Niseko Now: Sunday 15th February 2015
- Feb 15, 2015
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 15cm
Snowfall at base this season 952cm
Posted on Sunday 15th February 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Morning from Hirafu and this morning I have another 15cm of new snow to report here at base.
Unfortunately, the north westerly wind is again causing headaches with top lifts closed along with the Gondolas at Niseko Annupuri and Niseko Village. Seems the Ace Number 2 Center Four lift might be a bit late opening as well due to some checking or maintenance going on there. With a fair few good folk lined up waiting, hoping that gets moving quickly.
Snow showers possible on and off today and into tomorrow, though for the moment there's more and more blue sky appearing... it feels more like it will clear up than snow.
There are clearer conditions and a break from snowfall forecast during this coming week. Might get the sunshine and blue skies thing going on by Tuesday. Should be much calmer too.
Enjoy the day and I'll see you tomorrow.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -5C, 15cm snowfall 12 hours. Moiwa 800m: NW8m/s, snowfall with 50cm snowdrift development. Annupuri 1000m snowpack 310cm. Hirafu 1000m: heavy wind with packed snow -10C. Peak 1308m: NNW18.6m/s, -11.5C. Benkei cape NNE 13m/s, Kamui cape N11m/s, 1009hPa, 2.4m waves.
Strong northerly wind with intermittent gusts is blowing in high altitude. Snowdrifts are slowly developing in all areas. The cornices are growing big and are unstable. The avalanche risk is high in all out of bounds areas; Moiwa bowl, Backbowl, Osawa and Higashi-One. Avalanche accidents are most likely to occur in leeward slopes with heavy snowdrifts deposit during storms.
Do not stimulate knolls, stay away from valley bottoms and ride down one by one. Peak gates will be kept closed. Do not duck ropes. One track left under a rope would lead many others to do the same and raise the chances of accidents to happen. Please respect the Niseko Rules. The snow in the treeruns is in excellent condition. The storm will settle down soon.
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Official resort snow depths:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 410cm
Base - 160cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 300cm
Base - 190cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 340cm
Base - 200cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Sunday 15th February 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 952cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 65 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 146cm reported on 12 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.