Niseko Now: Saturday 24th January 2015
- Jan 24, 2015
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 785cm
Posted on Saturday 24th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
So, something of a limited day yesterday. As of mid afternoon the other two lifts at Hanazono closed up for the day, with Annupuri looking like it was closed all day. The Hirafu Gondola closed mid morning and a few lifts were moving at reduced speed. Proceedings were generally limited to lower and central areas. I didn't get out myself, opting instead for a visit to Otaru to the north of the Niseko region. Recommended.
Anyway, on to today and the start of another weekend. They come round quick don't they. There's a lot of people around early on this morning, as you might expect.
Wind of course affected a lot of things yesterday, including the snow so it's another day when putting one number on it is difficult. Lots of drifts around this morning but I'm going to log 10-15cm as the new snowfall for the day in my report but expect double that in higher areas.
Conditions are somewhat calmer this morning. Snow is falling as I am writing this and it's expected to ease off sometime later on today, maybe tonight and tomorrow is forecast to bring us some sun action. We're expecting a relatively mild few days with temperatures even threatening to bust through into low positive numbers.
Beyond tomorrow, snow clouds due to move over the region again from Tuesday onwards.
In the meantime have a fun and safe weekend.
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Resort specific news at time of writing - subject to change during the day
Niseko Grand Hirafu:
Looks set to open as planned this morning.
'Early Morning' lift available daily until 1st February (for 500 yen, Ace Quad Number 2 lift from 8am until 8:20am).
Niseko Hanazono:
Looks set to open as planned this morning.
Niseko Village:
Niseko Gondola and top Wonderland chair on hold at the start of the day due to weather conditions.
'Early Morning Gondola' available Saturdays and Sundays until February 8th (for 1300 yen, Gondola open from 7:30am until 8:30am).
Niseko Annupuri:
Looks set to open as planned this morning.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -3C, 10cm of crystal snow in 12 hours. Moiwa 800m: WNW5m/s, 20cm snowfall, 50cm snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: N10m/s, -8C, development of dense snowdrifts. Hirafu 1150m: N15m/s, -12C, development of snowdrifts. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW14m/s, Kamui cape ENE3m/s, 1019hPa, 1.9m waves.
The slabs under 800m altitude are stabilizing and a 10cm layer of new, less wind-affected snow is blanketing on top. The soft-slab formed until the night are likely to fail at 45cm depth and would slide easily with riding stimulation in steep slopes. The stabilization of the slabs above 1200m is delayed and the avalanche risk in Osawa cornice slopes, Backbowl and Higashi-One cornice slopes remains high. The peak gates’ opening is still undecided. Please respect the ski patrol’s decision. Better not stimulate knolls and snowdrifts. Avalanche hazard is also very high in gullies above 1200m in Mt. Yotei. Better stick on ridges and treeruns. There is no 100% safety in the mountains. Always remain prudent. The snow in the trees is in excellent shape.
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Official snow depth numbers and any notes at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 350cm
Base - 145cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 270cm
Base - 180cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 250cm
Base - 180cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Saturday 24th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 785cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 49 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th and 26th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 519cm reported on 25 days January 2015 snowfall 236cm 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.