Niseko Now: Sunday 15th January 2017
- Jan 15, 2017
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 355cm
Posted on Sunday 15th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
This morning I have just about enough to add 1cm of fresh snow to the report. It's a thick dusting kind of thing.
That is all something of a contrast this weekend with the 131cm of snowfall recorded in Yuzawa (in Niigata) over the last two days* and even more in Myoko. Wow!
(* Our snow is much better though.)
I'm just joshing - I have never been there, though I would certainly like to. And seriously, I do encourage people to read the other reports as well, if not only to get a wider view of what is happening in different regions of Japan, not just Niseko.
Anyway, we enjoyed some nice blue skies yesterday morning with things clouding over gradually later on.
This morning we start the day with lots of blue sky and just a bit of cloud in places. The sun is currently shining through my window. It is remaining cold and seems calm.
Snow is forecast for today and so we can probably expect a change this afternoon, though there doesn't look to be much on the forecast until around Thursday after today.
In the meantime it should be a fun morning on the groomers.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -10℃, scarce snowfall. Moiwa850m: -12℃, 10cm snowfall and snowdrifts development. Annupuri 1150m: -14℃, NW8m/s, 15cm new snow. Hirafu1250m: -13℃, light breeze and scarce snow. Kamui cape lighthouse: NE3m/s, 1003hPa, 1.6m waves. Benkei cape lighthouse: ENE9m/s.
Calm morning as the isobars got spread out by a small low-pressure system. Yesterday afternoon’s light storm made some shallow snowdrifts develop in SW area above 800m altitude and reset the slopes. This newest layer (Jan 14th) is likely to slide in steep slopes, and will become a potential trigger layer in the future snowpack. This morning’s avalanche hazard is low, however more snow is forecasted in the afternoon. Hazard level will rise if new snowdrifts start to develop. All gates are scheduled to open, listen to the ski patrol’s advice before stepping out of the gates. Do not duck ropes.
Gate 9 (waterfall) is scheduled to open today. Beware not to fall into streams. The water is ice cold and hypothermia can easily be fatal.
Not much snowfall, but the groomers conditions are fantastic.
Beware of frostbite.
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Official resort snow depths as of Sunday 15th January 2017:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 260cm
Base - 110cm
Niseko Village
Top - 190cm
Base - 120cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 190cm
Base - 120cm
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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 Sunday 15th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 355cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 44 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 64cm reported on 8 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.