Niseko Now: Thursday 24th January 2019
- Jan 24, 2019
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 25cm
Snowfall at base this season 669cm
Posted on Thursday 24th January 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's a wild one and I am going to keep it short.
25cm of fresh snowfall. Blizzard conditions. Poor visibility.
Loads of lifts affected with just base lifts opening at the start of the day (with the base lift at Hanazono also closed)... resort specific details adjusted below.
Extra care is needed if you are venturing out - whether it is onto the slopes or just walking around by, or driving on, the roads.
Perhaps these conditions will be appealing to some folk who are much more gnarly than yours truly, but I am definitely going to be sitting this one out.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Mountain Base 6.00am: -6.5°, 25cm new snow in last 12 hrs, blizzard conditions. Moiwa 800m: -8.9°, W10.3m/s, cornice and snowdrift development. Mikaeri Weather Station: NW15m/s, forest road groomed. Hirafu Peak: -12°, snow wind and bad visibility. Kutchan Weather Station: -4.4°, snow depth 156cm. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NNW22m/s. Kamui Cape: WSW20m/s, 1000hPa, wave 4.0m.
There is a steep atmospheric pressure gradient bringing a strong northerly snow wind into Niseko. Snowdrifts are rapidly growing and cornices are easily fracturing on Jan 23rd (low pressure snowfall) layer. Avalanche risk is extremely high. Peak gates will be closed. There is possibility of a natural large scale avalanche from cornice collapse. Do not spend any time in the valley bottoms. Please be cautious on all nearby mountains. The snow in the trees is a little heavy but good. Do not duck ropes. Inexperienced riders following just one set of tracks can lead to an accident. Disregarding Niseko Rules can come back to bite you. Take care on the roads, even the valley is experiencing blizzard conditions today.
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Ski resort operation information: Thursday 24th January 2019
Subject to change due to weather conditions
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 310cm
- Base: 150cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Just the base Ace Family quad, Ace pair, Holiday pair and King pair lifts operating at the start of the day
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 230cm
- Base: 183cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts closed due to current weather conditions
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 265cm
- Base: 140cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Just the Dream Number 1 quad lift operating at the start of the day
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 280cm
- Base: 150cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Just the Upper Village Gondola, Village Express, Community, Banzai and Morino Chair operating at the start of the day
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Thursday 24th January 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 669cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 55 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (29th December) November 2018 snowfall 84cm reported on 8 days December 2018 snowfall 333cm reported on 26 days January 2019 snowfall 252cm reported on 21 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.