Niseko Now: Saturday 9th January 2021
- Jan 9, 2021
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 30cm
Snowfall at base this season 564cm
Posted on Saturday 9th January 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko. Hope everyone is well on this Saturday morning.
Well, the very good snow news continues everyone.
I have just measured 30cm of fresh snowfall from overnight. The ski areas themselves are reporting 10-35cm across the mountain (in terms of new snowfall), and as usually there's not much difference in the official snow depth numbers.
There are going to be some deep conditions out there. Appropriate care required; excitement levels held in check recommended.
It's cold, it's snowing, and the forecast has more of it all lined up; perhaps getting slightly milder around Tuesday through Thursday.
I know it might feel to some of you that nature is kind of teasing you this particular year, but big picture I think we can all agree that it is great to have classic Niseko kind of consistency. Let us hope it continues.
Though a bit of sun every now and again would be cool...
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In recent days it seems that there have been a handful covid-19 cases reported in a few Hirafu restaurants. Please take super care everyone.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Benkei cape: NW13m/s, Kamui cape: N11m/s, 1005hPa, 3.1m waves. Hanazono1000m: -15.3℃, SE3.9m/s, Hanazono720m: -13.0℃, WSW7.2m/s, Moiwa800m: -14.3℃, NNW4.0m/s, Annupuri1100m: -15.7℃, W4.8m/s, Yu no Sawa1100m: -15.2℃, W3.3m/s, Mizuno no sawa 900m: -14.4℃, W3.3m/s. Kutchan weather station: -9.6℃, S1.4m/s, 153cm snow depth, 1006.7hPa. Moiwa base: -12℃, 40cm snowfall in 12h, calm.
Cold air inflow is continuing under a mild wintery pressure distribution. Heavy snowfall from late night through the morning. The wind influence is small on today’s snowfall. The wind-drift snowpack above Jan 7th layer is now stable. This snow layer is firm and suitable for igloo making, but too hard to dig a cave. The top 15cm layer of the new snow is likely to sluff, however the general avalanche risk under 1000m elevation is lowering. Large scale surface slab slide hazards remain highly considerable at the Backbowl’s sidewall above 1100m elevation. Better left untouched today.
There is no guaranteed safety in winter snow mountains. Stay away from gully bottoms in order to minimize hazards. Gate 10, Moiwa Anbetsu, is opening today. Listen to the ski patrol’s instructions before stepping out of the gates. Anbetsu valley ends up in a terrain trap. It is a dangerous terrain, better not venture too far down the gully. Fantastic snow conditions today. We strongly recommend wearing a helmet and beacon. Please understand the positive aspects of the changes in the Niseko Rules.
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Planned ski area operations: Saturday 9th 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: 290cm (+15cm)
- Base: 175cm (0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- All planned lifts operating (see note below)
- 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: 220cm (+5cm)
- Base: 170cm (+7cm)
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:
- All lifts operating during the daytime
- Jumbo Number 1 quad opens for night skiing
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 200cm (+0cm)
- Base: 140cm (+0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- All open but Upper Village Gondola and Country Road
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Night time operations are available in the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas until 7th March 2021.
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 Saturday 9th January 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 564cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 40 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 154cm 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.