Nozawa Now: Saturday 12th January 2013
- Jan 12, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 376cm
Weather overview Sunny and clear
Wind Light
Temperature -
Visibility
Excellent
Posted on Saturday 12th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here.
After a couple of days with some snowfall, the weather has returned to intense sunshine here in Nozawa Onsen. Looks like a great day for skiing with the perfect visibility.
Many of the well known areas became tracked out when the snowfalls stopped around lunchtime yesterday, however with a bit of exploration you would be sure to still find some untracked Nozawa powder. Conditions on the groomers will be fast early, but will soften in the afternoon with the warm temperatures forecast.
The weekend crowds began to roll into the resort early this morning. It will be significantly busier than the past week up on the mountain but Nozawa has a pretty efficient lifting system so lines shouldn't be too bad.
Yesterday was an awesome day on the mountain. Snowfalls persisted for most of the morning before the overcast conditions parted and gave way to some sun, although clouds lingered around the peak for most of the day. South facing slopes in the lower quarter of the resort developed a light crust during the afternoon however areas up high were fine.
We are approaching one of the busier weeks of the season in Nozawa. The world-renowned Dosojin Fire Festival will occur on the 15th January (Tuesday) in Nozawa, and many people make the trip each year to witness the spectacle. It's well worth it.
Preparations are already underway with the villagers carrying logs down the mountain to construct the centerpiece tower, which will be attacked with fire on the night of the 15th. Exciting stuff.
The forecast has improved with the latest updates. We are now expecting a two day bout of warm weather before snowfalls and the cold returns the following days. Significant, quality falls are still looking possible of the 17th.
Lifts operating:
All lifts operating
Courses open:
All courses open except
Kandahar West
Kandahar East
Official snow depths:
Yamabiko
235cm
Uenotaira
230cm
Hikage
140cm
Nagasaka
130cm
Karasawa
100cm
Nozawa Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Saturday 12th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 376cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 60cm (on 4th January) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 213cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 160cm reported on 5 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Nozawa Onsen. 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.