Niseko Now: Tuesday 27th February 2018
- Feb 27, 2018
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 1195cm
Posted on Tuesday 27th February 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Sunshine and blue skies! Yes, it's a clear and sunny morning here. Just a bit of thin high cloud in places. A beauty.
We haven't had much of this kind of weather of late and so I'm sure there will be lots of people out to take advantage of it. Myself included!
It would be perfect if we had a deep layer of overnight snow, but alas I have just a few cm to report this morning.
All lifts should be moving and gates are expected to be open. It is colder this morning and feels it so get wrapped up and enjoy.
Next decent snowfall due around Thursday if the forecasts are correct.
---
Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 5.00am: -11°, slight snow from dawn, light surface hoar frost. Moiwa 800m: -9.7°, NE1.1m/s, trace new snow, no cornice or snowdrift development. Annupuri 1150m: -13°, light southerly winds, trace new snow. Snowpack 1000m: 430cm. Hirafu 1250m: -13°, trace new snow, light wind. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NNW9m/s. Kamui Cape: E4m/s, 1023hPa, wave 0.7m.
The isobars are spaced widely apart and weather is calm. There is no notable snow drift development and from observation the general avalanche risk is low. At 800m impact test the snow pack is fracturing on Feb 23rd layer at 60cm down. This layer is light pre low pressure snow and has changed to a frost layer. Above 1000m take care around snowdrifts, cornice slopes and knolls. Snow conditions have changed since yesterday but you can still find deep snow if you look. Be careful of cracks, falling into creeks, hitting trees. Peak gates are expected to be open. Please listen to the patrols advice and prepare before going out of bounds.
Many people are following the trails in valley bottoms. To help prevent an accident I ask people to avoid doing this because the risk of a large full depth avalanche is increasing daily. Do not strictly off limits area Haru no Taki. The current snow surface (26-28Feb) together with inconsistency's from the next storm is likely to be come an avalanche generation layer in the future. Have a good day.
---
Tuesday 27th February 2018
Resort specific information (operations subject to change):
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts (apart from King Number 2) should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 525cm
- Base: 260cm
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 420cm
- Base: 250cm
Niseko Village
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts (apart from the Country Road Chair lift) should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 420cm
- Base: 280cm
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Tuesday 27th February 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 1195cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 87 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (31st December) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 406cm reported on 27 days January 2018 snowfall 305cm reported on 26 days February 2018 snowfall 296cm 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.