Niseko Now: Tuesday 24th January 2023
- Jan 24, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 585cm
Posted on Tuesday 24th January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
A good 20cm or so of beautiful snow this cold morning, and it's coming down at quite the rate as I write this. There's no question that the snow should be great this morning.
There's other stuff going on though. Visibility just at the moment looks limited, in some places at least, and it appears that wind is going to be affecting lifts from the start of the day.
As of 8:30am, a few lifts are not opening as planned, including the gondola at Annupuri. Possibly just delays.
Snowfall should continue and wind is going to get stronger. Expect possible disruptions over the next few days.
And if you are venturing out in all this, take extra care.
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Just one more (last) note to add to what I said yesterday.
An example. It snows 3cm in the morning, after I have posted my report. It stops snowing. By the time I write my report the following morning, that 3cm of snow has disappeared from my measuring point. But that 3cm will still be reported. (Because it existed, right?).
I am indeed a bit nerdy about these things, but that is due to my doing these reports every morning and I always want my information to be correct/accurate. But there are so many important and beautiful things in life to enjoy, like toast, and other things to deal with. This kind of thing is hardly top of the list of things to worry about.
Let's just enjoying, I say. We got it very good. :)
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -8C, 20cm snowfall from pre-dawn and poor visibility. Moiwa 800m: -11.8C, WNW15.2m/s, stormy. Annupuri 1100m -14.7C, NW10.6m/s. Mizuno no Sawa: -13.0C, N11.4m/s. Hirafu Hanazono: -14.4C, NNE8.5m/s. Hanazono#3: -11.8C, N7.3m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape N13m/s, Kamui cape NNW12m/s, 1007hPa, 2.9m waves.
The atmospheric pressure gradient steepened after 2am, resulting in stormy conditions at the coast and the mountains. Snowdrifts have largely developed. The snowpack at Moiwa 800m this morning broke at 60cm depth from Jan 23rd low-pressure snowfall layer. No matter the presence of a notable weak layer, new soft-slabs formed in leeward knolls and steep slopes are highly likely to slide. The avalanche risk is very high today in all aspects and altitude. Do not attempt dropping into out of bounds steep slopes whether the chairlifts/gondola may start running or not. This information is issued for the sake of all resort users. Pay attention to the weather and snowfall transition. The snow in the treeruns is not bad but visibility is low, beware of hitting trees. Stay away from gully bottoms. Have you switched your beacon on? Today’s condition is completely different from yesterday’s. Have a nice day.
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Ski area information for Tuesday 24th January 2023
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day, weather permitting.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
** WIND AFFECTING LIFTS THIS MORNING **
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 25cm
- Base: 25cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 310cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 16cm
- Base: 16cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 240cm (+1cm change since yesterday)
- Base: 187cm (-2cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 185cm (+15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 160cm (+10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open until 7:30pm for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair [* normally open on weekends and holidays]
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 170cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
- Base: 155cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Wonderland Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Tuesday 24th January 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 585cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 52 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (2nd and 16th January) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 336cm reported on 27 days January 2023 snowfall 232cm 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.