Niseko Now: Saturday 23rd March 2024
- Mar 23, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 877cm
Posted on Saturday 23rd March 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning.
And it is a fine Saturday morning. The sun is out, there is quite a lot of blue sky with some thin cloud hanging around. Feels calm.
There is quite a lot of sun lined up on forecasts for the coming several days.
That's about all the words I can sum up this morning, so have a good Saturday!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base : -5°, no new snow, frozen. Moiwa 800m: -5.2°, NNE0.8m/s . Mikaeri 764m: -9.0°, E1.2m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -8.3°, NW4.3m/s. Village 1000: -5.8°, NW3.3m/s. Hanazono 1000m: -7.0°, SSW4.8m/s, no new snow. Hanazono 3 : -3.5°, SSE0.0m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: SSE3m/s. Kamui Cape S5m/s , 1021hPa, wave 0.8m.
The isobars are spaced widely and both the sea and the mountains are calm. Some minor snowdrift development above 1000m and the general avalanche risk is low. Peak gates are expected to be open. Use the gates to go out of bounds, do not duck ropes.
There is no new snow but conditions are good. The groomers will be hard this morning. Yesterday the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper published the report by the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice, 11th Mar Mt. Yotei accident. The cause was determined to be a snowdrift collapse at 1,650m. The avalanche ran a distance of 2,000m, dropping 1,000m. Although the Niseko gates were open, the higher elevation and winds on Mt. Yotei probably caused more snowdrift development. Regardless it is best to avoid gullies and creeks, these are natural avalanche paths, just yet. Considering the mass of the Yotei avalanche, which traveled 2 km, the width of the avalanche generating surface seems narrow. Is it possible that the width of the rupture surface was wider? In any case, it is significant that the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice concluded that the accident was caused by a ruptured snowdrift. The mountains are wonderful. have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 23rd March 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 320cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 95cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned closing date (subject to conditions):
- Monday 6th May 2024
Lifts (scheduled):
- The Ace Number 3 pair, Ace Number 4 pair, King Number 1 pair, King Number 2 quad lifts are closed
- Last lift closes at 4:30pm
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 260cm (-5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 160cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Planned closing date (subject to conditions):
- Sunday 7th April 2024
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts are open
- Last lift closes at 4:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 130cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned closing date (subject to conditions):
- Monday 6th May 2024
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts operating apart from the Jumbo Number 3 pair lift
- Last lift closes at 4:30pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 237cm (-6cm since yesterday)
- Base: 136cm (-4cm since yesterday)
Planned closing date (subject to conditions):
- Sunday 7th April 2024
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts operating apart from the Morino Chair and Wonderland Chair
- Last lift closes at 4:30pm
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Night skiing has now finished for the 2023-2024 season.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Saturday 23rd March 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 877cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 91 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (8th January) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 298cm reported on 24 days February 2024 snowfall 144cm reported on 20 days March 2024 snowfall 68cm reported on 12 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.