Niseko Now: Sunday 31st January 2016
- Jan 31, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 608cm
Posted on Sunday 31st January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Yesterday there was more cloud at the end of the day than the beginning, but generally a very fine day yesterday weather wise with a lot of people out enjoying it as well. Come the evening and it was snowing again, just how it should be!
It looks like Grand Hirafu got their Ace Number 2 quad going eventually (about an hour late I hear), and hopefully there'll be no more problems there... looks like it is open as normal at 8:30am.
I have measured 8cm of new snowfall this morning and with the resorts reporting around 15cm up top it's a reasonable refresh so conditions early on in particular should be very good. It's another cold morning, currently -9C degrees here at base and light snow was snowing just before but has stopped now. There's even some blue sky to be seen through some breaks in the cloud, quite a lot looking back over towards Mt Yotei, and the sun is starting to break through as well.
More wind this morning than yesterday but as I write this report the lifts that should be moving are and there's no sign of disruptions to top lifts; and the peak gates are expected to be open.
So here we are at the end of January 2015. Just over 3 months to go! Sounds good that, doesn't it. Either tomorrow or Tuesday I'll look back over the statistics for January and for the season so far and look forward to what we can hope for an expect for February.
In the meantime, it's time for me to get some skiing in!
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6.00am: -8°C, crystal snow, 15cm new snow. Moiwa 800m: -10°C, N5m/s, 20cm new snow. Mikaeri 740m: -12.0°C, W2.7m/s, Annupuri 1150m: -18°C, NW15m/s, 15cm new snow. Hirafu 1000m -10°C, 15cm new snow. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:NW16m/s. Kamui Cape WNW8m/s, 1020hPa, wave 1.4m.
Above 1000m on western aspects, NW wind around 15m/s continues, cornices and snowdrifts are slowly growing. All peak gates are expected to be open. Please listen to the patrols advice. You can still see yesterdays tracks but the snow in the forest is reset. From observation and data general avalanche risk is low, however caution is always advised. There is no guaranteed safety on the mountain. Cracks are starting to form in Mizu no Sawa, they are difficult to see from above. Don't be to over confident, new ski designs allow high speeds, but trees still hurt when you hit them. Be careful of holes. Yesterday over 1000 people went through the gates to ride out of bounds and we are thankful there was no big accidents. We appreciate everyone who respects Niseko Rules and ski safely on the mountain. Have a good day.
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Official resort snow depths as of Sunday 31st January 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 320cm
Base - 140cm
Niseko Village
Top - 280cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 270cm
Base - 150cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Sunday 31st January 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 608cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 47 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 31cm (17th January) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 days January 2016 snowfall 303cm reported on 26 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.