Niseko Now: Friday 8th January 2021
- Jan 8, 2021
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 25cm
Snowfall at base this season 534cm
Posted on Friday 8th January 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Lots of snow overnight and windy conditions too, as expected. I have 25cm of snow measured up this morning. Interesting to see how the ski areas are reporting 10-20cm across the mountain this morning, which seems low.
Wind is affecting some lift operations at the start of the day. As of 8:30am it seems that the Niseko Annupuri Gondola and top lifts at Hirafu, Village and Annupuri are on hold. Perhaps things will calm down later on enabling them to open.
Limited visibility earlier on has actually quickly eased up and there are now increasing hints of blue sky appearing now. It feel like there are some quickly changing conditions outside this morning. Even if it clears, though, snow clouds probably won't be far away.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Coastal Data. Cape Benkei:WNW13m/s(22m/s at 3am). Cape Kamui: WNW15m/s, 1000hPa, wave 3.2m. Hanazono 1000m: -15.6℃, WNW5.6m/s. Hanazono 720: -12.5℃, NW7.4m/s. Yu no Sawa 1100m: -14.5, WNW6.6m/s. Mizuno no Sawa 900m: -15.5℃, WSW4.8m/s. Moiwa 800m: -13.1℃, NW10.0m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -16.1℃, WNW10.5m/s Kutchan Town: -8.1℃,SW5.5m/s, snow depth 148cm, 1001.6hPa. Moiwa base: -12, 30cm snowfall in last 12hrs, blizzard, poor visibility.
Following the passing of a low pressure system the mountain is in a savage blizzard, with a large amount of snowfall at the base and higher up on the mountain. Above 1100m at 5am blizzard conditions with winds 30-35m/s. Snow is heavy and wind blow and will easily fracture. The avalanche risk on open steep slopes (>30deg) at all elevations is high, fracturing on Jan 7 layer. Above 1100m in Kozan no Sawa ahard slab developed during the NE wind yesterday is under new snow and extremely dangerous. Also areas which drop into creeks (with knolls) like Owasa cornice face, Mikaeri and Goshiki and Higashi One the avalanche risk is high. Until the snowdrifts stabilise do not stimulate these slopes.
The avalanche risk on surrounding mountains is high today. Avalanches will easily occur even in tree zones. On Nitonupuri and Shiribetsu Dake take extreme care. Even in the ski areas it is best not to get into any steep creek terrain. Gate openings yet to be determined. Please respect the patrol's decisions. A special thank you to the Annupuri grooming team today for you cooperation in a joint research operation with the Moiwa team.
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Planned ski area operations: Friday 8th January 2021
The below information is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report.
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 275cm (+5cm)
- Base: 175cm (+5cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Top lift on hold due to wind
- Ace Family Quad, Ace Number 2 Center Four open for night skiing
Courses:
- All courses open
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 215cm (+5cm)
- Base: 163cm (+8cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts operating
- No night skiing
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 200cm (+0cm)
- Base: 140cm (+0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Gondola and top lift on hold due to wind
- Jumbo Number 1 quad opens for night skiing
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 200cm (+10cm)
- Base: 140cm (+10cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Top lift on hold due to wind
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Night time operations are available in the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas until 7th March 2021.
Lifts marked [*] are scheduled to be operating during night skiing, until 8:00pm.
There is no night skiing in the Niseko HANAZONO area.
The Ace Pair Number 1, 3 and 4, King Pair Number 1 lift and King Quad Number 2 lifts are being rested for the season at Niseko Grand Hirafu.
Niseko Now 2020-2021 season |
Data as of Friday 8th January 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 534cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 39 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (31st December) November 2020 snowfall 62cm reported on 6 days December 2020 snowfall 348cm reported on 25 days January 2021 snowfall 124cm 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.