Niseko Now: Thursday 26th January 2017
- Jan 26, 2017
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 11cm
Snowfall at base this season 418cm
Posted on Thursday 26th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning to you all. The days keep on rolling on don't they - not much more of January left! Yikes.
Anyway, I have more fresh snow to report this morning. Another 11cm down here by Hirafu base since yesterday morning.
Some forecasts are promising us some blizzard like conditions to move in over the region starting tomorrow - strong winds ahoy - and into the weekend with some oddly mild temperatures mixed up in there as well. I have looked at four different forecasts and each tells a slightly different story. I'm no weather forecaster of course (I'm sure you can tell!), so will let you take a look if you like and we will just have to sit tight and see what happens and how much snow this particular storm brings us. A good Niseko-like end to the month would be great.
In the meantime we can probably expect generally cloudy conditions for the day today with the snow starting to fall and winds picking up overnight.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -5℃, 10cm new snow. Moiwa800m: -10.3℃, NW1.3m/s, 15cm snowfall, 20cm snowdrifts in east aspects. Annupuri 1150m: -13℃, NW10m/s, 20cm snowfall. Hirafu 1250m: -11℃, NW5m/s, 20cm snowfall. Kamui cape lighthouse: WSW7m/s, 1021hPa, 1.3m waves.
The isobars are spread out and the weather is generally calm, however a moderate westerly wind is blowing above 1000m. Although the overall snowfall is small, eastfacing slopes above 800m are mostly reset with 30cm of soft slabs. According to observations and snowfall transitions, a shallow surface slab slide from Jan 25th layer is to be expected in high elevation leeward slopes such as Higashi-One Cornice slopes and Backbowl sidewalls. There was a fatal accident in similar conditions in the past, where a skier jumped off a cornice, triggered an avalanche and injured his head to death.
The general avalanche risk is low. All gates are expected to open from the morning. Although many tracks are present, the snow quality remains good thanks to low temperature. Do not duck ropes, one track under the rope would lead many to do the same and eventually raise the chances of an accident. Niseko community respects the freedom to ski out of bounds, but is also concerned about all guests’ safety. Ignoring or interpreting the Rules selfishly is nothing but a menace to the today’s gate system. Have a nice day.
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Official resort snow depths as of Thursday 26th January 2017:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 290cm
Base - 110cm
Niseko Village
Top - 220cm
Base - 130cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 235cm
Base - 135cm
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Night skiing is planned until Monday 20th March 2017 at the Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village resort areas. There is no nighta in the Hanazono area.
Niseko Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Thursday 26th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 418cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 52 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (16th December) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 181cm reported on 22 days January 2017 snowfall 127cm reported on 16 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.