Niseko Now: Tuesday 15th March 2022
- Mar 15, 2022
- 5 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 1100cm
Posted on Tuesday 15th March 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I actually have some snow to report this morning. Just a bit. 2cm. And it is still snowing - lightly. That is, of course, great to see. Let's hope we get some more.
The big problem today is pesky winds, which are preventing all top lifts from opening. The gondolas at Village and Annupuri are also on hold, as are all lifts at Hanazono apart from the gondola.
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I can't believe I neglected to mention White Day yesterday!
White Day (14th March) is that age-old Japanese tradition dating back to the Edo period when men give chocolates back to women who gave them chocolates a month earlier on Valentines Day. Sorry about that, I'll remember next year, for sure.
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Please indulge me, this is entirely a personal comment/opinion from me:
I won’t be specific, but if you have so much dislike for someone else's work – (work, I might add, that you consume freely and regularly) - that you really feel the need to vent your frustrations, here’s my advice.
1)
Be polite. Or at least observe some basic common decency.
2)
Try to be constructive and explain the feelings/reasons for your hatred. For example: if you were complaining about my reports, you might want to suggest that they would be improved by not mentioning toast, pesky winds, or making silly jokes about Valentines Day dating back to the Edo period. (And you might well be right!)
Totally failing to observe the above two things really just makes you come across as an infantile troll who is not to be taken seriously. And it’s a bit pathetic, really.
As much as I don't like the idea of feeding trolls, I just wanted to say that. Back to normal service!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -2℃, light wind and 1cm snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -4.3℃, SE4.0m/s. Annupuri 1150m: -6.9℃, SSE4.2m/s, snowing and bad visibility. Hirafu 1000m: -6.7℃, S17.6m/s, strong wind and bad visibility. Peak ridge 1250m: -7℃, strong wind, white out. Coastal data Benkei cape: SSE19m/s, Kamui cape: SSE4m/s, 1008hPa, 0.7m waves.
A Southerly wind is blowing strong as a new low-pressure system is approaching. Snowfall is still small, but is forecasted to pick up. Poor visibility with strong wind on Hirafu side and a strong south wind is blowing at Benkei cape through the lowlands of Kuromatsunai. The wind will calm down as the low-pressure system passes, but the snow condition will be different between the base and peak of the mountain. Thaw will continue under 600m elevation, making it likely for glide avalanches to occur from the open cracks. Gates opening is undetermined. Please respect the ski patrol’s decisions. Moiwa gates 6 & 10 have been shut as the quad lift operation finished for the season. We’d like to thank the Moiwa Patrol for their hard work observing the Mikaeri cracks, out of bounds pattroling and rescue operations. The Niseko area’s safety is maintained by each resort’s patrollers. We strongly recommend not to go to the bottom of Kozan no Sawa (Back Bowl), O-sawa (Annupuri Bowl) and Mikaeri Bowl.
This information is issued for everyone to assess the specific hazard of the day. Being aware of the hazard and being prepared for them can be useful to avoid accidents. However, how are we supposed to see the tragedy happening in eastern Europe where personal precaution ends up being useless?
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Planned ski area operations: Tuesday 15th March 2022
The below snow depth and snowfall data is manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day (nature might intervene).
*** WIND AFFECTING OPERATIONS THIS MORNING ***
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 395cm (no change)
- Base: 190cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
Planned season:
- Niseko Grand Hirafu plans to be open until Thursday 5th May
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 340cm (no change)
- Base: 235cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
Planned season:
- Niseko HANAZONO plans to be open until Sunday 3rd April
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change)
- Base: 210cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
Planned season:
- Niseko Annupuri plans to be open until Thursday 5th May
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 220cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Planned season:
- Niseko Village plans to be open until Sunday 3rd April
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Tuesday 15th March 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 1100cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 91 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December and 22nd February) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 307cm reported on 23 days January 2022 snowfall 325cm reported on 30 days February 2022 snowfall 337cm reported on 25 days March 2022 snowfall 46cm 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.