Niseko Now: Friday 8th February 2019
- Feb 8, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 5, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 787cm
Posted on Friday 8th February 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
After saying I wasn't feeling well yesterday, a few kind souls sent me messages via the SnowJapan folk... suggesting that I have some toast to feel better. And you know what, it worked wonders; I am feeling almost back to normal this morning. The magic of toast! (And, thank you - those messages made me chuckle and cheered me up).
OK back to the important stuff.. I have 19cm of fresh snowfall at base to report to you as of 8am and snow is continuing to fall this morning. Not absolutely massive amounts perhaps, but certainly good quality.
Also very noticeable this morning is how cold it is. Extremely cold. (Might be left-overs of my not genki condition, but it feels to me like it might be the coldest morning this season). Niseko Annupuri and Niseko Village are both reporting temperatures of -22C up top and it's a 'far-from-toasty' -15C down here.
Brrrrr, indeed.
Visibility is also rather limited.
Extra special care advised on a morning like this.
Wind is affecting some ski lifts at the start of the day: currently on hold are the top lifts at Hirafu, Gondola and top lift at Village, Gondola and top lift at Annupuri.
Continued snowfall is what the forecast is telling us to expect over the coming week.
---
Niseko Avalanche Report:
Mountain base 6am: -15℃, 10cm snowfall in 12h, light storm. Moiwa800m: -18.3℃, W10.1m/s, stormy and snowdrifts developing. Mikaeri junction: cornices and snowdrifts developing. Annupuri1120m snow depth 220cm. Hirafu peak: -20℃, stormy, snowdrifts developing. 165cm snow depth at Mizuno no sawa base, -19.75℃, 10cm snowfall in 12h, WNW13.2m/s at the entry knoll of the valley. Suttsu weather station: -12.0℃, NW9.9m/s, 58cm snow depth, Kutchan -13.8℃, NW8.9m/s, 179cm snow depth. Benkei cape: NNW18m/s, Kamui cape: NW14m/s, 1011hPa, 2.8m waves.
Winter pressure distribution with a strong cold airmass flowing resulted in a cold stormy morning above 800m elevation making cornices and snowdrifts develop considerably. Pressure test showed some weakness activities at Feb 8th hoar layer 20-40cm below the surface, most prominent in knoll terrains and surface slab slides are very likely to occur. The overall avalanche hazard level is HIGH. All gates opening are undetermined. Follow the ski patrol’s instructions. The snow in the tree runs is overhead conditions, however be sure to avoid dropping all the way down to the valley bottoms (avalanche paths).
Do not cut across cornices and knolls, that’s the easiest way to trigger a slide. Avalanches in Niseko mainly occur as a slab (snowdrifts) that drastically grew during a storm collapses. Beware of your route, better avoid open steep slopes. Have you switched your beacon ON? It is not mandatory to wear one, but it could save yours or your buddy’s life. Beware of frostbites.
We would like to apologize for some inappropriate expressions used in yesterday’s report.
Have a great day.
---
Ski resort operation information: Friday 8th February 2019
Subject to change due to weather conditions
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 350cm
- Base: 140cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Top two lifts on hold at the start of the day
- 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
-----
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 253cm
- Base: 210cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts opening as normal at the start of the day
- The Hanazono lifts are normally open until 3:50pm (Number 3 until 3:30pm)
-----
Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 150cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Gondola and top lift on hold at the start of the day
- The Jumbo 1 lift is normally open until 8:30pm during the evening
-----
Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 300cm
- Base: 160cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Gondola and top lift on hold at the start of the day
- 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 Friday 8th February 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 787cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 67 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 285cm reported on 25 days February 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 8 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.