Niseko Now: Saturday 5th January 2019
- Jan 5, 2019
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 13cm
Snowfall at base this season 468cm
Posted on Saturday 5th January 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Some nice blue skies amongst the clouds in the afternoon yesterday, but overnight the snow clouds came back and there's a fresh 13cm on the ground early on. That should translate into 20+cm out on the mountain so it should be a fairly decent reset.
It is cloudy now as that earlier snow has eased off and the clouds even look rather thin in places.
Still, regular snowfall is lined up on the forecast through into the middle of the coming week.
Nice.
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I have used all my cunning and guile to hunt out information about the Niseko Grand Hirafu 'Early Morning' operations. Hurray!
And here they are:
- Daily from Monday 7th January until Thursday 31st January 2019
- The Ace Number 2 quad lift (Center Four) will operate from 8:00am until 8:20am
- The following courses will be available: Super, Furiko, Green, Alpen, Sennoki
- 500 yen tickets can be bought from the .Base lift ticket booth
Normal lift tickets - including season lift tickets - are not valid, so everyone needs to hand over 500 yen to use this 'premium' service. I have my thoughts on that, especially for a 20 minute service (how many times are people going to ride the lift in 20 minutes?), but it is what it is.
Let's premium!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -5.5℃, 15cm snowfall in 12 hours, snowing. Moiwa 800m: -8.9℃, W10-15m/s, light storm and soft-slabs developing. Annupuri 1120m: 175cm snow depth. Hirafu peak: -9℃, NW15m/s, 20cm snowdrifts. Coastal data Benkei cape: NNW12m/s, Kamui cape: W11m/s, 1011hPa, 2.0m waves. Kutchan Town: 134cm snow depth.
Snowfall started from pre-dawn due to passing low-pressure system. Westerly wind has picked up above 800m elevation, making the cornices and snowdrifts develop up to 30-40cm. The avalanche hazard will rise in south facing slopes above 1000m such as Backbowl’s and Osawa’s steep walls. Potential sliding layer is Jan 4-5th low-pressure system snowfall or Dec 27th depth hoar layer. Many of the avalanche accidents occur in leeward steep slopes, knolls and cornice slopes under stormy weather. Gates’ opening is undetermined. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions.
Niseko is a resort and many people gather here. The Niseko Rules are official Rules for preventing accidents in the out of bounds area. And according to the Niseko mayor, Prime Minister Abe and the director general of the forestry agency have validated it. Every person using the Niseko resort facility has to follow those Rules.
The wind has been relatively moderate this season and the snow is building up in different aspects than the average seasons. Avalanches occur as the snowdrifts’ slabs collapses. Be prudent in white-out conditions. Have you turned your beacon on? Have a nice day.
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Ski resort operation information: Saturday 5th January 2019
The below information is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report. Subject to change!
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 260cm
- Base: 140cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts apart are normally operating
- 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
- The Center Four lift will be open from 8:00am until 8:20am between 7th-31st January 2019; a special ticket is required
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 198cm
- Base: 160cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All Hanazono lifts are normally operating
- The Hanazono lifts are normally open until 3:50pm (Number 3 until 3:30pm)
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Courses:
- All official courses are now available
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 240cm
- Base: 130cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All Annupuri lifts are normally operating
- The Jumbo 1 lift is normally open until 8:30pm during the evening
- Annupuri First run from 7:20am until 8:20am on 12th, 13th, 14th January. (1,500 yen charge)
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 240cm
- Base: 130cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts apart from the Country Road Chair are normally operating
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair lifts are normally open until 8:00pm during the evening
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Saturday 5th January 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 468cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 39 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 51cm reported on 5 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.