Niseko Now: Tuesday 8th January 2019
- Jan 8, 2019
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 24cm
Snowfall at base this season 511cm
Posted on Tuesday 8th January 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko. And what a jolly good morning it is too.
How does 24cm of fresh snowfall sound? Good, right? Some heavy snowfall overnight with lovely light snow on the ground greeting us this early morning. Wonderful. Conditions should be excellent this morning. We can reasonably expect 30-40cm of beautiful light fresh snow on the mountain this morning. I'm full of my fave toast and am ready to get myself out there to enjoy it once I post this report.
Snow will probably continue falling during the day today and tonight, perhaps letting up by tomorrow. There's not much of a wind but visibility is looking limited.
Currently the forecast seems to be showing a good chance of some clearer skies and sunshine over the weekend which will make for a change.
I see a rather... interesting... last comment there on the Avalanche Report today (below). I think a very clear point is trying to be made there!
It is totally natural to get very excited about such conditions, but let's remembering: Safety first. Take care and have fun everyone.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6.00am: -6°, 30cm new snow in the last 24 hrs, light winds, calm. Moiwa 800m: -8.8°, SW4.9m/s, snow drift development, 40cm new snow, calm. Mikaeri Weather Station: light winds, 30cm new snow in last 24hrs. Annupuri 1120m: snow depth 175cm. Hirafu Peak : -14°, SW10m/s, 30cm new snow in last 24hrs, snowdrift development. Mizuno no Sawa 1000m: -10.9° , 25 cm new snow in last 24hrs, snowpack 140cm. Kutchan Weather Station: -6.2°, snow depth 135cm. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NW13m/s. Kamui Cape: SW14m/s, 1011hPa, wave 1.2m.
A light snow wind is blowing above 800m with continued snowdrift development. From tests cornices are collapsing easily with fracture at 40cm depth. Snow today is very good. From observation and data, general avalanche risk is low, however on steep slopes similar to Kozan no sawa sidewall it is possible to stimulate an avalanche from rider weight. If an avalanche propagates from the deeper Jan 5th layer, rather than the higher Jan 7th layer, it will be a very dangerous surface avalanche. Do not wait in the valley bottom.
Do not enter Haru no Taki. If you are that desperate for some steeps, go ride in an Alaska extreme competition. You'll be crying like a little girl standing at the top of a “real” big man mountain. Air bags don't always save you. Have a good day.
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Ski resort operation information: Tuesday 8th January 2019
The below information is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report. Subject to change!
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 290cm
- Base: 145cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts apart are normally operating
- 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
- The Center Four lift will be open from 8:00am until 8:20am until 31st January 2019. (500 yen charge).
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 210cm
- Base: 160cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All Hanazono lifts are normally operating
- The Hanazono lifts are normally open until 3:50pm (Number 3 until 3:30pm)
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Courses:
- All official courses are now available
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 240cm
- Base: 130cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All Annupuri lifts are normally operating
- The Jumbo 1 lift is normally open until 8:30pm during the evening
- Annupuri First run from 7:20am until 8:20am on 12th, 13th, 14th January. (1,500 yen charge).
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 240cm
- Base: 130cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts apart from the Country Road Chair are normally operating
- 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 Tuesday 8th January 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 511cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 42 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 94cm 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.