Niseko Now: Saturday 17th March 2018
- Mar 17, 2018
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 1247cm
Posted on Saturday 17th March 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning all.
And there's some more fresh snow for me to report this morning. 5cm of it in fact here near base and no doubt more than that at higher elevations on the mountain. I wonder how much. Investigations are required.
It does feel rather more wintery and it is generally a cold and cloudy start to the day. Temperatures are forecast to not quite rise to zero during the day. Perhaps a little milder tomorrow and more sunshine.
There are just two more days of night time skiing operations left now - today and tomorrow. Rasuto chansu!
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -7℃, 10cm snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -8.3℃, WSW7m/s, 20cm snowfall, light snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: -10℃, W10m/s, 15cm snowfall. 440cm snowpack at 1000m elevation. Hirafu peak: -10℃, W5m/s, 10cm snowfall. Benkei cape: NNW11m/s, Kamui cape W9m/s, 1024hPa, 1.0m waves.
The isobars gradient became a little steep during the night and generated 15-20cm new snow fall overnight. Snowdrift development is small, wet snow through to 20cm. The surface below 800m is frozen and the groomers are having a hard time maintaining the slopes. So called “potato fields” are present in many spots.
30cm of smaller wet surface slab slides are to be expected in leeward knolls and steep slopes above 900m. Better not stimulate knolls and cornices.
Decent snowfall since a while, the mountain is back to winter. Peak gates are expected to open. Listen to patrol’s advices, be prepared and step out of bounds from the gates. Beware of creeks, holes and cracks. Stay away from valley bottoms and in order to avoid glide avalanches. Quickly move away from steep slopes. No chances to outrun an avalanche. Avalanches are naturally happening, and would not be a problem as long as nobody is caught in one. The is not bad. Have a nice day.
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Saturday 17th March 2018
Resort specific information (operations subject to change):
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts should be operating as planned (King Number 2 lift not operating)
Official snow depth:
- Top: 500cm
- Base: 210cm
Niseko Annupuri
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts should be operating as planned
Official snow depth:
- Top: 440cm
- Base: 220cm
Niseko Village
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts should be operating as planned (Country Road Chair lift not operating)
Official snow depth:
- Top: 430cm
- Base: 220cm
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Saturday 17th March 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 1247cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 96 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (31st December) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 406cm reported on 27 days January 2018 snowfall 305cm reported on 26 days February 2018 snowfall 299cm reported on 24 days March 2018 snowfall 49cm 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.