Niseko Now: Saturday 26th February 2022
- Feb 26, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 1042cm
Posted on Saturday 26th February 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's a beautiful morning in the region. Hardly any cloud at all over towards Mt Yotei, just a little around the side of the mountain, and some around our mountains. Perhaps they will clear as the morning progresses.
The snow in my report is left overs from after my report yesterday.
It clearly feels milder this morning and is currently -2C at base. We are expecting that to rise though and maybe even up to around +5C during the day. That's toasty! Tomorrow should be less toasty.
It's the weekend again and so the Holiday Number 1 pair at Niseko Grand Hirafu and the Jumbo Number 3 pair at Niseko Annupuri are also up and running.
All lifts appear to be opening as planned at the start of the day.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -6℃, no new snow, sunny. Moiwa 800m: -4.2℃, SW1.4m/s, no new snow, good visibility, sunny. Annupuri 1150m: -7.4℃, WSW8.1m/s, no new snow, cloud speed fast. Hirafu Peak: -6℃, W8m/s. Hirafu 1000m: -6.9℃, S8.4m/s, no new snow, good visibility. Coastal data- Benkei cape: WSW7m/s, Kamui cape: SW19m/s, 1009hPa, 1.5m waves.
The snow has stopped and the sun is out. Light winds at the mountain base however above 1000m a strong WSW wind is blowing. New cornice development in this wind will easily collapse, take care. No new snow overnight, from observation and data the general avalanche risk is low. On high elevation wind effected slopes like the upper Kozan no Sawa sidewall, a hard crust has developed and if stimulated a flying carpet type avalanche could easily occur. Be careful. Peak gates are expected to be open. Please listen to the patrols advice and prepare before exiting the gates. Yesterday's tracks can still be seen off the groomers, but the snow is still good. Entry to Haru no Taki and Yu no Sawa is strictly prohibited. The sun and rising temperatures today and tomorrow on these south facing slopes will increase the risk of a large scale avalanches. Please respect Niseko Rules. Groomers are epic today. Be careful crashing and hitting something. To help avoid a fatal accident, wear a helmet and use a beacon. We are sick of the new snow for a while. Enjoy the sun and have a good weekend.
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Planned ski area operations: Saturday 26th February 2022
The below snow depth and snowfall data is manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day (nature might intervene).
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 435cm (-15cm)
- Base: 230cm (-10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 5cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 365cm (+20cm)
- Base: 275cm (-12cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 2cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change)
- Base: 250cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 310cm
- Base: 250cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Saturday 26th February 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 1042cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 82 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December and 22nd February) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 307cm reported on 23 days January 2022 snowfall 325cm reported on 30 days February 2022 snowfall 325cm reported on 23 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.