Niseko Now: Thursday 5th March 2020
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 674cm
Posted on Thursday 5th March 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
OK so this morning it is feeling pretty mild, there is some snow on the ground - I am measuring 5cm - we have windy conditions and limited visibility.
At the start of the day, all top lifts are on hold, as are all three gondolas. At the moment almost all other lifts are moving but it's not the most friendly of conditions. That lift situation may well change and so if you are planning on venturing out, an advanced check is highly recommended. Extra caution needed.
I would like to make mention that the Avalanche Report below is reporting 20cm of fresh, as is Niseko Grand Hirafu for upper levels. So it sounds like there's a fair bit more up top than down here low.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: 0℃, 20cm snowfall in 12h. Moiwa 800m: SSE 158°4.3m/s, -2.1℃, storm. Annupuri 1100m: SE 121°9.6m/s, -4.6℃. Yu no sawa: S 162°5.1m/s, -4.2℃. Village 900m: SE 138°7.1m/s, -3.5℃. Hirafu 1000m: S 174°11m/s, -4.3℃. Hanazono 720m: S 176°5.6m/s, -2.4℃. Sea of Japan Benkei cape: S13m/s, Kamui cape: E 3m/s, 1003hPa, 0.6m waves.
Stormy condition due to a passing low-pressure system. A southerly wind picked up at night, 15+m/s gust is blowing above 1000m elevation. Heavy snowdrifts are drastically developing up to 1m thickness in places and are extremely unstable. The avalanche risk is extremely high today. High elevation gates will be kept closed. The snow below 400m elevation is wet but unaffected by the wind. Lower elevation gates may open, however sun-affected, east/south/west aspect, slopes can slide from Feb 29th layer at 20-30cm thickness. Caution is required in open steep slopes, knolls and under cornices. Do not stay put in gully terrain. Naturally triggered avalanche of 20cm thickness has been observed in 500m SW facing slope. It may not be a deep slide, but runs fast and snow is heavy.
Hazardous conditions is forecasted to go on until tomorrow. Please be careful.
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Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 310cm
- Base: 120cm
All lifts are normally operating EXCEPT:
- Ace Number 1 pair lift (normally rested)
- King Number 2 quad lift (normally rested)
Lifts scheduled for late operations:
- Ace Family quad until 8:30pm
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad until 8:20pm
- Hirafu Gondola until 8:10pm
- Holiday Number 1 pair until 8:30pm
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 215cm
- Base: 130cm
All lifts are normally operating
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 185cm
- Base: 110cm
All lifts are normally operating
Lift scheduled for late operations:
- Jumbo Number 1 quad until 8:30pm
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 190cm
- Base: 110cm
All lifts normally operating EXCEPT:
- Country Road Chair (normally rested)
Lifts scheduled for late operations:
- Annupuri Village Gondola until 8:00pm
- Village Express until 8:00pm
- Banzai Chair until 8:00pm
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Thursday 5th March 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 674cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 73 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 33cm (21st January) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 207cm reported on 21 days January 2020 snowfall 224cm reported on 20 days February 2020 snowfall 143cm reported on 19 days March 2020 snowfall 15cm 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.