Niseko Now: Thursday 17th February 2022
- Feb 17, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 902cm
Posted on Thursday 17th February 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Well, yesterday we got to enjoy some blue skies in the afternoon as the snow stopped. The small amount of snow I record today is from yesterday morning.
It is an overcast kind of morning and it feels relatively mild, with a light southerly wind. I expect all of the lifts will be able to be opening as planned.
When is the snow going to kick into a higher gear again? Maybe around late Saturday and Sunday onwards.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -5℃, calm, no snowfall. Moiwa800m: -7℃, calm, no snowfall. Anupuri1150m: -7℃, E4m/s, no snowfall, good visibility. Hirafu1250m: -8℃, SE5m/s, light snowfall. Coastal data Benkei cape: S7m/s, Kamui cape: calm, 1007hPa, 0.7m waves.
A low pressure system is approaching but the atmospheric pressure gradient remains flat. The wind in Shiribeshi is calm. There is no relevant snowfall, however yesterday’s southerly wind has made cornices and snowdrifts grow in spots above 1000m elevation in Hirafu side. The overall avalanche risk is low today. All gates will open. The whole mountain is tracked out. Be careful of overspeeding, losing control, hitting trees and falling in cracks. The weather may suddenly change as the pressure distribution moves. Stay prudent. This information is issued for preventing accidents in the out of bounds area around the resort. Please respect the Niseko Rules.
There was a typo in yesterday’s information; the avalanche speed should have been 70km/h, not 70km/s.
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Planned ski area operations: Thursday 17th February 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).
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 380cm (-5cm)
- Base: 200cm (-10cm)
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
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 325cm (-3cm)
- Base: 245cm (-3cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 1cm
- Base: 3cm
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]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 310cm (no change)
- Base: 220cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 5cm
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
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 290cm
- Base: 210cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Thursday 17th February 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 902cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 73 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December) 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 185cm reported on 14 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.