Niseko Now: Thursday 22nd February 2024
- Feb 22, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 4cm
Snowfall at base this season 787cm
Posted on Thursday 22nd February 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
4cm of fresh snowfall to report this morning with ski areas reporting up to 10cm out on the mountain. There should be more over the coming few days and it should be keeping cold.
As I type it is snowing lightly but there is sunshine peeking through clouds around the mountain too.
There's a fair amount of blue sky and sun over towards Mt Yotei.
Tomorrow a national holiday in Japan, giving many people another 3-day long weekend.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: 10cm snowfall, calm. Moiwa 800m: -17.4℃, NNW8.9m/s, cornice and snowdrift development up to 50cm. Mikaeri 764m: -10℃, N3.5m/s, visibility improved. Annupuri 1100m: -14.3℃, WNW5.2m/s. Village 1000m: -12.8℃, NW4.5m/s. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -13.2℃, SW4.6m/s, 15cm snowfall. Hanazono 800m: -11.1℃, N4.8m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW12m/s, Kamui cape W7m/s, 1023hPa, 1.2m waves.
New cornices above 800m elevation break instantly, and snowdrifts break easily with small impact. Surface slab avalanches are likely to occur on the 40°slopes in the morning. Avoid stimulating knolls. Avalanches at this time of the season tend to occur by breaking snowdrifts (triggered by humans) or natural phenomena such as collapsing of cornices. In any case, accidents only occur when people get caught in it. Some good snow overnight but watch out for hard snow underneath. There was an accident with a broken femur in Fujiwara no Sawa yesterday. Mind your speed, and make reasonable turns. Avoid riding simultaneously on the steep open slopes. Dangerous. Do not stay in the gully bottoms. Gates are expected to open. Please listen to the patrol’s instructions. It is quite crowded on the groomers too. Ride according to your skills. Always use gates when you go out of bounds. Do you have a beacon with you? Do not duck ropes.
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Individual ski area information for Thursday 22nd February 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 300cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (+10cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from King Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad (normal operations)
- The Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four), Hirafu Gondola and Holiday Number 1 pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 14cm
- Base: 8cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 228cm (+3cm since yesterday)
- Base: 155cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Hanazono Symphony Gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 215cm (-10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 127cm (-7cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from Country Road
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Thursday 22nd February 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 787cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 75 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (8th January) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 298cm reported on 24 days February 2024 snowfall 122cm reported on 16 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.