Niseko Now: Thursday 9th February 2023
- Feb 9, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 798cm
Posted on Thursday 9th February 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Bit windy this morning, with the top lifts on hold at the start of the day. The Niseko Gondola (at Niseko Village) and the Annupuri Gondola are also not opening on time. All other lifts appear to be moving as planned.
It is quite cold this morning and snowing - lightly in places and coming down harder in others. As I write this, heavily at Niseko Village; not so much over at Hanazono.
That means that visibility is also rather varied, though generally quite poor higher up on the mountain.
The forecasts seem to be saying tomorrow should just be cloudy, and while we might not get heavy snow across the coming days the snow clouds probably won't be far away. They like Niseko.
Wind and visibility are the main thing early on. Take care out there.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -7C, 15cm new snow, stormy. Moiwa800m: -11.5C, WNW13.6m/s, stormy, snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100m: -14.7C, NNW8.4m/s, stormy, poor visibility, snowdrift development. Mizuno no Sawa top: -13.1C, N8.8.m/s. Hirafu Hanazono: -14.1C, NNE12.6m/s. Hanazono#3: -11.6C, NNE6.6m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape N17m/s, Kamui cape N13m/s, 1022hPa, 2.7m waves.
Waves are high at the sea with the strong northerly winds as the atmospheric pressure gradient steepend. It is very stormy in the mountains. Snowdrifts are rapidly growing on the slopes over 800m elevation. Avalanche risk increases on the leeward side slopes over the 800m elevation as the wind comes down in the afternoon. Gates opening is yet to be decided. Please follow patrols instructions. Better not to ride the steep leeward slopes where wind-blown snow has accumulated today. There is an avalanche risk on Annupuri Osawa cornice slopes and Higashi one cornice slopes even at the lower elevation. Do not traverse across these slopes. Snow in the tree run at the lower elevation is good today. Beware of crashing into trees.
With the increase in the number of resort users, the number of people ducking ropes is increasing. If one person ducks a rope, many will follow. As a result, avalanche accidents risk increases. Niseko recorded the highest avalanche fatalities in Japan 30 years ago when there was no Niseko Rules. The rules were created out of necessity. These rules were not created to promote tourism. Please respect and understand the rules.
This area will be in a high-pressure system tomorrow and the wind will come down. It is better to take it easy today.
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Ski area information for Thursday 9th February 2023
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day, weather permitting.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 360cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 160cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 12cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 300cm (-2cm since yesterday)
- Base: 245cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 250cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 170cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair [* normally open on weekends and holidays]
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 215cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 190cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Wonderland Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Thursday 9th February 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 798cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 68 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (27th & 28th January, 6th February) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 336cm reported on 27 days January 2023 snowfall 332cm reported on 27 days February 2023 snowfall 113cm reported on 9 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.