Niseko Now: Tuesday 14th January 2014
- Jan 14, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 40cm
Snowfall at base this season 685cm
Posted on Tuesday 14th January 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I have been sat here trying to decide what words to use this morning, especially as we try not to get too carried away with epic adjectives on these here reports, so I thought I'd try to just go for the numbers...
I have measured 40-45cm of new snow since my last report. Like, wow. We are getting on for 3m of snowfall in January alone, and that's here in the village base area and so will likely be a fair bit more than that on the mountain.
Grand Hirafu has upped it's upper snow depth to 4m this morning.
Sun lovers can rejoice... for the moment anyway. As I am writing this we have some blue sky appearing over parts of the mountain and even a bit of sun. It may well be only a short view though with the latest forecasts continuing to give us snowy conditions right through the weekend.
If you like it deep, then this is most certainly the place to be. January is shaping up to be outstanding.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -8C, 25cm of crushed crystal snow in the past 12 hours. Moiwa 800m: -11C, 40cm of fresh, light breeze & snowfall. Annupuri 1000m: -13C, light breeze, 50cm of fresh. Hirafu 1000m: -11C, 30cm of fresh with snowdrift development. Annupuri peak 1308m: -16.2℃, N16.6m/s, wind forecast at noon: W10m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW11m/s, Kamui cape NNW6m/s, 1.7m waves, 1021hPa.
Heavy snowfall continues, but isobars are spacing out and the wind is calming down. Snow deposit up to 70cm on-piste. Soft-slabs, up to 150cm, have formed in leeward slopes above 800m. These slabs are still unstable and avalanche risk remains high. Peak gates will be closed. Other gates to be decided, please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Do not enter Haru no Taki area. A critical accident occurred in there in 1998 and the current conditions are quite alike.
Accidents happen when the conditions are right and the Niseko Rules has been set to minimize the chances of accidents to happen. It is not just another formality to avoid responsibilities. Beware of cracks. Better stay close to in-bounds area today. The visibility is bad but the snow in the trees is deep and good. Have a nice day.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 400cm
Base - 225cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 300cm
Base - 210cm
Annupuri:
Top - 245cm
Base - 200cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Tuesday 14th January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 685cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 45 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (14th January) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 275cm reported on 22 days January 2014 snowfall 287cm reported on 14 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.