Niseko Now: Wednesday 6th February 2013
- Feb 6, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 1011cm
Weather overview Fine
Wind
Calm
Temperature -7C base / -14C top
Visibility Very good
Posted at 8:53am on Wednesday 6th February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Later on in the morning yesterday a few more lifts did open up but the top ones remained closed with the strong winds persisting. This meant for some rather long queues for the lifts that remained open at times.
I'm glad to be able to report a much calmer morning here in Niseko. Wind speeds of between 2m/s and 6m/s reported from around the mountain, so all the lifts should be open as planned this morning. With the snow until yesterday and the 5cm or so of fresh snow to add to that at village level, there should be some decent conditions up there this morning. As reported below, Gates 2 & 3 are scheduled to open at 10:30am this morning.
Earlier clouds have been clearing and as I write the report now the sun is shining through the window. Looks like it is going to be a fine day.
Snow should be back in style from tomorrow and hopefully through into the weekend. Would be good, so let's hoping!
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -11C, light dusts overnight, surface hoar and calm morning. Moiwa 800m: 15cm of crystal snow, WNW5m/s, -9C, snowdrifts are packed and break in large chunks. Annupuri peak: NW7.8m/s, -14.3C. Coastal data: WNW4m/s, 0.6m waves and 1017hPa.
A high-pressure system overlaying and the weather is calm. The snowpack is stable and the general avalanche risk is low. Gates 2 & 3 are scheduled to open at 10:30am. Always keep in mind that outside the gates is outside the resort management. Listen to the ski patrols advice before stepping out of bounds.
According to observations, the new snowdrifts are stable, however the cornices and slabs around 800m altitude are likely to collapse largely if strongly stimulated. Pick your route carefully.
The cracks have been hidden with the last snowfall and are hard to notice from above. Be careful not to fall in them. Always remain in controllable speed and beware of hitting trees.
Hazards of 80cm thick surface slab slides are still present in 1000m big open slopes during the morning. It is strongly advised not to remain in valley bottoms and not to stimulate cornices and knolls. Have a nice day.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Wednesday 6th February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1011cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 68 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 443cm reported on 26 days February 2013 snowfall 32cm reported on 4 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.