Niseko Now: Saturday 23rd March 2013
- Mar 23, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 1434cm
Weather overview Light snow
Wind
Varied
Temperature -5C base / -10C top
Visibility Varied
Posted at 9:03am on Saturday 23rd March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another Saturday morning. Just a dusting of snow in Hirafu this morning to report though I expect more wind driven snow to be found on the mountain. It is around -4 degrees at the moment and generally cloudy. Actually at the moment I am over in Hanazono and the sun is poking through the clouds here with good visibility though is seems much duller over on the other resort areas. In fact Niseko Annupuri were reporting snowfall as of 10 minutes ago.
Unfortunately only the Jumbo Number 1 lift at Annupuri is operating at the moment due to wind conditions. At Niseko Village the Niseko Gondola and top Wonderland Chair lifts are not moving. Niseko Grand Hirafu has the top King Number 3 and King Number 4 lifts closed at the time of writing. All lifts are moving at Hanazono.
In other resort news, today is the last day of 'nighta' operations which will be sad to see.
While we are on the subject, let's remind ourselves of the planned season dates for each of the resort areas:
Niseko Annupuri - until May 6th
Niseko Village - until May 6th
Niseko Grand Hirafu - until May 6th
Niseko Hanazono Resort - until April 7th
We are of course now into the 'Spring Ski' lift ticket price band, and from April 8th we'll be entering the cheaper 'Final Season' ticket prices.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -5C, trace new snow. 800m elevation, trace new snow, wind driven snow and snow drift development. Annupuri peak: -13.8C, snow depth at 1000m: 400cm. Coastal data: wind WNW13m/s, 2.4m waves, pressure 1007hPa.
Warm, wet low pressure snowfall has been followed by influx of cool air. Below 1000m this has resulted in a thin crust. Above 800m on cornice slopes and knolls, from 21-22 Mar layer, the risk of up to 40cm surface slab avalanche continues. Peak gates are expected to open provided peak lifts are running. Please follow ski patrols advice.
Although there has been only a small amount of new snowdrift development it is weak and will fracture easily on steep slopes. No matter how much snow has fallen avalanches occur when the conditions are right. If there are people involved it becomes an accident. Be careful of yesterdays tracks in the trees, they will be hard and make control difficult. Also beware avalanches, cracks and trees. Caution is required.
The risk of large scale avalanches from deep within the snowpack is rising. Avoid riding in the valley bottoms. Its not spring yet, have a good weekend.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Saturday 23rd March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1434cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 103 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 443cm reported on 26 days February 2013 snowfall 316cm reported on 24 days March 2013 snowfall 139cm reported on 15 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.