Niseko Now: Friday 13th March 2015
- Mar 13, 2015
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 25cm
Snowfall at base this season 1094cm
Posted on Friday 13th March 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
The weather is still acting all confused like it's early-mid season, which is of course great news for us all here to enjoy it. There's some very happy people around at the moment, I can tell you.
We have seen another very respectable amount of fresh snow, 25cm in fact, here in Hirafu base since my report yesterday and of course we expect more up there on the mountain - the report below bringing in 40cm in places.
We really could not be asking for more at the moment in terms of snow with excellent fresh snow conditions and lots of it to play in.
If only we could do something about that wind. Looks like top lifts are again affected at the start of the day - info as of 8:30am is posted below. Subject to change, hopefully for the better.
We should be on the tail end of this storm now and can expect calmer conditions from tomorrow.
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Just a quick look at my numbers to compare with last season in March. Last March for the whole month I observed 113cm. This month up until and including today, I'm on 92cm. So there's not much more to get past last season. Of course you might expect less snow in the second half of March than the first, and the forecast into next week is showing something of a return to drier more spring like conditions, but still... :)
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -4C, 30cm new snow in last 12hrs. Moiwa 800m: NW8m/s, 40cm new snowfall, snow drift development, -6C. Annupuri 1000m: snowpack 335cm. Hirafu 1000m: NW10m/s, 40cm new snowfall, snow drift development, -6C.. Annupuri peak 1308m: -8.6℃. Cape Benkei: NW13m/s, Cape Kamui: WSW14m/s, pressure 1003hPa, wave 2.1m.
There has been over 100cm snow in the last 2 days and storm is beginning to break. Mikaeri link road is not passable. From observation, at 700m on snow drift slopes there is high possibility of surface slab avalanche over 60cm in depth. Main gates will be kept closed. Dont duck ropes to go out of bounds. Yesterday some people entered strictly off limits area Haru no Taki and had to be rescued by Hirafu Patrol. These people didnt know Niseko Rules, ducked ropes, followed some tracks and went into the valley. The first track made under the ropes can lead to an accident one day. Dont disrespect the rules and people who continue to, will be banned from this mountain.
The snow will slowly stablise, but to avoid a giant avalanche stay out of the valley bottoms. Avalanche speed will be over 100km/h and run a long way. Be cautious today. The wind is dropping off and the snow is deep. Best to stay near the course today. Have a good day.
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Official resort snow depths:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 495cm
Base - 190cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 300cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 390cm
Base - 200cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Friday 13th March 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 1094cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 78 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th & 26th December and 11th February) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 519cm reported on 25 days January 2015 snowfall 257cm reported on 23 days February 2015 snowfall 196cm reported on 18 days March 2015 snowfall 92cm reported on 7 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.