Niseko Now: Thursday 21st February 2013
- Feb 21, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 15cm
Snowfall at base this season 1223cm
Weather overview Cloud, snow
Wind
Varied
Temperature -10C base / -14C top
Visibility Fair-poor
Posted at 9:15am on Thursday 21st February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko and this time I bring you about 10-15cm of new snowfall and it continues to snow as I write this report.
Currently it is about -7 degrees and there's a moderate wind. The Gondolas are all operating, but on checking just now the top lifts at all but Hanazono area are not, though the top two lifts over at Hanazono are operating at reduced speed for the moment.
The mountains are covered in cloud though visibility doesn't seem too bad generally on the resort courses.
Looking at the forecast, it would seem that we can still expect similar conditions to continue for the next few days and through the weekend and into next week. So that means regular topups of fresh powder, though perhaps no bluebirds for the time being. I'm sure most won't complain!
Have fun out there.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -10C, 15cm of broken particle snow, moderate storm. Moiwa 800m: W10m/s, -10C, development of heavy and unstable snowdrifts. Annupuri peak: WNW16m/s, 1.8waves and 1011hPa. Annupuri 1000m snowpack: 375cm.
Heavy snowfall has continued under a typical winter pressure pattern and cornices and snowdrifts are continuing to develop in leeward slopes. The development speed has slowed down, however stabilization is delayed and is likely to slide in large blocks. The avalanche risk is high.
All peak gates will be kept closed for the sake of all resort users. Do not duck ropes to access the out of bounds area. The snow is heavy and slow, cornices has grown big and easily collapsible. There are high chances of surface slab slides up to 80cm thickness in steep slopes and knolls above 800m. Many cases of loosing tracks and/or falling into cracks are being reported in the Higashione/Jackson's area. The more people goes, the more chance of accidents increases. Every individual consciousness is key to reduce accidents. Better not rely too much on the gear's performance or overestimate your skills. The snow in the trees is heavy but good. The visibility is bad. Beware of hitting trees or falling into cracks. Cracks are barely visible from above, and likely to fall headfirst.
The conditions will turn better soon, have a nice day.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Thursday 21st February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1223cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 81 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 443cm reported on 26 days February 2013 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 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.