Independent snow and weather reporting from the Naeba region of Niigata New snowfall at base 30cm Snowfall at base this season 591cm Posted on Monday 23rd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Naeba Now report can be found here . Good morning from Naeba everybody. Today is yet another excellent day to go riding. We have received 30 cm of snow overnight and it is still falling now! Conditions are once again nice groomers with plenty of powder to be found! At the moment we have snow forecast until Wednesday with a clear day predicted on Thursday. Very Nice! Opening, lift & other notes Lifts running today are: -Beginner lift No.4 08:00-17:00 -High Speed lift No.5 08:30-20:30 -Prince Gondola No.2 08:30-16:00 (last ride up 15:30) -Takenokodaira Romance Lift 08:45-15:45 -Takenokoyama Romance Lift 09:30-15:00 -High Speed Lift No.4 09:00-16:30 -High Speed Lift No.3 08:00-17:00 -Huichi Pair Lift No.1 09:00-16:00 -The Dragondola 09:00-15:30 (last ascending lift 15:00) Naeba Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 23rd January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 591cm Number of days snowfall observed 36 days Most snowfall observed on 1 day 80cm (15th January) November 2016 snowfall 17cm observed on 4 days December 2016 snowfall 150cm observed on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 424cm observed on 18 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Naeba. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 16cm Snowfall at base this season 313cm Posted on Monday 23rd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Fresh snowfall in Zao this morning with the snow clouds expected to remain with us now for at least a few days. It's cold and it's quality snow falling now. Nice and light. Visibility is limited and wind may be an issue today but snow conditions... should be very nice. If you are looking for clearer skies to come here, perhaps Thursday might be a good bet. The following lifts are not operating: Paradise Number 3 pair Karamatsu pair All courses are open Official snow depths: Chuo - 160cm Utopia - 120cm Uwanodai - 100cm Paradise - 160cm Zao Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 23rd January 2017 Total snowfall at base 313cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 35 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 39cm (on 16th January) November 2016 snowfall 11cm observed on 6 days December 2016 snowfall 98cm observed on 16 days January 2017 snowfall 204cm observed on 13 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 25cm Snowfall at base this season 352cm Posted on Monday 23rd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . The snow started late yesterday afternoon and then stopped early evening, and then restarted later. This morning that accumulation amounted to 25cm in the Kitanomine village. Needless to say it is a great day to head out early for a ski. Most trails have been groomed but there will be around 5cm of new snow sitting on top of the grooming. Off piste areas will have substantially more fresh snow than the 25cm at village level. Although there was wind last night most of the snow seems to have escaped any inconsistencies due to wind. Skies are overcast and it is a fairly mild day. However the wind is still with us an is gusting moderately in exposed places on the resort. Opening, lift & other notes Lift operation times today are expected to be... FURANO ZONE Furano Ropeway 8:30am-15:30pm. Furano Downhill Romance 2 chairlift 8:45am-15:30pm. Furano Downhill Romance 3 chairlift 9:00am-15:30pm. Prince Romance chairlift 8:30am-16:30pm. Downhill Swift Lift 1 9:00am-19:30pm KITANOMINE ZONE Kitanomine Gondola 9:00am-15:30pm Kitanomine Swift Lift 1 8:30am-19:30pm. Kitanomine Romance Lift 2 8:45am-15:30pm. Link Lift 9:00am-15:40pm (Actual operation and times may change without notification and be different from the above information). Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 23rd January 2017 Total snowfall at base 352cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 50 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 19 days December 2016 snowfall 178cm reported on 20 days January 2017 snowfall 64cm reported on 11 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 28cm Snowfall at base this season 429cm Posted on Monday 23rd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here . Hello and welcome to Monday morning. And what better way to start the day than news of another 30cm or so of fresh snow. Oh yes. And it's good stuff too with the cold conditions helping. Can't wait to get up to the top this morning (though good conditions can be enjoyed on the lower slopes as well of course). Snowfall is forecast for the day today and tomorrow as well, before easing up maybe on Wednesday. Back to snow on Friday just in time for Saturday? Sounds about perfect that! Fresh snow reported by resort since yesterday morning: - Yamabiko: 30cm - Uenotaira: 25cm - Hikage: 30cm - Nagasaka: 30cm - Karasawa: 20cm Official snow depths: - Yamabiko: 320cm - Uenotaira: 235cm - Hikage: 200cm - Nagasaka: 180cm - Karasawa: 160cm Lifts operations: All lifts appear to be operating apart from: - Yunomine pair - Mizunashi pair - Challenge pair - Utopia pair - Kandahar pair Most courses at Nozawa Onsen are now open. Courses not open are: - Grand Prix - Kandahar East - Kandahar West Nozawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 23rd January 2017 Total snowfall at base 429cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 31 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 52cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 2 days December 2016 snowfall 161cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 266cm reported on 15 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 9cm Snowfall at base this season 386cm Posted on Monday 23rd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Snow started falling yesterday and this morning there's a layer of fresh snow on the ground here at base. Hurray! I have 9cm of it to report to you at the time of writing and it is continuing to snow - and should continue today, so we should be adding to that during the day. Today wind is a big issue from the start of the day with the resort specific status as it is at 8:30am added below. Basically top lifts not opening. It should be very cold tonight and more cloud/snow conditions tomorrow. Just doesn't look like a major dump should be expected though; according to forecasts. Friday seems a better bet for that... Until tomorrow! --- Niseko Avalanche Report: Niseko base 6am: -6℃, 15cm snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -6℃, ESE7.2m/s, 152cm snowpack. Anupuri 1150m: -11℃, NW16m/s, snowdrift developing. Hirafu1250m: -10℃, 12m/s, large development of snowdrifts. Kamui cape lighthouse: ENE4m/s, 1003hPa, 3.2m waves. Snowfall picked up as the low-pressure passed and made snowdrifts develop in areas above 800m. A 25cm blanket of wind-affected snow is evenly covering the west facing slopes. Looking at the snowfall transition, a good amount of little dense snow is present in slopes below 1000m, and the avalanche risk is moderately high. If the storm picks up, the hazard level will rise accordingly. Stay away from cornices and knolls, do not traverse across steep slopes. All gates are scheduled to open. Seek advice at the gates, before stepping out of bounds. Hazard levels are objectively evaluated and gates will close when the level are high. Niseko community respects the freedom and cares for the safety of the guests. Anyone is allowed to step out of bounds if they will, but only when the gates are open. Beware of sudden weather changes. The snow in the treeruns is splendid today. --- Resort specific opening news at time of writing (subject to change during the day): Niseko Grand Hirafu Just the lower lifts are opening at the moment (Ace Family, Ace Number 1, King Number 1 and Holiday Number 1). Other lifts on hold due to wind conditions. Niseko HANAZONO Resort The top Hanazono Number 3 lift is on hold at the start of the day due to wind conditions. Niseko Village The Niseko Gondola, Morino Chair and top Wonderland Chair lifts are on hold at the start of the day due to wind conditions. Niseko Annupuri The Annupuri Gondola and top Jumbo Number 4 lift are on hold at the start of the day due to wind conditions. --- Official resort snow depths as of Monday 23rd January 2017: Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Top - 260cm Base - 90cm Niseko Village Top - 220cm Base - 130cm Niseko Annupuri Top - 225cm Base - 130cm --- 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. Niseko Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 23rd January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 386cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 49 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (16th December) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 181cm reported on 22 days January 2017 snowfall 95cm reported on 13 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Naeba region of Niigata New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 561cm Posted on Sunday 22nd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Naeba Now report can be found here . Good morning all from Naeba, So yesterday we were hit by another decent snowfall which has topped up the powder out there on the slopes. This morning we have awoken to a beautiful bluebird so the skiing today is going to be excellent. Get out here and enjoy the views before the snow roles in again over the next day or so. We will see you on the slopes! Naeba Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 22nd January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 561cm Number of days snowfall observed 35 days Most snowfall observed on 1 day 80cm (15th January) November 2016 snowfall 17cm observed on 4 days December 2016 snowfall 150cm observed on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 394cm observed on 17 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Naeba. