Niseko Now: Wednesday 22nd March 2017
- Mar 22, 2017
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 3, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 674cm
Posted on Wednesday 22nd March 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Fresh snow! Hurray! Oh I love snow so much. It's brilliant. Even when it's a bit wetter than the peak season variety.
But, yes, back to my report and the snow started falling yesterday evening, giving me 6cm to report to you from base here this morning. Perhaps we will get more over the next few days though it does not seem to be a full-on kind of thing - more, a bit here and there. We are heading into late March, after all.
Earlier snowfall has stopped at the moment (here at base anyway, it may still be snowing higher up) and the temperature is slightly over zero. It even looks like the sun might be trying to get in on the action in some places. Still, the forecast for the daytime today is generally 'cloudy' with the snow falling again tonight.
Bit of a wind affecting a few top lifts.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Mountain base : -2°, 8cm wet new snow. Moiwa 800m: -3.7°, W3-10m/s, 5cm new snow, minor snowdrift development. Annupuri 1150m: -7°, 11Wm/s, 10cm wet new snow. Hirafu 1250m, -6°, W5m/s, 5cm new snow. Coastal data: Kamui Cape: WNW9m/s, 1006hPa, wave 2.3m.
The passing low pressure system has dropped 5-10cm wet snow with minor snowdrift development on leeward slopes. From observation, shallow surface avalanches can easily be triggered by rider stimulation on steep(40deg) slopes. Be aware. Fracture layer is from March 21 and probability of fracture is dependent on elevation and slope orientation. Deeper layers in the snowpack appear stable, however south facing slopes around 800m the risk of full depth avalanches is high. Do not enter south facing strictly off limits areas.
Everything is covered with a shallow layer of wet snow today, mellow terrain in the trees should be good. All gates are expected to be open. Please listen to the patrols advice before going out of bounds.
People have been demanding that we strengthen Niseko Rules to avoid accidents in the future. Although the current rules are not perfect they do a good job protecting your freedom to ride most of the mountain while keeping accidents to a minimum. We believe less rules the better and ask everyone to understand and follow the existing Niseko Rules to maintain your current freedoms and show stricter measures are not needed. Have a good day.
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Official resort snow depths as of Wednesday 22nd March 2017:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 325cm
Base - 130cm
Niseko Village
Top - 300cm
Base - 140cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 290cm
Base - 130cm
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Planned closing dates
Niseko Grand Hirafu plans to be open daily until Sunday 7th May.
Niseko Hanazono plans to be open daily until Sunday 2nd April.
Niseko Village plans to be open daily until Sunday 2nd April (and then from 28th April until 7th May).
Niseko Annupuri plans to be open daily until Sunday 7th May.
Night time floodlit operations have now finished for the season.
Niseko Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 674cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 80 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (16th December) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 181cm reported on 22 days January 2017 snowfall 152cm reported on 18 days February 2017 snowfall 160cm reported on 19 days March 2017 snowfall 71cm reported on 7 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.