Niseko Now: Friday 15th March 2013
- Mar 15, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 1401cm
Weather overview Cloud, clear patches
Wind
Moderate+
Temperature -4C base / -8C top
Visibility OK
Posted at 9:17am on Friday 15th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
10cm or so of new snow to report from Hirafu this morning and with Niseko Grand Hirafu's resort snow depth increasing a fair bit to an impressive 520cm, we can of course expect more snow on the mountain. 520cm in the middle of March. It's pretty good isn't it.
A quick glance over at the JMA snowfall numbers for Kutchan shows that last March for the whole month there was 79cm. So far we are on 73cm half way through the month. (We shouldn't get too excited over the numbers though as the previous two seasons say over 2m in March).
Anyway, just a cloudy morning at the moment - quite bright and actually some blue sky opening up as well.
I almost don't want to mention it, but wind is preventing the top lifts at all 4 resort areas on the mountain from operating once again. But nice new snow and so some decent conditions to be found out there I would say today. I'm off to Sapporo today and so I won't be able to test it out myself.
The forecast for the weekend. Cloud with the chance of snow showers, keeping fairly cold tomorrow, but a chance of rain later Sunday going into Monday.
As we come out of of the peak season, things have been beginning to quieten down somewhat and we can expect that to continue over the next few weeks and then accelerate as we get into April when things start to get quiet.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -5C, 5cm new snow. Moiwa 800m: -7C, wind W10m/s, small amount snow drift development. Annupuri peak: -11.9C, snow depth at 1000m: 400cm. Coastal data: wind SW5m/s, 1.4m waves, pressure 1015hPa.
Wind has dropped and snow pack is stabilising. Avalanche risk is lowering. Peak gates 2 & 3 are expected to open at 10am, dependent on lift operations. Gate 6, Moiwa peak, will be closed in the morning due to snow clearing operations.
From observation around 800m, snow drift above the 11th Mar layer will easily fracture, dependent on location. Yesterday close to a Hirafu ski run at around 900m, a surface avalanche occurred, depth about 40cm. Also note that in Haru No Taki off limits area full depth avalanches have started to occur. Take care on steep slopes close to ski runs as well. Never enter Haru No Taki, even a rabbit wouldn't want to be in that valley!
Niseko Rules only exist to protect the freedom and minimum safety of out of bounds riding. All riders need to respect and understand the rules. Although carrying a beacon is not compulsory, it is recommended you carry safety equipment. The weather can change quickly, be prepared to change your plans.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Friday 15th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1401cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 99 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 443cm reported on 26 days February 2013 snowfall 316cm reported on 24 days March 2013 snowfall 106cm reported on 11 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.