Niseko Now: Monday 1st February 2016
- Feb 1, 2016
- 5 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 620cm
Posted on Monday 1st February 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning to you and this morning I have another 12cm of fresh snowfall overnight to report which makes for a decent start to February.
The last day of January saw some nice blue skies in the morning with clouds moving in and then some fresh snow falling. Snowfall overnight is the kind I like best - fill in the tracks... reset the mountain... nice. (Just one thing, bring us 20+cm each night, ok?)
Actually, I see that the Avalanche Report is reporting 20+cm on the mountain. So all is good.
It is another very cold morning here, but I doubt that will put people off wanting to get up for early tracks and enjoy the conditions. Snow continues to fall and I expect visibility to be somewhat limited in places at the moment but once again the snow is expected to stop and leave us with a cloudy day; perhaps even a bit of blue sky again? The Hanazono webcam is showing hints of that just now...
The Early Morning lift service at Niseko Grand Hirafu has now finished for the season. It sounds a bit odd thinking about things already finishing up for the season, but then we can remember that lifts and runs are scheduled to be open until early May. So like I mentioned yesterday, we have over 3 months to go!
---
So here we are in February 2016 already and it's time for my monthly look back - and forward - to see where we stand this season.
First of all, here are my observed snowfall numbers. As always, recorded here near Hirafu base:
Observed snowfall during January 2016: 303cm
Observed snowfall during January 2015: 257cm
Observed snowfall during January 2014: 461cm
Total observed snowfall for the 15/16 season up until end January 2016: 611cm
Total observed snowfall for the 14/15 season up until end January 2015: 806cm
Total observed snowfall for the 13/14 season up until end January 2014: 859cm
So I observed nearly 50cm more snowfall during January 2016 than I did in January 2015, but it was still over 1.5m less than in January 2014.
Looking at the season as a whole, we are still 2-2.5m behind the previous two seasons - the main reason this time round of course being the late/poor start to the season.
How will February shape up? Here's what I observed last season and the one before:
February 2015: 196cm
February 2014: 178cm
I always like to emphasise this so forgive me for repeating it. More snow falls higher up on the mountain than does here at base. The popular thinking is that there's probably up to/around 1.5 times the amount up there. It would of course be ideal to be able to report a number from there as well, but unfortunately it's just not possible to do that every morning...
Let's also take a look at the official snowfall numbers that are published by the Japan Meteorological Agency. These numbers are taken from their point in Kutchan town which is a bit lower than here at Hirafu base, so you would expect them to be less than the snow that I observe myself.
January 2016: 246cm
January 2015: 230cm
January 2014: 317cm
January 2013: 268cm
January 2012: 290cm
January 2011: 420cm
January 2010: 331cm
January 2009: 286cm
January 2008: 336cm
15/16 season so far at end of January 2016: 476cm
14/15 season so far at end of January 2015: 658cm
13/14 season so far at end of January 2014: 674cm
12/13 season so far at end of January 2013: 672cm
11/12 season so far at end of January 2012: 721cm
10/11 season so far at end of January 2011: 668cm
09/10 season so far at end of January 2010: 680cm
08/09 season so far at end of January 2009: 612cm
07/08 season so far at end of January 2009: 621cm
It is a 'danto' (mild winter) season for most of Japan this time around. Lots of popular ski regions - mostly on the main island of Honshu - are this season getting much less snowfall than they usually enjoy. Take a look at the Yuzawa Now report today and tomorrow for some similar 'analysis' of what is going on down there. Last season the Yuzawa Now reports recorded over 13m of snowfall, which was actually over 1.5m more than I observed for these Niseko Now reports!
Happily for us up here in Hokkaido, we have been doing well once the season got going and have enjoyed regular fresh snowfall for the most part. But still, for the season so far we also have been getting less snowfall than we usually get.
Let's hope that February brings with it some good numbers - not just for here in Niseko, but for all of the ski resort regions of Japan.
---
Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6.00am: -10°C, 20cm new snow. Moiwa 800m: NE8m/s, 20cm new snow, snowdrift development. Mikaeri 740m: -12.9°C, WSW2.7m/s, 30cm new snow, snow drift development. Annupuri 1150m: -15°C, NW15m/s, 20cm new snow, snow drift development. Hirafu 1000m -16°C, 20cm new snow. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:NW13m/s. Kamui Cape WNW6m/s, 1019hPa, wave 1.3m.
Currently we under the influence of typical winter weather pattern. Light winds and snow continue, On upper sections of leeward slopes above 700m, there has been 40cm of snowdrift growth. Above 900m snowdrift growth has been faster, forming soft slabs likely to fracture on the Jan 30 layer. From observation and data, general avalanche risk is low, but risk can be higher depending on aspect and elevation. Avoid cornices and knolls. All gates are expected to be open. If you ignore Niseko Rules and enter Strictly Off Limits areas expect to be banned from all Niseko ski areas. For your own safety follow the rules. Once one person ducks the ropes, other follow, increasing risk of an accident. This cannot be tolerated. Snowfall is expected to continue. Take care falling into cracks when visibility is poor. It's cold today, beware frostbite. Have a good day.
---
Official resort snow depths as of Monday 1st February 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 325cm
Base - 140cm
Niseko Village
Top - 280cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 285cm
Base - 160cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Monday 1st February 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 620cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 48 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 31cm (17th January) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 days January 2016 snowfall 303cm reported on 26 days February 2016 snowfall 12cm reported on 1 day |
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.