Niseko Now: Monday 4th March 2024
- Mar 4, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 835cm
Posted on Monday 4th March 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I just measured slightly under 10cm of lovely fresh snow and it is still coming. Visibility seems fairly decent considering it is snowing, in lower areas anyway.
I feel the weekly forecast has less snow on it than it was showing yesterday, but there's still some regular light snow expected across the coming days.
There's not much else to comment on this morning. Lifts should be open as planned, though gates are unconfirmed, but it should be a good morning.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -8℃, calm. Moiwa 800m: -10.0℃, NW15m/s, 10cm snowfall with snowdrifts developments. Mikaeri 764m: -9 ℃, WNW8.1m/s, 15cm snowfall and snowdrifts accumulating. Annupuri 1100m: -13.6℃, WNW10.4m/s. Village 1000m: -12.1℃, WNW6.5/s. Hirafu Hanazono: -12.9℃, NNW3.8, 20cm snowfall. Hanazono 800m: -10.1℃, SSE0m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW15m/s (20m/s@3am), Kamui cape W13m/s, 1012hPa, 1.5m waves.
Snowdrifts are slowly accumulating in the western side of the mountain thanks to the weak wintery pressure distribution. The snow is good and will keep falling. The overall avalanche risk is low today, except for the Backbowl (Kozan no Sawa) sidewall slopes at 1000m and the O-sawa (Annupuri bowl) cornice slopes at 1000m. The gates opening is undetermined. Please respect the ski patrol’s decision. This information is not a gate opening/closing report. There are many people on this mountain and nobody should justify themselves breaking the Rules with their selfish arguments. Do not drop into the same slope at the same time, do not traverse knolls or under cornices, do not stay put at the bottom of a slope. There is no guaranteed safety in the winter mountains. We will mention it again; the area outside the gates is not a ski resort anymore. Please be considerate to others. Is your beacon switched on?
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Individual ski area information for Monday 4th March 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 320cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from King Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad (normal operations)
- The Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four), Hirafu Gondola and Holiday Number 1 pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 255cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 175cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Hanazono Symphony Gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 225cm (-11cm since yesterday)
- Base: 137cm (-3cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from Country Road
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Monday 4th March 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 835cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 82 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (8th January) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 298cm reported on 24 days February 2024 snowfall 144cm reported on 20 days March 2024 snowfall 26cm 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.