Niseko Now: Friday 3rd January 2014
- Jan 3, 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 438cm
Posted on Friday 3rd January 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another 15cm of new snowfall to log into the records this morning at base here in Hirafu and it is still snowing.
Yesterday it was mostly about the wind again. Niseko Village stopped the Gondola just after noon, the Hanazono Number 2 lift joined the Number 3, and the Ace 3 and Swinging Monkey lifts at Hirafu also ground to a halt early afternoon. If there's one thing I could change about Niseko, it would be the wind.
Anyway! The very good news, apart from the continued snowfall, is that this morning it is much less windy it seems that all of the resort areas should be open as normal early on.
There'll be some excellent conditions to score this morning.
Snowfall is forecast to continue continuing into the weekend. Don't count on seeing the sun!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -5C, 15cm of new snow. Moiwa 800m: -7C, 20cm of new snow, NW10m/s, large development of snowdrifts and cornices. Annupuri 1000m: -8C, 15cm of fresh on piste, large development of snowdrifts and cornices. Hirafu 1000m: -7C, 10cm of fresh on piste, large development of snowdrifts and cornices. Annupuri peak 1308m: W12m/s, -12.2C, the wind is calming down. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW12m/s, Kamui cape W10m/s, 2.5m waves, 1012hPa. Westerly 20m/s wind has been persisting all night on the sea of Japan.
The wind calmed down early morning and the snowdrifts and cornices are just starting to stabilize. The avalanche risk remains high in 1000m altitude out of bounds national & regional forest areas. Cornice slopes and steeps of the Backbowl, Osawa (Annupuri bowl) and Higashi-One are still very unstable. These slopes should be avoided today even if the gates open. The whole snowdrift slab above Jan 1st layer could let go and induce a large-scale surface slab avalanche. Gates opening is still being discussed; please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Do not duck ropes to step out of bounds. One track left under the rope would lead many others to do the same and increase the probability of accidents. We strongly recommend carrying safety gears when stepping out of bounds. Be ready and vigilant. The snow in the trees is good.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 275cm
Base - 110cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 190cm
Base - 130cm
Annupuri:
Top - 150cm
Base - 130cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Friday 3rd January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 438cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 34 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 40cm reported on 3 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.