Niseko Now: Thursday 21st January 2016
- Jan 21, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 14cm
Snowfall at base this season 550cm
Posted on Thursday 21st January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Yesterday the Niseko Annupuri resort area did actually manage to get their Jumbo Number 1 quad operating late on in the afternoon, but it was generally a day of strong winds and lots of lift disruptions unfortunately. Today will hopefully be much better in that respect...
There's a new 14cm of fresh snowfall to report to you this morning.
The other good news is that there is much less wind around this morning (always good to hear that), or there certainly seems less down here in the village. I note that the Avalanche Report is saying there's still some strong winds above 800m, but it looks like the lifts at all four resort areas are going to be opening as planned this morning. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
(Update since I started making this report: It seems the opening of the top lifts at Hirafu is questionable... doh!)
It is just cloudy at the moment but snow could be falling any time as those clouds are still hanging around and due to be with us into the weekend. It does look like any deliveries of snow we get will be more modest than heavy snow, and there's a chance of some clearer skies as well particularly on Saturday. Anyway keep an eye on the weather forecast (link below) for all of that.
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Resort specific lift opening news at time of writing (subject to change during the day):
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Top Ace Number 4, King Number 4 and King Number 3 lifts may not be opening as planned.
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
It seems Niseko Hanazono is opening as normal.
Niseko Village
Niseko Gondola and Wonderland chair may be late getting going due to some early morning maintenance and checks (or something).
Niseko Annupuri
It seems Niseko Annupuri is opening as normal.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -5℃, 10cm snowfall, small development of snowdrifts. Moiwa 800m: W10m/s, 20cm snowfall and snowdrifts development. Mikaeri 740m: -7.6℃, W7.1m/s, 50cm new snow and development of snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: -11℃, NW10m/s, 50cm snowdrifts. Hirafu 1000m: -12℃, no snowfall but snowdrifts development. Benkei cape: N11m/s, Kamui cape: N11m/s, 1014hPa, 3.2m waves.
The wind remains strong above 800m elevation and snowdrifts are continuing to develop. 80cm thick slabs are present and growing in knoll terrain above 800m elevation. The avalanche risk is high this morning, especially in upper parts, knolls and cornice slopes with heavy load of wind-affected snowdrifts. Peak gates opening is still undecided, please respect the patrol’s decision. Many of the accidents occur during and just after storms. Avalanches are natural phenomena; in Niseko, most of them are caused by collapsing unstable snowdrifts. Do not drop into snowdrift loaded slopes. Accidents can be averted by avoiding hazardous slopes. The snow in the trees is a bit shallow but in good shape, beware of tomahawking into hidden pockets of heavy snowdrifts. Avalanche mechanism related experiments are in operation around the Mikaeri cat track, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
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Official resort snow depths as of Thursday 21st January 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 300cm
Base - 120cm
Niseko Village
Top - 270cm
Base - 160cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 240cm
Base - 160cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Thursday 21st January 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 550cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 40 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 245cm reported on 19 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.