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 15cm Snowfall at base this season 297cm Posted on Sunday 22nd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . There was 15cm of fresh snow to report at the measuring point yesterday morning - and please note that this is the snowfall amount that has been added to this report, no further this morning... Today started off with fine conditions but more cloud has been moving in as the morning progressed -- and it is now snowing. The snow clouds should be delivering us fresh snow over the next few days. Bring it on! The following lifts are not operating: Paradise Number 3 pair All courses are open Official snow depths: Chuo - 150cm Utopia - 130cm Uwanodai - 95cm Paradise - 150cm Zao Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 22nd January 2017 Total snowfall at base 297cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 34 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 39cm (on 16th January) November 2016 snowfall 11cm observed on 6 days December 2016 snowfall 98cm observed on 16 days January 2017 snowfall 188cm observed on 12 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 401cm Posted on Sunday 22nd January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here . Morning from Nozawa. No fresh snow overnight after it cleared up yesterday to leave us with some lovely blue skies this morning. It's a cold start but it should warm up a bit. We're expecting clouds to move in and start bringing us fresh snowfall sometime later on today (this afternoon? this evening?) and I should be able to bring you news of fresh snow in my report tomorrow; and snow clouds to be with us through Monday and Tuesday as well. Sounds like a plan. In the meantime it is a lovely start to this Sunday morning and a lot of people around to enjoy Nozawa. Hope you can too, see you out there. Fresh snow reported by resort since yesterday morning: - Yamabiko: 0cm - Uenotaira: 0cm - Hikage: 0cm - Nagasaka: 0cm - Karasawa: 0cm Official snow depths: - Yamabiko: 300cm - Uenotaira: 215cm - Hikage: 185cm - Nagasaka: 170cm - Karasawa: 150cm Lifts operations: All lifts appear to be operating apart from: - Kandahar pair Most courses at Nozawa Onsen are now open. Courses not open are: - Grand Prix - Kandahar East - Kandahar West Nozawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 22nd January 2017 Total snowfall at base 401cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 30 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 52cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 2 days December 2016 snowfall 161cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 238cm reported on 14 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Naeba region of Niigata New snowfall at base 18cm Snowfall at base this season 551cm Posted on Saturday 21st January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Naeba Now report can be found here . Good morning from Naeba everybody! Good news as the predicted snow for today has come through. Snow has been falling since the early hour of this morning turning into pretty heavy snow as of around 9AM. Currently it's accumulating at a rapid rate meaning that there should be plenty of powder about the whole mountain all day. Riding conditions are again a bit of a mix of nice groomers and reasonably large amounts of powder. In the weather forecast, snow is still predicted every day going on with potentially a clear day next Thursday. Tasty! Naeba Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 21st January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 551cm Number of days snowfall observed 34 days Most snowfall observed on 1 day 80cm (15th January) November 2016 snowfall 17cm observed on 4 days December 2016 snowfall 150cm observed on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 384cm observed on 16 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Naeba. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 9cm Snowfall at base this season 398cm Posted on Saturday 21st January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here . Morning from Nozawa. Fresh snow on the ground again with 5-10cm being reported by the resort and snow continuing to fall now though it's not expected to last the day... but also be back later on in the daytime tomorrow. It's not particularly cold - though more so than yesterday which as expected ended up fairly mild. There's a bit of wind about this morning too though not enough to cause lift operations any issues at the moment and hopefully it will stay that way. Tomorrow morning there might be some sun and clearer skies before the snow clouds move back in. Fresh snow reported by resort since yesterday morning: - Yamabiko: 10cm - Uenotaira: 5cm - Hikage: 10cm - Nagasaka: 10cm - Karasawa: 5cm Official snow depths: - Yamabiko: 305cm - Uenotaira: 