Niseko Now: Thursday 2nd January 2014
- Jan 2, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 15cm
Snowfall at base this season 423cm
Posted on Thursday 2nd January 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
15-20cm of fresh snow to report this morning, where I can measure it anyway. Winds are still with us.
Yesterday was something of a wild day in terms of weather conditions. It didn't start off too bad, and great snow conditions to be found, but around mid morning things got worse and we were treated to strong winds and a bit of thunder and lightning as well just to add to the drama.
The Annupuri area closed completely from just after 10am due to the weather conditions. The quad and Jumbo number 2 lifts managed to open again just before noon, only to close very soon after and that was it for the day. They did try! The Country Road and Morino Chair lifts at Niseko Village were closed just after noon, and over at Hirafu the gondola stopped around 3pm, but was able to open again just after 4pm into nighta. The Hanazono area ended up closed from around 2pm.
Unfortunately we still have strong winds to deal with and this morning the Annupuri area is closed and waiting to see if conditions improve. The other areas are open with a few lifts affected, as noted below. Subject to change during the day of course.
Snowfall and cold conditions are still on the forecast through into next week, so when the winds don't mess things up we should be looking at very fine conditions every day.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -6C, 20cm of wind-affected crushed crystal snow and notable development of snowdrifts. Moiwa 800m: NW16m/s, stormy, -10C, considerable development of snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: NW16-20m/s, -11C, considerable development of snowdrifts, hard wind-packed snow in high altitude. Heavy snow and high wind with considerable snowdrifts development in Hirafu area. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW19m/s, Kamui cape WNW19m/s, 2.4m waves, 999hPa.
A strong wintry weather pattern is generating heavy snowfall and high winds, making considerable snowdrift developments in leeward slopes. Avalanche risk is extreme today. All peak gates will be closed. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. The avalanche hazard will remain high for a little while after the storm calms down. Do not duck ropes to seek fresh lines. Do not traverse across steep slopes or slopes under cornices. Stay away from valley bottoms. Ski one by one, not all at once. Never enter strictly off-limits area. Value the Niseko Rules to protect the freedom to go out of bounds. The snow in the trees is heavy but pretty good. Have a nice day.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 270cm
Base - 110cm
King 3, King 4 and Hanazono 3 lifts not operating due to wind.
Niseko Village:
Top - 180cm
Base - 125cm
Gondola and Wonderland chair not operating due to wind.
Annupuri:
Top - 145cm
Base - 130cm
Not open at time of writing.
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Thursday 2nd January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 423cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 33 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 35cm (14th, 15th and 24th December) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 275cm reported on 22 days January 2014 snowfall 25cm reported on 2 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.