Niseko Now: Wednesday 23rd March 2016
- Mar 23, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 4cm
Snowfall at base this season 977cm
Posted on Wednesday 23rd March 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
What's this? Snow on the ground! I measure 4cm here outside my Hirafu base which I will happily add to the ongoing total and hopefully there'll be a bit more than that up there on the upper slopes. It's not the lightest and most powdery of snow, but perhaps expecting that in the latter part of March is a bit too much. But definitely time for an early morning ride I think.
Currently hovering around zero here at base and it's cloud and blue sky above.
There's still similar kind of snow on the forecast over the next few days so perhaps we'll get some more cm here and there... surely nothing major though.
It does look like we can expect more sun at the weekend and into early next week and slightly warmer temperatures.
It's great to see (some of) the official snow depth numbers actually increasing this morning! Niseko Grand Hirafu have added 10cm, so I think I am going to go and investigate once I get this posted.
See you tomorrow!
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Looks like some lifts are now 'on holiday' and relieved of duties:
The Jumbo Number 3 lift at Niseko Annupuri
The King Number 1 lift at Niseko Grand Hirafu
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -4℃, 4cm new snow since pre-dawn. Moiwa 838m: -3.8℃, NE4.2m/s. Annupuri snowpack 310cm. Hirafu peak ridge: -6℃, light wind, 2cm snowfall. Benkei cape: NNE8m/s, Kamui cape: N6m/s, 1009hPa, 0.9m waves.
Similar pressure pattern as yesterday, but the westerly wind calmed down and a thin blanket of new snow covers the mountain. Shallow avalanches are to be expected in steep slopes of the Backbowl and Higashi-One as the temperature rises. The snow is little wet and heavy but not in bad shape in the trees. No more deep powder, however the weather is stable and relatively good skiing conditions continues. Stay away from the valley bottoms to avoid full depth slides. Those giant avalanches occurring from Osawa and Backbowl 1100m leeward slopes run for a very long distance and are extremely destructive, cleaning everything on its way. These slides can simply be avoided by not being in the valley bottoms. All gates are scheduled to open from the morning. Refrain from ducking ropes, one track left under the rope leads many others to do the same and unnecessarily increase the chances of accidents to happen. The purpose of the Niseko Rules is to protect the freedom of out of bounds riding; violators will be severely prosecuted.
Spring is here, have a great day.
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 977cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 80 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 266cm reported on 22 days March 2016 snowfall 103cm reported on 11 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.