Niseko Now: Thursday 3rd March 2022
- Mar 3, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 1062cm
Posted on Thursday 3rd March 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
A little snow from early this morning. Hopefully we might get some more during the day today, and then more over the weekend.
The mild conditions have been noticeable. Alas the march of time does not stop and we have to face up to Spring at some point. But let's hold on to winter a bit longer, hey. We certainly don't have snow issues as we head towards spring and ski areas will surely be able to open as planned into May. Some regular top-ups would be fine.
I'll post my look back at February tomorrow.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -5℃, light wind and snow from 5am. Moiwa 800m: -5.5℃, SSW1.9m/s, trace new snowfall. Annupuri 1150m: -8.1℃, W4.3m/s, mild snowstorm, poor visibility. Hirafu 1250m: -9℃, poor visibility. Hirafu 1000m: -7.8℃, SSW7.4m/s, starting to snow. Coastal data- Benkei cape: S5m/s, Kamui cape: SW8m/s, 1002hPa, 0.9m waves.
Light low pressure snow began falling at dawn, above 1000m a bit stormy. The wind is expected to strengthen from the west through the day and snowdrift development to pick up. The general avalanche risk in the morning is low, however it will increase throughout the day. Gate openings are yet to be decided, please respect the patrols decisions. Soft slabs that are formed by this low pressure snowfall are prone to collapse into flow type avalanches, even in small quantities. Also cornices, like Higashi One, can easily collapse as they develop causing avalanches below. The mountain is covered in a thin layer of new snow, but depending on aspect and elevation can be just enough to hide diabolical conditions underneath. Yesterday an avalanche survey worker was injured when his binding did not release.in a fall. It's a good time to consider if you have your bindings cranked to high? Maybe 8 is enough? If gates below 1000m open, avoid traversing steep slopes and creek sidewalls. If enough people do this, someone will eventually get caught. Beware of a sudden change in weather, is your beacon switched on. Be careful of reading surface undulations in the flat light.
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Planned ski area operations: Thursday 3rd March 2022
The below snow depth and snowfall data is manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day (nature might intervene).
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 420cm (no change)
- Base: 220cm (-5cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 350cm (-5cm)
- Base: 255cm (-10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 1cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change)
- Base: 250cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 230cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Thursday 3rd March 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 1062cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 86 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December and 22nd February) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 307cm reported on 23 days January 2022 snowfall 325cm reported on 30 days February 2022 snowfall 337cm reported on 25 days March 2022 snowfall 8cm 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.