Niseko Now: Wednesday 5th March 2014
- Mar 5, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 1064cm
Posted on Wednesday 5th March 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Yesterday was actually really good out there on the snow, very nice conditions were to be found.
Today should be better. It was snowing hard at times yesterday, really coming down in the evening, and this morning there's another 10-15cm to report.
It's not as cold actually as it has been and just around -3 degrees now and snow is forecast on and off for the day. Should be colder from tomorrow and snow is lined up on the forecast every day right through into next week.
Nice!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -5C, 25cm of low pressure generated crystal snow in the past 12 hours. Moiwa 800m: calm wind, -6C, 25cm of fresh, light development of snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: SW5m/s, -6C, 25cm of fresh, white-out, snowpack 315cm. Peak 1308m: S3.1m/s, -8.2℃. Hirafu 1000m: -6C, 20cm of fresh, white-out. Coastal data: cape Benkei SSW2m/s, cape Kamui SSW3m/s, 0.6m waves, 1016hPa.
March 3-4th slab has stabilized and the avalanche risk in predominant slopes is low. The snow in the trees has been reset and in good shape. Today’s snow is of a passing low-pressure system and could trigger soft-slab avalanche in steep slopes. Caution is still required. Thick fog is present above 1000m due to air-mass transposition; visibility is very bad. Peak gates opening is yet to be determined, please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Do not duck ropes. Better not stimulate knolls and cornices, especially in poor visibility. Beware of falling into cracks; they are hardly visible from above. The wind will pick up as the visibility turns better. Beware of sudden weather changes. Collapsing cornice hazard is persisting above 800m. Have a nice, long waited powder day.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 390cm
Base - 190cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 350cm
Base - 200cm
Annupuri:
Top - 380cm
Base - 200cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Wednesday 5th March 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 1064cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 83 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (14th January) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 275cm reported on 22 days January 2014 snowfall 461cm reported on 29 days February 2014 snowfall 178cm reported on 20 days March 2014 snowfall 27cm 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.