Niseko Now: Sunday 18th January 2015
- Jan 18, 2015
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 15cm
Snowfall at base this season 731cm
Posted on Sunday 18th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Greetings from Hirafu on this Sunday morning.
I have just been updating the official snow depths numbers for the resorts (below) and they are largely unchanged - in fact the only change I had to make was the base number curiously going down for Niseko Grand Hirafu - but believe me there's definitely new snow here this morning.
Maybe not quite as exciting a number as I was hoping for, but still a good solid 15cm-20cm. I think the strong winds that we had blowing everything about yesterday probably make it difficult to put a meaningful number on it this morning. Indeed if you take a look at the Avalanche Report below, we have 'Niseko base 6am: -8C, 25cm snowfall in 12 hours, 60cm snowdrifts'. So we can expect differing amounts of fresh snow in places on mountain this morning.
It's a cold start to the morning but thankfully the wind is behaving but it seems gates will be closed this morning. The Early Morning Gondola was unfortunately cancelled this morning due to the lingering weather conditions, but other than that all the resorts seem to be opening as planned. Check for any changes with the resorts during the day.
The sun is shining down on us right now with an increasing amount of blue sky on view up there now amongst the clouds that are still hanging around. Very fine conditions for the first part of the day even if snowfall is still expected today and tomorrow. So the sunshine might be short lived and those clouds are moving pretty fast. So the forecast remains snow falling at times over the next few days with temperatures remaining low.
It's going to be busy out there today.
I always promise myself to get out especially when the sun comes out, so perhaps see you out there.
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Resort specific news at time of writing - subject to change during the day
Niseko Grand Hirafu:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning.
'Early Morning' lift available daily until 1st February (for 500 yen, Ace Quad Number 2 lift from 8am until 8:20am).
Niseko Hanazono:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning.
Niseko Village:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning.
'Early Morning Gondola' available Saturdays and Sundays until February 8th (for 1300 yen, Gondola open from 7:30am until 8:30am).
Niseko Annupuri:
Gondola was set for perhaps a later start but as of 8:30am seems to be moving; looks set to be open as planned this morning.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -8C, 25cm snowfall in 12 hours, 60cm snowdrifts. Moiwa 800m: N20m/s at 5am, -12C, large development of snowdrift and bad visibility. Annupuri 1150m: wind calmed down to N8m/s at 7am, -14C, large development of snowdrifts. Hirafu 1000m: NE15m/s at 6am, -15C, large development of snowdrifts. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW18m/s at 5am, NNW12m/s at 6:30, Kamui cape NNE7m/s at 6am, 1010hPa, 2.1m waves.
The atmospheric pressure gradient is large, a strong storm with heavy snowfall persisted until dawn, generating large development of snowdrifts and cornices. The wind has started to settle down, however the avalanche risk in the leeward snowdrift slopes is extremely high. Gates will be kept closed regardless of chair-lift operations. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Accidents often happen just after storms. Many of the avalanche accidents in the out of bounds area happened in easily accessible hazardous slopes around the ski resorts. Gates opening/closing are managed in order to minimize the risks of accidents. The snow might be good, but it is still too risky to open the gates at this stage. DO NOT duck ropes and traverse to Osawa cornice slopes or Higashi-One area. Large crown & fast running surface slab slides are to be expected in leeward steep slopes & valleys. Be extremely careful.
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Official snow depth numbers and any notes at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 330cm
Base - 130cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 270cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 230cm
Base - 180cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Sunday 18th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 731cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 44 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th and 26th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 519cm reported on 25 days January 2015 snowfall 182cm 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.