Niseko Now: Saturday 28th March 2020
- Mar 28, 2020
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 718cm
Posted on Saturday 28th March 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
I have had my toast and a bit of a walk outside. The sun is out and it is indeed a lovely morning.
(Just be careful not to watch the news... I recommend music. And an extra piece of toast.)
Unfortunately it appears that wind is going to be an issue again at the start of the day to some degree: as of 8:30am, the Annupuri Gondola and Jumbo 4 lift are on hold.
Tomorrow will be the last day of the season for the Hanazono lifts.
Hopefully it will be calmer and we can have a full day of fine spring weather.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6am: +１°, no new snow. Moiwa 800m:NNW 327deg 13.1m/s, -2.9°. Annupuri 1100m: WNW 286deg 5.2m/s, -6.1°. Yu no Sawa 1000m: NE 41deg, 2.1m/s, -5.6°. Niseko Village 900m: NW 317deg 1.8m/s, -4.7°. Hirafu 1000m : -5.8°. Hanazono 720m:N 1deg 4.5m/s, -3.1°. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NW 12m/s. Kamui Cape: NW 8m/s, 1012hPa, wave 2.6m. Annupuri 1000m: snow depth 190cm.
There is a strong wind blowing on the ridges and the west side of the Niseko Range, however not much snow is getting moved around and there is little snow drift or cornice development. Wind on the east (Hirafu) side below 800m is more moderate. Until the pressure gradient mellows later today expect strong winds above 1000m. Peak gates 2 and 3 will be closed. Please listen to the patrols advice. The lower mountain is into spring conditions, however higher up cold air is flowing in making winter conditions again. Please be prepared if you are going into the mountains.
From 30th March gates 4,5 and 9 will be close due to Hanazono resort lift operation finishing. Gates 2 and 3 will continue to be open, but if you go down Higashi One/ Hanazono side there will be no lifts to get back. Be careful. The Avalanche Report is expecting to finish this winter at the end of March. As we get into April the risk of full depth avalanches in Osawa and Kozan no Sawa greatly increases. Try to avoid them by staying out of the valley bottoms. Have a good day.
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Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 70cm
The following lifts are closed:
- Ace Number 1 pair
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Ace Number 4 pair
- King Number 2 quad
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 185cm
- Base: 85cm
All lifts are normally operating
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 180cm
- Base: 80cm
The following lifts are closed:
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 180cm
- Base: 90cm
The following lifts are closed:
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express
- Morino Chair
- Country Road Chair
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Saturday 28th March 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 718cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 82 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 33cm (21st January) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 207cm reported on 21 days January 2020 snowfall 224cm reported on 20 days February 2020 snowfall 143cm reported on 19 days March 2020 snowfall 59cm reported on 12 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.