Niseko Now: Saturday 14th January 2017
- Jan 14, 2017
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 13cm
Snowfall at base this season 354cm
Posted on Saturday 14th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I had an excellent day on the mountain yesterday even though those clearer early morning skies I was reporting yesterday didn't last too long.
And so, Saturday morning. And I have 13cm of fresh snow to report on the ground here at base. It is another very cold morning and the snow looks top quality again so conditions should be very good. There's not much of a wind around, here at base at least, and I would think that resorts should be opening as planned this morning.
This is not 'being negative' - I must admit I was hoping for more snow than that really. It seems that lots of areas on the main Honshu island to the south of us are getting some serious numbers at the moment. Hokkaido seems to be hogging the 'crazy cold news' while lots of the Honshu areas are hogging the 'crazy snow news' this weekend. I'm actually really pleased to see that regions that were struggling a bit for snow now seem to suddenly have rather a lot of it! And we can't get all the headlines all the time.
I know, I'm greedy when it comes to wanting endless supplies of fresh powder. It's one of the things you increasingly become especially after having lived here for a while... :)
This morning as I prepare to post this report there's a lot of cloud hanging around the mountain but some blue sky appearing and a bit of sun in places as well. Perhaps a mix of light snow at times and clearer spells today? We'll have to see what nature sees fit for the day.
The forecast? Hmmmm, clearer skies ahead for a few days by the looks after more snow tomorrow. See the forecast page for more on that.
So yes anyway, it should be very fine morning out there. And I hope to speak with some of you on the lifts.
---
Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -11℃, 10cm of crystal snow. Moiwa850m: -12℃, 15cm snowfall, no snowdrift development. Annupuri1150m: -18℃, WNW10m/s, 10cm new snow and no snowdrift development. Hirafu 1250m: slight snowfall and snowdrift development. Kamui cape lighthouse: SW7m/s, 1001hPa, 1.3m waves.
A small Low-pressure system is slowing the weather down around the northern sea of Japan. New snowfall is scarce and the old tracks aren’t buried below 1000m elevation, however the snow remains good and good condition continues. The formation of slabs isn’t prominent and the general avalanche risk is low. The present Jan 14th layer below 800m elevation will turn into a surface hoar layer in the future snowpack. Keep an eye on it. All gates are scheduled to open from the morning. Ask the ski patrol’s advise before stepping out of the gates.
Risk of a 100cm thick slab slide is present in strictly off-limits Haru No Taki area, should the sun affect the surface snow forming into slabs. Do not step into strictly off-limits areas. The snow is stable, however 100% safety does not exist in the mountains and there are no inevitable accidents. Stay away from valley bottoms.
---
Official resort snow depths as of Saturday 14th January 2017:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 270cm
Base - 120cm
Niseko Village
Top - 190cm
Base - 120cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 190cm
Base - 120cm
---
Night skiing is planned until Monday 20th March 2017 at the Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village resort areas. There is no nighta in the Hanazono area.
Niseko Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Saturday 14th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 354cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 43 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (16th December) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 181cm reported on 22 days January 2017 snowfall 63cm 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.