Niseko Now: Friday 23rd February 2018
- Feb 23, 2018
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 17cm
Snowfall at base this season 1158cm
Posted on Friday 23rd February 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning all you Niseko fans wanting to know just how much snow I have to report this morning.
Drum roll... 17cm.
And because this has all been delivered from late last night - after a bit of sunshine yesterday! - that means that there'll be a nice new fresh layer for everyone to play in this morning. I expect the first lifts to be particularly popular this morning.
It is not actually snowing as I write my report this morning, for a change. Just cloudy with a bit of sun peeking through in places.
Perhaps my mentioning the lack of sunshine is bringing it out. (I may have that power, it seems). But seriously, a mix of lots of quality fresh snow and some sunshine - what could be better than that?
It is not quite as cold this morning but temperatures should remain in minus numbers through the day. Not much wind and so we should expect lifts and gates to be open as planned.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6.00am: -5°, 10cm new snow. Moiwa 800m: -6.4°, E0.5m/s, 20cm new snow, calm. Annupuri 1150m: -8°, light wind, 10cm new snow. Hirafu 1250m: -10°, light wind, calm, 15cm new snow. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: S4m/s. Kamui Cape: SE2m/s, 1016hPa, wave 0.5m.
The sea and mountains are both calm. The mountain has a thin cover of good quality pre-low pressure snowfall. No notable cornice or snowdrift development. From observation the general avalanche risk is low. Be careful today on steep slopes, flowing shallow surface avalanches occur easily with this type of snow. Although yesterdays tracks are not covered, snow condition is good.
Peak gates are expected to open. Please listen to the patrols advice and be prepared before going out of bounds. The current snow surface is expected to become a fracture face in the future snowpack. This 22-23rd layer has a large temperature gradient and frost within. Deeper layers are stable however there is possibility of avalanches on steep north facing slopes (inconsistent snowdrift development) from 21st Feb layer.
Moiwa quad lift is broken so cannot ride Mikaeri area, should be good snow when its fixed! The heavy snowfall this winter is causing many cracks to open on leeward slopes. Be careful they cannot be seen from above. Entering March the risk of full depth avalanche at Kozan no sawa 1100m and Osawa cornice slope is rapidly increasing. Think about whether your habit of riding back to the ski area in the valley bottom is worth getting taken out by a massive tree, rock and mud laden avalanche. Guides and experienced riders especially should reconsider taking beginners these routes. The weather is expected to deteriorate this afternoon. Be careful of change in weather, bad visibility and strong winds. Have a good day
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Friday 23rd February 2018
Resort specific information (operations subject to change):
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts (apart from King Number 2) should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 510cm
- Base: 255cm
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 410cm
- Base: 260cm
Niseko Village
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts (apart from the Country Road Chair lift) should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 400cm
- Base: 280cm
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Friday 23rd February 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 1158cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 83 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (31st December) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 406cm reported on 27 days January 2018 snowfall 305cm reported on 26 days February 2018 snowfall 259cm 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.