Niseko Now: Monday 7th March 2022
- Mar 7, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 7cm
Snowfall at base this season 1090cm
Posted on Monday 7th March 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Last night we had some very strong winds. I had to take a bit of a walk outside and the snow was being blown around big time. That probably accounts for the seemingly odd mixed-up snowfall numbers today as you can see below. And difficult to put a number on it. But my relatively shielded main measuring point has 7cm. There will be more in places. And less in others.
It was snowing just lightly when I started writing this but right now it has got heavier. Really coming down just now and visibility has gone down too. That's not expected to last.
Unfortunately, it's still windy enough at the start of the day to stop the top lifts at all four ski areas from opening.
We can probably enjoy some sunshine and calmer conditions for a few days from tomorrow.
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Just two more weeks of night skiing left in the Niseko region.
Hirafu and Annupuri plan to be open in the daytime until 5th May, so there's two more months left there! Village and Hanazono plan to be open until 3rd April. Niseko Moiwa is also planning on being open until 3rd April.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -4℃, periodic strong winds, 20cm new snow, wind effected snow. Moiwa 800m: -6.4℃, NNW5.2m/s, 20cm new snow, major snowdrift development. Annupuri 1150m: -9.4℃, NNW7.7m/s, D:100cm L:250cm snowdrift development, strong gusts, good visibility. Hirafu 1250m: -10℃, N gusts to 15m/s, good visibility. Hirafu 1000m: -9.1℃, N12.1m/s, major leeward snowdrift development. Coastal data- Benkei cape: NNE9m/s, Kamui cape: E2m/s, 1011hPa, wave 2.5m.
Stormy seas and a blizzard from the base to the top of the mountain raged until midnight. The isobars are starting to space apart and the weather is rapidly improving. There was major snowdrift development above 800m, measuring D:100-150cm in some locations. From observation and data, the general avalanche risk is starting to drop and all gates are expected to open. Please respect the patrol's decisions. The aeolian snow slabs have a high crystal density and are hard and heavy. During development and immediately after they break easily on weak layers causing slab avalanches. Also cornices break off further back than you would expect. An elevated avalanche risk continues above 1000m all day. It's still too early to get on high altitude open steep slopes. There is no safety in this sport. Have a good day. The war in Ukraine hurts my heart.
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Planned ski area operations: Monday 7th March 2022
The below snow depth and snowfall data is manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day (nature might intervene).
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 415cm (-20cm)
- Base: 215cm (-5cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change)
- Base: 260cm (-10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 2cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change)
- Base: 250cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 230cm
Planned lift operations (subject to weather conditions):
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Monday 7th March 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 1090cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 89 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December and 22nd February) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 307cm reported on 23 days January 2022 snowfall 325cm reported on 30 days February 2022 snowfall 337cm reported on 25 days March 2022 snowfall 36cm 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.