Niseko Now: Monday 21st March 2022
- Mar 21, 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 1121cm
Posted on Monday 21st March 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's Monday morning, a national holiday, and I am happy to report 8cm of fresh snowfall at base. It is pretty cold as well and this fresh snow is decent quality. All good.
There's a bunch of weather going on this Monday morning. As you can see from the images below, all taken after 8am, there's varied visibility this morning and changing conditions depending on where you are. In some places, a bit of sun. In others, no so much! And light snow falling. Or, as it is right now, quite heavy snow. (The image below from Hanazono was taken at 8:15am - it's snowing quite heavily at 8:30am). It's changing by the minute almost... I can't keep up with it!
Also as of 8:30am the top lift at Annupuri doesn't seem to be opening as planned.
Night skiing finished for the season last night. Otsukaresama deshita.
The latest opening lifts now close at 4:30pm (4:00pm at Hanazono). Just in time for a bath before dinner.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -3℃, calm, heavy snowfall since pre-dawn and bad visibility. Moiwa 800m: -5.8℃, SW2.1m/s. Annupuri 1150m: -8.4℃, WSW5.2m/s. Hirafu 1000m: -8.2℃, SSW6.7m/s. Peak ridge 1250m: -9℃, heavy snowfall, blizzard and poor visibility. Coastal data Benkei cape: WNW12m/s, Kamui cape: SW13m/s, 1013hPa, 1.2m waves.
Wintery pressure distribution has brought heavy snowfall, snowdrifts will grow thicker. Avalanche risk is rise as snowdrift slabs in leeward slopes develop under strong wind and snowfall. Gates 2 & 3 will be closed, 4, 5 & 8 are undecided. Please follow the ski patrol’s decision. The snow in the trees is good after a long time. Beware of old tracks and cracks hidden under the new snow. Do not go down the valley of Kozan no Sawa (Back Bowl) and Osawa (Anuprui Bowl). Hazards of large scale glide avalanche is rising and this season’s snowfall transition shows signs of occurence. Glide avalanches starting near the ridge line would sweep down the whole valley. Stay out of the valley bottoms! Have a good day.
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Planned ski area operations: Monday 21st 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: 415cm (+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
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
Planned season:
- Night skiing has finished for the 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: 355cm (+10cm)
- Base: 237cm (+7cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola
Planned season:
- Night skiing has finished for the 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 (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 8cm
- Base: 8cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
Planned season:
- Night skiing has finished for the 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: 310cm
- 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:
- Night skiing has finished for the season
- Niseko Village plans to be open until Sunday 3rd April
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Monday 21st March 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 1121cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 95 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 67cm reported on 11 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.