Niseko Now: Friday 2nd February 2018
- Feb 2, 2018
- 7 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 912cm
Posted on Friday 2nd February 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
There is no fresh snow to report this morning. Boo!
But, it is extremely cold and we have beautiful blue skies early on. Hurray!
Beautiful.
I love mornings like this. Not only does it make my report easier, but I love enjoying the scenery as well as the snow. We don't get too many days like this, so it's good to get out and enjoy them when we do.
Fresh snow is not far away and should be back falling by the end of tomorrow.
I feel confident that everywhere should be opening as normal this morning so an early report, but here is something that I prepared yesterday...
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A look back at the season so far: January 2018
It is once again time for me to look back at the season so far and see how Niseko has been doing. And as always before I start, I would like to remind you that all the numbers from my reports are available at any time on each of the archived Niseko Now reports. They are linked below ? and all data relative to the particular report. You can also click on that big blue ‘Snowfall Analysis’ tab at the top of this page for some highly interesting data and graphs that you can play around with. There’s a lot of information to take it in so make some coffee, prepare some oishii toast and let’s playing.
Anyway... January 2018.
Here’s the snowfall that I have measured myself here near the base of Niseko Grand Hirafu over the last six seasons over the month of January:
January 2018: 305cm
January 2017: 152cm
January 2016: 303cm
January 2015: 257cm
January 2014: 461cm
January 2013: 443cm
So I observed just over 3m of snowfall at base in January 2018. Not bad at all. That is double last year (which was a bit rubbish) and about on par with other recent years.
Looking beyond the number for the month, it is worth pointing out that over half of that 3m was reported over the last 7 reports of the month. And if you check back to my report from 21st January, up until that report I had observed just 118cm of snowfall for the month.
After a rather disappointing start to the month in terms of how much fresh snow we got, we did get fairly regular snowfall over those first three weeks.
And there were only five reports/days during the month of January when I was unable to report any new cm of fresh snow. Which points to nice consistent snowfall.
But until that last week of January, they were fairly low numbers being reported and I was only able to report more than 10cm of fresh snowfall on two days.
For the full picture and a read on the emotions through the month, please read through the archived reports.
Some more numbers...
Observed snowfall at base for the season up until the end of January:
17/18 season total up until the end of January 2018: 899cm
16/17 season total up until the end of January 2017: 445cm (about 65% of the season total)
15/16 season total up until the end of January 2016: 611cm (about 62% of the season total)
14/15 season total up until the end of January 2015: 806cm (about 70% of the season total)
13/14 season total up until the end of January 2014: 859cm (about 74% of the season total)
12/13 season total up until the end of January 2013: 979cm (about 66% of the season total)
Those numbers are looking good too - 9m. Take that, most other ski resorts!
899cm is slightly over double the amount of observed snowfall reported by the same point last season - certainly not the best yardstick to compare to - and more than the most recent four seasons, which I think is a more meaningful comparison.
I would say that January has been good - especially this last week - though not quite as lofty as that extremely consistent first chunk of the season.
And as you can see, up until the end of January, we have usually observed between 62% and 74% of the total observed snowfall for the entire season. At base. That averages out at about 67%.
What to expect from the month of February
Here’s how much snowfall I have recorded in the month of February over the last 5 seasons. The numbers in brackets show the total snowfall observed up until the end of February in each season.
February 2017: 160cm (605cm)
February 2016: 266cm (877cm)
February 2015: 196cm (1002cm)
February 2014: 178cm (1037cm)
February 2013: 316cm (1295 cm)
So, over the last five seasons in February I have observed between 160cm and 316cm of snowfall.
I found it interesting to be reminded that February last year was pretty good.
Let me once again stress that my observed snowfall numbers are from base area and you can expect there to be anywhere between 25-50% more than that up on the mountain. Ask 10 different locals and they’ll probably give you a differing opinion on that. I find that folk who have something to sell usually trend towards the larger numbers! ;)
Bottom line: more snow higher up, as you might reasonably expect.
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Finally, here is the data that the Japan Meteorological Agency report from their observation station in Kutchan town:
January 2018: 259cm
January 2017: 160cm
January 2016: 258cm
January 2015: 230cm
January 2014: 317cm
January 2013: 268cm
17/18 season total up until the end of January 2017: 752cm
16/17 season total up until the end of January 2016: 568cm
15/16 season total up until the end of January 2015: 488cm
14/15 season total up until the end of January 2014: 658cm
13/14 season total up until the end of January 2013: 674cm
12/13 season total up until the end of January 2012: 672cm
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Here's to a very snowy February.
The Chinese New Year holidays are coming up. Niseko will be busy. Regular fresh snowfall required. Fingers crossed we get it.
Someone sent in a very kind “thank you” message a few days ago. They said that now they have returned home after visiting Niseko, they are done with the Niseko Now reports until next year. Naughty!! I’ll be with you every day right through until the last lifts stop in early May, so you jolly well need to be checking my reports every day without fail. OK?
Arigato!
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 5am: -14℃, no snowfall, calm. Moiwa800m: -17.5℃, light breeze, no snowfall. Annupuri1150m: mild breeze, -12℃, no snowfall. Hirafu1250m: mild wind, -16℃, no snowfall. Coastal data: Benkei cape no wind, Kamui cape: S5m/s, 1029hPa, 0.9m waves.
The winter pressure pattern has passed, isobars are spread out, the mountains and the seas are in a calm condition. No new snow has fallen and the slopes are mostly tracked out. The overall avalanche risk is low and all gates are expected to open from the morning. Be well prepared for the backcountry, anybody can step out of the gates, however carelessly following other people’s track could make you astray or end up in a dangerous situation.
South facing strictly off-limits areas such as Haru no Taki zone is being affected by the sun and dangerous slabs are drastically forming. Riding stimulations could trigger a large slide. Strictly off-limits areas are closed for good reasons. Please respect the boundaries.
The large temperature difference during the day will form a notable surface hoar layer, leading Feb 1st-2nd layer become a weak layer in the future snowpack. Surface slab slides from Jan 25th layer are still to be expected in highly wind-loaded steep slopes above 1200m. Better avoid concave terrains in Chisenupuri and Mt Yotei.
The snow is still deep, but a little denser, good conditions continues. Beware of sudden weather changes. Have a nice day.
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Friday 2nd 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: 450cm
- Base: 220cm
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts should be operating
Official snow depth:
- Top: 360cm
- Base: 250cm
Niseko Village
Lifts scheduled to be operating:
- All lifts apart from the Country Road Chair lift should be operating
- 'Early Gondola' service from 7:30am until 8:30am (Niseko Gondola) - on February 3rd-4th. 1,400 yen special ticket required.
Official snow depth:
- Top: 360cm
- Base: 240cm
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Saturday 2nd February 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 912cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 65 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 13cm reported on 1 day |
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.