Good morning from Niseko.

Unfortunately, it's not the nicest of mornings!

I was just looking back at what I wrote at the end of my report yesterday:

"In the meantime we can probably expect generally cloudy conditions for the day today with the snow starting to fall and winds picking up overnight."

Well, it was generally cloudy with some blue skies showing through at times. And a dusting of snow shows signs that it has been snowing a bit overnight but...

Oh dear, rain at base. Hmmmm. That wasn't the plan. It was an uncharacteristically warm overnight in the region and is still at 8am around +3C.

It is actually trying to snow - sleet and wet snow is falling in places, still rain in others - but there's a real wet feel to proceedings at the moment. As temperatures drop this morning hopefully we'll be seeing proper snowfall... soon. Please. We are actually holding out for a decent amount of snowfall as well, so I look forward to being able to do that in my report tomorrow morning.

Strong winds are also adding to the 'not particularly nice' feel to this morning and affecting lifts at the start of the day. More on that situation below.

---

It's the Chinese New Year weekend and so Niseko is busy (* yes, I know, it's always busy in season!) with people here celebrating those holidays. I hope that they all have a good time and that the weather turns good for them quickly. Enjoy!

---

Apologies for an incorrect image going up on the report yesterday - technical issue!

It has been fixed up.

---

Niseko Avalanche Report:

Niseko base 6am: -1℃, 10cm of wet snow. Moiwa800m: -2.6℃, S9.3m/s, 180cm snowpack. Annupuri 1150m: -3.5℃, SSE13m/s, wet snow, poor visibility. Hirafu 1250m: S18m/s, poor visibility. Kamui cape lighthouse: S19m/s, 1004hPa, 1.8m waves. Benkei cape lighthouse: S8m/s.

A developing low-pressure system is causing an inflow of warm southerly wind. A drastic development of wet snowdrift is seen in areas above 800m. Those slabs are highly unstable and break into pieces through their weak lines. The overall avalanche risk is high. Peak gates will be kept closed for safety measures. Wet and heavy slab slides are to be expected in steep slopes under lifts. The weather is forecasted to deteriorate even worse as the low-system passes.

“Weak lines” may not be a regular term used in today’s avalanche science, however we use this term to define the weakness within the developing wind-affected snowdrifts. Rapidly developing snowdrifts becomes a deposition of heavy, dense and unstable snow which can naturally collapse within itself and trigger an avalanche. Since most avalanche accidents occurred during storms in Niseko in the past, this is the premise that we base on for accident prevention. Any leeward slopes during storms and high-winds is hazardous, and slopes with large development of dense new snow are the most dangerous. Have a safe day.

---

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

Niseko Grand Hirafu
The top Ace Number 3, King Number 3, Ace Number 4 and King Number 4 lifts are on hold at the start of the day.

Niseko HANAZONO Resort
The top Hanazono Number 3 lift is on hold at the start of the day.

Niseko Village
The Niseko Gondola and top Wonderland Chair lift are on hold at the start of the day.

Niseko Annupuri
The top Jumbo Number 4 lift is on hold at the start of the day.

---

Official resort snow depths as of Friday 27th January 2017:

Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 280cm
Base - 110cm

Niseko Village
Top - 220cm
Base - 130cm

Niseko Annupuri
Top - 245cm
Base - 135cm

---

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.