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 901cm
Posted on Tuesday 12th March 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Fresh snow this morning! I can just about report 1cm of snow in the report today. And there may well be double - double!!!! - that higher up. ;)
There is a lot of cloud this morning but some blue sky too.
All lifts are go. Gate openings not clear yet. Have a good one!
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Mountain Base 6.00am: -0°, 2cm wet new snow. Moiwa 800m: -2.3°, N6.08m/s, 5cm new snow, 15-30cm snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100m: -4.9°, NW3.9m/s, snow depth 250cm. Hirafu Peak: -5°, strong winds, 1000m: -4.7°, E4.3m/s. Kutchan Weather Station: 0.8°, snow depth 117cm, NW4.6m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:NNW9m/s. Kamui Cape: WNW5m/s, pressure 1000hPa,wave 0.7m.
From observation, some areas of steep slopes above 900m in Kozan no sawa, Osawa and Higashi One have formed a 10cm hard slab with crust that is breaking away easily over large areas by rider stimulation. Although the thickness of snow breaking away from Mar 11 layer is not great, the large areas breaking away will cause a significant avalanche. There is 15cm of new snow deposited on forested leeward slopes in some areas.
Although the lower mountain is in springtime the upper mountain is still in winter. Another low pressure system is approaching and will bring more snow. During periods of strong wind and snowfall do not enter leeward slopes. When rapid snowdrift growth exceeds 40cm avalanches can easily occur.
Gate opening is yet to be decided and is dependant on lift operation. Please respect the patrols decisions. Above 800m the snow depth isn’t shrinking. Make cautious decisions to suit the weather.
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Ski resort operation information: Tuesday 12th March 2019
Subject to change due to weather conditions
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Plans to be open until Monday 6th May 2019
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 320cm
- Base: 120cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts opening as normal at the start of the day (Ace Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad rested)
- The Ace Family quad (until 8:30pm), Ace Center 4 quad (8:20pm), Hirafu Gondola (until 8:10pm) and Holiday Number 1 pair (until 8:30pm) lifts are normally open during the evening
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Plans to be open until Sunday 7th April 2019
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 225cm
- Base: 165cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts opening as normal at the start of the day
- The Hanazono lifts are normally currently open until 4:20pm
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Niseko Annupuri
Plans to be open until Monday 6th May 2019
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 290cm
- Base: 100cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts opening as normal at the start of the day
- The Jumbo 1 lift is normally open until 8:30pm during the evening
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Niseko Village
Plans to be open until Sunday 7th April 2019
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 290cm
- Base: 100cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts opening as normal at the start of the day (Country Road Chair rested)
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair lifts are normally open until 8:00pm during the evening
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Tuesday 12th March 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 901cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 80 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (29th December) November 2018 snowfall 84cm reported on 8 days December 2018 snowfall 333cm reported on 26 days January 2019 snowfall 285cm reported on 25 days February 2019 snowfall 198cm reported on 20 days March 2019 snowfall 1cm reported on 1 day |
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.