Niseko Now: Sunday 24th February 2013
- Feb 24, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 1253cm
Weather overview Cloud, light snow at times
Wind
Varied
Temperature -10C base / -14C top
Visibility Fair
Posted at 8:55am on Sunday 24th February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's a cold morning here with the temperature at around -10C degrees. We have just over 5cm or so of fresh snowfall to add to our numbers and keep the runs fresh. Perhaps not enough to fill in all of the tracks made in the busy day that was yesterday of course, but better than none.
It's cloud and light snow this morning again and those winds are messing with lifts again on the mountain. Top lifts at all four resort areas are not moving at the moment. In addition, the Niseko Gondola at Niseko Village and the Annupuri Gondola are also closed. Most other lifts seem to be moving this morning but there's some winds of up to 20m/s up there.
Latest forecasts show the snow easing off sometime tomorrow to be followed by some clearer skies and likely milder conditions from Tuesday.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -11C, 5cm of crystal snow. Moiwa 800m: moderate westerly wind and 5cm of new snow. Annupuri peak: NNW9.5m/s, 16.8C. Coastal data: NNE8m/s, 0.7m waves and 1010hPa. Annupuri 1000m snowpack: 375cm.
A low-pressure band is approaching, mild wind and light development of snowdrifts. Avalanche risk is lowering. Peak gates are scheduled to open at 10am, however may close depending on the coming weather. The surface is difficult to see and cracks are opening everywhere; beware of falling into them. Avalanches occur when the conditions allow and are not necessarily dependent on the amount of snowfall. Avalanches are natural phenomena that only becomes a problem is a person is involved in it. A winter-mountain will never be 100% safe.
According to the snowfall transition, observations and data evaluation, the slabs are stabilizing, however slides are still to be highly expected in slopes with cornices and knolls in Kozannosawa (Backbowl), Osawa (Annupuri bowl), Mikaeri area (Moiwa bowl) and Higashione. Better not stimulate suspicious slopes and/or stop at the bottom of the valleys. Ask the ski patrol for advice and use gates to step out of bounds. Be safe, enjoy and have a nice day.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Sunday 24th February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1253cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 84 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 274cm reported on 20 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.