Niseko Now: Sunday 3rd January 2016
- Jan 3, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 318cm
Posted on Sunday 3rd January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Sorry, I don't have that 20cm to report to you, as it's another modest delivery of 5cm this morning since my last report.
Still, 5cm is better than 0cm. And Hokkaido regions do seem to be doing considerably better than many regions of Honshu this winter so far. It doesn't make me happy to hear of other regions struggling with snow - we all know what it's like and the more snow the better in all Japan if you ask me. Here's hoping that we all get our fair share for the remainder of the (long) season!
Anyway back to the details. Yesterday felt a bit odd in some ways. At times it was snowing quite heavily though it remained relatively mild and so the snow falling was not top quality and somewhat wetter than we are used to.
There are no major wind issues this morning affecting lifts with them all moving as planned early on.
It's currently cloudy and overcast with the earlier snow now eased off, and it might just end up being a generally cloudy day and not too cold again. Having said that, it should stay just below zero through the day.
We are expecting the snow to return overnight tonight and the forecast still has snow at times every day through until at least the end of the week.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -3℃, no snowfall and calm. Moiwa 800m: -5℃, W8m/s, no snowfall and light development of wind snowdrifts. 1000m: W10m/s, Annupuri 1150m: W12m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW12m/s, Kamui cape W11m/s, 1012hPa, 2.2m waves.
Although no snow-clouds can be observed over the Sea of Japan, a moderate westerly wind is persisting in higher elevation. New snowfall is almost non-existent, but the wind has moderately reset the slopes around 800m. Sasa-bamboo and bushes are still thick below 500m, making route finding difficult. Gates 4, 5, 6 and 10 will open. Gate 11, Mizuno no sawa, is scheduled to open tomorrow. Please follow the patrol’s instructions.
Do not enter strictly off-limits areas (Haru no taki & Yu no sawa) to seek fresh tracks or duck any ropes to step out of bounds. The freedom to ride the out of bounds area in Niseko can only be maintained by having everyone respect the Rules.
There’s been many reports of inbounds collision injuries. Always keep an eye around you and ride within your limits. Your safety is our number one concern. Have a nice day.
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Official resort snow depths as of Sunday 3rd January 2016:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 240cm
Base - 100cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 185cm
Base - 100cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 130cm
Base - 100cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Sunday 3rd January 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 318cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (26th and 28th December) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 days January 2016 snowfall 13cm 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.