Good morning from Hirafu.

And what do we have to report this morning? Another similar kind of story really this morning. Cloudy skies and very light snow has been falling, and there's just slightly over 1cm of fresh snow on the ground.

All resort areas are opening as planned.

What else is there? That's about it really.

We're still looking towards the end of the week for the next decent snowfall.

I hope you have a good day wherever you may be.

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Niseko Avalanche Report:

Mountain base : -4°, 5cm new snow. Moiwa 800m: -5°, NW5m/s, 5cm new snow, minor snowdrift development. Annupuri 1150m, -10°, light winds, trace new snow. Hirafu 1250m, -10°, light winds, trace new snow. Coastal data: Kamui Cape:ENE2m/s, 1020hPa, wave 1.8m.

There is no significant snowdrift development and general avalanche risk is low. All gates are expected to be open. Please listen to the patrols advice before going out of bounds. The frost layer formed due the warm air yesterday will become a notable layer in future snowpack. Avalanches can happen easily on slopes subject to strong winds where rapid snowdrift growth occurs. Don't rely on this avalanche report for all your decision making, slopes need to be assessed individually to make the appropriate judgments. There is no safe place in the winter mountains.

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Resort specific opening news at time of writing (subject to change during the day):

Niseko Grand Hirafu
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Niseko Village
Niseko Annupuri
All four resorts appear to be opening as planned this morning.

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Official resort snow depths as of Tuesday 14th February 2017:

Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 280cm
Base - 120cm

Niseko Village
Top - 280cm
Base - 140cm

Niseko Annupuri
Top - 315cm
Base - 140cm

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Night skiing is planned until Monday 20th March 2017 at the Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village resort areas. There is no nighta in the Hanazono area.