Niseko Now: Friday 17th March 2023
- Mar 17, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 4cm
Snowfall at base this season 1004cm
Posted on Friday 17th March 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Greetings Niseko friends.
Hey, I have some fresh snow to report! Yes, indeed.
I just measured 4cm of it outside my place and it is still snowing in some areas, though there is also some patches of blue sky appearing in others around the mountain and it is quite bright. I wouldn't expect the snowfall to continue.
This is not a full reset, of course, but I'm excited to see it. Snow is just such a truly wonderful thing. I feel humbled by its beauty. There's always going to be some 'last snow of the season'. Hopefully this isn't it, but there's also a chance that it might be.
We're probably going to be having more sun than anything else for at least a few days from Sunday onwards.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -5C, 1cm new snow, sunny. Moiwa 800m: -5.1C, W4.2m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -8.7C, W5.2m/s. Mizuno no Sawa: -7.3C, NW3.1m/s. Hirafu Hanazono: -8.4C, light winds. Hanazono#3: -4.5C, NNW3.9m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape NW9m/s, Kamui Cape WSW8m/s, 1022hPa, 1.0m waves.
This morning Hirafu patrol report that they have closed off a large area of super course due to the high risk of full depth avalanches. A long crack has also opened up at the bottom of Moiwa Shirakaba Course. Full depth avalanches frequently occur on the sidewalls of strictly off limits areas Haru no Taki and Yu no Sawa. The risk of large-scale full depth avalanches is increasing particularly on the Annupuri side(SE) of Yu no Sawa. Do not ignore Niseko Rules and use Yu no Sawa as a descent route back to your lodgings. Expect a large-scale full depth avalanche to occur in Backbowl, Osawa or Moiwa bowl anytime soon. Avoid the valley bottoms over the weekend. The mountains are in a freeze/thaw cycle and rapidly transitioning into spring. Data for the last four days will be published in the annual report. Have a nice spring day.
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Ski area information for Friday 17th March 2023
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day, weather permitting.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 340cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
Planned season:
- Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu plans to be open until Sunday 7th May 2023
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 1cm
- Base: 1cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 265cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 175cm (-3cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
Planned season:
- Niseko HANAZONO Resort plans to be open until Sunday 9th April 2023
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (-10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 115cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open until 7:30pm for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair [* normally open on weekends and holidays]
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
Planned season:
- Niseko Annupuri Kokusai plans to be open until Sunday 7th May 2023
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Morino Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Planned season:
- Niseko Village Ski Resort plans to be open until Sunday 9th April 2023
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Planned season:
- Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort plans to be open until Sunday 2nd April 2023
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Friday 17th March 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 1004cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 89 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (27th & 28th January, 6th February) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 336cm reported on 27 days January 2023 snowfall 332cm reported on 27 days February 2023 snowfall 289cm reported on 25 days March 2023 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 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.