Niseko Now: Saturday 13th January 2024
- Jan 13, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 7cm
Snowfall at base this season 550cm
Posted on Saturday 13th January 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
It's a beauty too!
A lovely sunrise and now lots of blue sky with some cloud. Mt Yotei is wearing a fetching cloud hat and the scenery all around is looking particularly beautiful. Ah, don't you just love it.
Oh yes, 7cm of fresh snowfall too at my measuring point close to Hirafu base. Hirafu, the ski area, is reporting up to 20cm on mountain.
A fine start to the weekend.
Such clear weather probably won't last too long so let's enjoying.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 5am: -7°, calm, 10cm new snow. Moiwa 800m: -16.8°, NNE4.4m/s, 15cm new snow, snow drift development, light winds, good visibility. Mikaeri 764m: -12°, light winds, good, bad visibility, snow depth 250cm. Annupuri 1100m: -13°, NNW1.9m/s(max W15m/s @ 4am), good visibility, course condition thin. Village upper Mizuno no Sawa: -11.6°, NNW3.1m/s. Hanazono 1000m: -12.6°, N3.2m/s, 15cm new snow. Hanazono 3 : -9.4°, NNE3.3m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:ENE7m/s. Kamui Cape NE2m/s, 1010hPa, wave 1.6m.
Although yesterdays low pressure snowfall is stabilising, strong westerly winds from midnight to dawn caused rapid cornice and snow drift development on the Mikaeri side, which are prone to collapse and cause block avalanches. Gate 8 is expected to be open. Yesterday's tracks remain below 700m, however above 800m is mostly reset. Base on data and observations the general avalanche risk is low and the snow conditions are good. Do not traverse under cornices or wait around in the valley bottoms. Accidents don't happen if nobody is there. Do not enter Haru no Taki or YunoSawa Strictly Off Limits areas. If one person enters, others will follow and an accident will eventually happen. We strongly urge local people living in the area to respect Niseko rules. Avalanche accidents often occur during periods of wind and snow. This is because snowdrifts size increases faster than the stabilisation rate. Be careful on leeward steep slopes during windy and snowy conditions, there could be an avalanche waiting to happen. The sunrise is spectacular today. Be careful of sudden changes in weather. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 13th January 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
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 310cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 135cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- All lifts operating apart from Ace Number 1 pair, King Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad
- 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: 12cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 235cm
- Base: 175cm
Lifts:
- All lifts operating
- 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: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 160cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- All lifts operating apart from Jumbo Number 4 pair
- 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: 237cm
- Base: 163cm
Lifts:
- All lifts operating 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:
- All lifts operating
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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 Saturday 13th January 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 550cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 46 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 183cm 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.