Zao Now: Monday 16th January 2023
- Jan 16, 2023
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 209cm
Posted on Monday 16th January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
The snow last night, though small but with large flakes, was very welcome.
The slopes are hard still but the powder on top makes all the difference. It should soften up during the daylight (indeed Uwanodai is already softening up) and especially if the sunny patches appear this afternoon.
The mist higher up moves up and down the mountain and is not constant. You can still see though.
There is a bit of wind at the summit. Wind may make an appearance on the upper slopes during the latter half of the day. The slope down from the summit is mostly 'ice-burns' but there are softer patches on the sides to get an edge into. Beginners may still not enjoy the experience and may wish to save their thigh muscles by coming back down in the gondola to Utopia.
Nice carving on Paradise but top tip for the morning is the Chuo bowl where there is thicker fresh snow and it is noticeably softer.
The frosted trees are back but sadly the monsters are gone. I really wonder if they'll be back this season. Here's hoping Friday's forecasted dump is a good one along with the winds anticipated which actually form them.
Zao Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Monday 16th January 2023 Total snowfall at base 209cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 33 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (on 24th December) November 2022 snowfall 0cm December 2022 snowfall 162cm observed on 23 days January 2023 snowfall 47cm observed on 10 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Zao 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.