Niseko Now: Friday 9th February 2024
- Feb 9, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 755cm
Posted on Friday 9th February 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
As we approach 8:30am, and after the snowfall that the report below is mentioning earlier, it's quite bright with a lot of cloud around but also some blue sky. The sun is shining through my window as I write this. Oh, and there is some light snow lingering in places too.
The Hirafu ski area is reporting 15cm of snowfall on the mountain this morning so sounds like there should be some good snow to find.
Hopefully we will still get further cm to give us a nice new layer tomorrow, though it doesn't look to be massive.
I'm not liking the relatively 'toast-y' temps that look likely to be with us around Tuesday and Wednesday next week, but let's think about that again later. We have a busy weekend to get through!
In the meantime, time for some real toast.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6am: -5°, heavy snowfall at dawn, 5cm new snow, calm. Moiwa 800m: -9.4°, NNW8.4m/s(max gust 16m/s), snowdrift development. Mikaeri 764m: -10°, NW10m/s, heavy snowfall at dawn, snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100m: -1.5°, WNW3.6m/s, trace new snow. Village 1000: -9.0°, WNW1.9m/s. Hanazono 1000m: -10.2°, WNW4.9m/s, trace new snow. Hanazono 3 : -7.8°, NNE2.2m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:NW10m/s. Kamui Cape NW6m/s, 1018hPa, wave 1.1m.
The isobars are wide apart and the Niseko area is calm, however the pressure gradient will steepen bringing intermittent snowstorms on the mountains. From observation and data, although there has been some snowdrift development, the general avalanche risk is low. All gates are expected to be open, talk to the patrol at the gate before exit through the gate. Don't forget your beacon. Although it's not mandatory, it might save you or one of your friends lives. There is a possibility of a 40cm fracture back on Bowl sidewall and the Osawa cornice face. Do not traverse under cornices. Also, don't wait in the valley bottoms, you may be hit by an avalanche. The mountain mostly reset and the snow is good. Avoid multiple riders on the same slope. Don't hit a tree. This information is provided to help prevent accidents in out of bounds areas. If you are careful, you can avoid accidents. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Friday 9th February 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 335cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 130cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from King Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad (normal operations)
- The Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four), Hirafu Gondola and Holiday Number 1 pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 7cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 260cm
- Base: 190cm
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Hanazono Symphony Gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 215cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 255cm (-3cm since yesterday)
- Base: 170cm (-2cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from Morino Chair and Country Road
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
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Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Night skiing is usually until 7:00pm at Hirafu, Hanazono, Village and until 7:30pm at Annupuri.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Friday 9th February 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 755cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 68 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (8th January) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 298cm reported on 24 days February 2024 snowfall 90cm 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.