Niseko Now: Saturday 16th January 2016
- Jan 16, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 17cm
Snowfall at base this season 501cm
Posted on Saturday 16th January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Hirafu base here in Niseko.
What a truly wonderful day yesterday was.
The sun was out in the morning and there were lovely clear blue skies. It was good and cold. There were excellent deep snow conditions (I usually try to avoid that word, but I really could not think of another that fit better!)
And then later on in the day the snow clouds came back and started to give us yet another refresh.
So this morning my measure of the new snow is 17cm. I see that the Avalanche Report below is showing 20-30cm as well which is great to hear.
Once again it's top quality stuff as well, dry and light, just how we like it. See if you can make a snowball out of it!
This morning it has been snowing (again) though it is actually quite bright as I write this and I can see some blue skies over to the east and Mt Yotei. The sun seems to be breaking through in places too.
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I have observed 197cm of fresh snowfall here since the beginning of January, and over 504cm of snowfall since the season began. With the forecast still showing lots of snow over the coming week, it looks like we are very likely going to be easily 'beating' the snowfall I observed last January (which was 257cm). Perhaps we might even start to catch up on the total for the season even with our late start.
Those of you who picked to come to Niseko around now... Congratulations! I hope it continues so that all of you folk coming soon can also experience these conditions.
Have a great weekend wherever you may be.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -8℃, 30cm of crystal snow and calm morning. Moiwa 800m: -12℃, mild wind, 20cm of new snow and no development of snowdrifts. Mikaeri 740m: -10.8℃, Southerly0.8m/s, 30cm snowfall. Annupuri 1150m: -13℃, NW8m/s, 20cm snowfall. Hirafu 1000m: -12℃, 15cm snowfall, no development of snowdrifts. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW14m/s, Kamui cape W10m/s, 1015hPa, 1.1m waves.
The isobars are spaced out and the weather is calm. A NW wind is predicted to pick up in higher elevation. The overall snowdrift development is minimal and the mountain is blanketed with 20-30cm of fresh snow. Jan 15th layer would become a notable layer in the future snowpack. Layer observations and snowdrifts development are key features for avalanche prediction. Avalanches in Niseko are typically triggered by collapse of developing snowdrifts, and become an incident when people are caught in it.
Peak gates are scheduled to open. Ask the patrol’s feedback before stepping out. Gate 7 (A-sawa) & 9 (Waterfall) are also scheduled to open today. Beware not to fall into creeks.
This information is released for the sake of all ski resort user’s safety in the out of bounds area. Carrying avalanche gear (beacon, shovel, probe) may not be compulsory, but is strongly recommended to do so. Have a nice day.
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Official resort snow depths as of Saturday 16th January 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 320cm
Base - 150cm
Niseko Village
Top - 240cm
Base - 140cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 200cm
Base - 150cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Saturday 16th January 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 501cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 36 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (26th and 28th December) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 days January 2016 snowfall 196cm reported on 15 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.