Niseko Now: Thursday 31st January 2019
- Jan 31, 2019
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 11cm
Snowfall at base this season 702cm
Posted on Thursday 31st January 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Back to snow!
And on this last report of January I bring you news of 11cm of fresh snowfall at base up until 8am, bringing us up to a total of 285cm for the month and 702cm for the season so far - as observed by me. (More on that on Monday).
Unfortunately wind is going to be an issue again today. At the start of the day all top lifts will be on hold as well as the gondolas at Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri. Others may also be affected so be aware of that.
Sunday is looking likely to be unseasonably warm throughout Japan, though that still means that up here temps won't get much above zero. Hopefully. I'm going to put my neck out there and confidently say that it will almost definitely be colder than Australia.
Hopefully we'll get more snow building up before that warmer bit.
So tomorrow is February and the next big event in the season is the Chinese New Year holiday period that will soon be with us, so Niseko will continue to be busy-busy. Things start getting less frantic once we get into March but let's not wish away the days.
Have a good one and see you tomorrow.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Mountain Base 6.00am: -7°, 10cm new snow in the last 12 hrs. Moiwa 800m: -9.1°, W15m/s, 15cm new snow in the last 12 hrs, cornice and snowdrift development. Mikaeri Weather Station: NW18m/s, major snowdrift development, blizzard, poor visibility. Annupuri 1120m: snow depth 200cm, 1000m: -11°, N15m/s, blizzard, poor visibility. Hirafu Peak: -12°, Northerly wind 18m/s, blizzard, poor visibility. Kutchan Weather Station: -5.1°, snow depth 156cm, WNW19m/s(3:12am). Suttsu Weather Station: -2.3°, NW18.5m/s(5:30am), snow depth 43cm. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:NNW19m/s. Kamui Cape: WNW12m/s, pressure 1007hPa,wave 2.5m.
We have strengthening high pressure west/low pressure east weather system bringing blizzard conditions at all levels including the mountain base. Above 800m snowdrifts are are rapidly developing on leeward slopes. From tests, the Jan 30th granular layer is fracturing at 40cm depth with the structurally unstable growth to continue. All peak gates will be closed. Do not duck ropes to go out of bounds.
Surface avalanches easily occur during and right after blizzards. The avalanche risk is High at 900m SE facing slopes (below treeline) with todays heavy snowfall. Be careful Chisei/ Nitto puri. Snow is reset and good in the trees. Have a safe day.
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Ski resort operation information: Thursday 31st January 2019
Subject to change due to weather conditions
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 320cm
- Base: 125cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Top lifts on hold at the start of the day
- The Ace Family quad (until 8:30pm), Ace Center 4 quad (8:20pm), Hirafu Gondola (until 8:10pm) and Holiday Number 1 pair (until 8:30pm) lifts are normally open during the evening
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 220cm
- Base: 180cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Top lift on hold at the start of the day
- The Hanazono lifts are normally open until 3:50pm (Number 3 until 3:30pm)
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 290cm
- Base: 150cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Top lift and Gondola on hold at the start of the day
- The Jumbo 1 lift is normally open until 8:30pm during the evening
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 290cm
- Base: 150cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Top lift and Gondola on hold at the start of the day
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair lifts are normally open until 8:00pm during the evening
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Night time operations are available in the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri resort areas. There is no nighta at the Niseko HANAZONO resort area.
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Thursday 31st January 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 702cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 59 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (29th December) November 2018 snowfall 84cm reported on 8 days December 2018 snowfall 333cm reported on 26 days January 2019 snowfall 285cm reported on 25 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.