Niseko Now: Friday 18th March 2022
- Mar 18, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 1112cm
Posted on Friday 18th March 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
Hey, there's some good snow news this morning. I have measured 8cm of fresh snow. (Yey!)
It is clearly colder again this morning and it was great to see some snow coming down at a good rate last night. Not bad at all! As I look outside my window now light snow is falling. Visibility seems to be pretty decent and all lifts are opening as planned. We might even get some sunshine during the day, but hopefully it won't warm up much.
The weekend looks set up to be a mix of cloudy skies and light snow at times and it should remain fairly cold. It should be a decent mid March weekend, I think.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -4℃, calm, 5cm snowfall in 12h. Moiwa 800m: -6.1℃, NNW4.5m/s. Annupuri 1150m: -8.9℃, WNW4.3m/s, 15cm snowfall. Hirafu 1000m: -8.6℃, NNW3.2m/s, 15cm snowfall. Coastal data Benkei cape: NNW7m/s, Kamui cape: WSW5m/s, 1021hPa, 0.8m waves.
Cold air is flowing in through a high-pressure sticking out from the continent. The pressure gradient is small, however a relatively strong NW wind is blowing in high elevation making snowdrifts slowly grow. Snowdrifts of 30cm or less is found in leeward areas below 1000m. A hoar layer due to changing temperature can be observed on the old snow surface. Caution is required on steep slopes with new snow deposit. Better not stimulate cornices and knolls. All gates are scheduled to open. Ask the ski patrol’s advice and be equipped for the back country when going out of bounds. Outside the ski resort is outside ski management. Do not ride all the way down to the bottom of Kozan no Sawa and Osawa valleys. Giant glide avalanche in Spring time Niseko can occur anytime. Better not underestimate its danger. The mountain is back to winter today, but it’s not too long before Spring comes for good. Woodpeckers are loudly knocking on the house’s walls. Have a nice day.
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Planned ski area operations: Friday 18th March 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: 420cm (+10cm)
- Base: 200cm (+10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
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
Planned season:
- Niseko Grand Hirafu plans to be open until Thursday 5th May
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 350cm (+2cm)
- Base: 235cm (+5cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 7cm
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]
Planned season:
- Niseko HANAZONO plans to be open until Sunday 3rd April
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change)
- Base: 200cm (-10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
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
Planned season:
- Niseko Annupuri plans to be open until Thursday 5th May
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 200cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Planned season:
- Niseko Village plans to be open until Sunday 3rd April
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Friday 18th March 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 1112cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 93 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December and 22nd February) 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 337cm reported on 25 days March 2022 snowfall 58cm reported on 9 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.