Niseko Now: Tuesday 23rd February 2016
- Feb 23, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 819cm
Posted on Tuesday 23rd February 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
There's 8cm of fresh snow on the ground to report this morning, and as I write this report light snow continues to fall. It was coming down a bit heavier just a little earlier on so might be easing off for the day... with more forecast for tonight. A good pattern that, I reckon!
Wind seems to be less of an issue this morning and so I would expect all of the lifts to be open as planned this morning, and gates to be open as well.
There's not much else to report this morning really. Regular snowfall is still forecast through the week and up until around Sunday.
We expect regular snowfall here of course, but so do lots of other areas of Japan who still seem to be battling against a relative lack-of-snow situation which is sad to see.
It sure has been an odd winter season for many areas of Japan!
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6.00am: -5°C, 5cm new crystal snow, calm. Moiwa 838m: -7.3°C, NNE0.7m/s, 20cm new snow, calm. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: SSE3m/s. Kamui Cape W10m/s, 1020hPa. Hirafu Peak ridge line: W10m/s, -13C, 10cm new snow. Annupuri 1150m: -11°C, N8m/s, 20cm new crystal snow.
The atmospheric pressure gradient is shallow, seas and mountains are calm. 10 to 20cm of good snow has fallen unaffected by wind. From observation the avalanche risk at 1000m is low. All peak gates are expected to open. Please listen to the patrol and respect their decisions. Do not duck ropes.
Don't carelessly traverse under cornices and knolls. When performing a pit check anchor yourself with rope. The no such thing as a safe mountain in winter. Always make safe and cautious decisions, so when bad luck comes your way, its not a deadly encounter.
Mikaeri Ridge road is closed today while avalanche experiments are being conducted.
Due to some mechanical maintenance issues, the daily avalanche report will not be released for the next few days. Have a good day.
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Official resort snow depths as of Tuesday 23rd February 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 370cm
Base - 160cm
Niseko Village
Top - 340cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 350cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 819cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 65 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 38cm (17th February) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 days January 2016 snowfall 303cm reported on 26 days February 2016 snowfall 211cm reported on 18 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.