230cm - Hikage: 180cm - Nagasaka: 165cm - Karasawa: 145cm Lifts operations: All lifts appear to be operating apart from: - Kandahar pair Most courses at Nozawa Onsen are now open. Courses not open are: - Grand Prix - Kandahar East - Kandahar West - Kamoshika Nozawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 21st January 2017 Total snowfall at base 398cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 29 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 52cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 2 days December 2016 snowfall 161cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 235cm reported on 13 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Myoko region of Niigata New snowfall at base 33cm Snowfall at base this season 795cm Posted on Saturday 21st January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Myoko Now report can be found here . 4am. Thunderbolts and lightning. Very very frightening. Seriously crazy weather to start the day today. Continuous bright flashes of lightning, which usually means, and actually was, a hard fall of graupel, or soft hail. Lots of it, and so dense you could walk on top of the surface without sinking. Lots of wind... Luckily the snow turned to real snow, and the wind has tapered off a bit, although it can be pretty brisk out there. Hard to see what's going to happen during the day. We love to see the snow, but another multi-meter blast over just a few days would probably drive us even crazier than we already are. Akakura Kanko: 290cm, -4° Akakura Onsen: 310cm, -3° Ikenotaira Onsen: 220cm, -1° Myoko Suginohara: 230cm, -8° Seki Onsen: 350cm, -8° Myoko Ski Park: 250cm, -1° Kyukamura RunRun: 310cm, -1° Tangram Ski Circus: 275cm, -5° Madarao Kogen: 270cm, -3° Myoko Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 21st January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 795cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 91cm (15th January) November 2016 snowfall 12cm reported on 4 days December 2016 snowfall 345cm reported on 13 days January 2017 snowfall 438cm reported on 15 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Myoko. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 9cm Snowfall at base this season 377cm Posted on Friday 20th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Niseko and a bit of a nice surprise with just over 9cm of lovely fresh snowfall to report to you. Most welcome! Hopefully there'll be a bit more than that up on them there slopes, and so I will be heading up myself very soon. Just so that I can check. There was cloud over the mountain an hour or so ago (and clearer over towards Mt Yotei) but it's the other way round now as this report is about to be posted and the sun is out over the mountain. Should be a nice early morning. The forecast now seems to be showing snowfall from Sunday through Tuesday, so all fingers crossed we get both quality and quantity. --- Niseko Avalanche Report: Niseko base 6am: -6℃, mild wind, 10cm snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -8℃, NW8m/s, 15cm new snow with no snowdrift development. Annupuri 1150m:-13℃, W10m/s, 15cm snow without snowdrifts. Hirafu 1250m: -11℃, light breeze, 10cm new snow and no snowdrifts development. Kamui cape lighthouse:ENE3m/s, 1014hPa, 1.7m waves. The isobars are spread out and the weather is calm. 10-15cm light crystal snowfall fell overnight and is blanketing the mountain. New snowdrifts and cornices development is minimal, the snowpack seems stable and the general avalanche risk is low. All gates are scheduled t open from the morning. Listen to the ski patrol and step out of the gates. Wearing a beacon and a helmet is highly recommended. The snow is shallow but good. Very light and dry snow this morning. Sluffs are to be expected, however slab slides are less probable. More emphasize should be put on weather and snowfall transition for evaluating hazard levels in the mountains. We would like to remind that most accidents occur during and just after foul weather. Snowdrifts and slabs that formed during storms and high winds are the cause of many surface slab avalanches. Keep an eye on the snowfall patterns. There are many other hazards lurking in the out of bounds area. Better not over-estimate your knowledge, skills and equipment. Always be prudent and humble in the mountains. --- Official resort snow depths as of Friday 20th January 2017: Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Top - 265cm Base - 100cm Niseko Village Top - 210cm Base - 120cm Niseko Annupuri Top - 220cm Base - 120cm --- 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. Niseko Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 20th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 377cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 48 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (16th December) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 181cm reported on 22 days January 2017 snowfall 86cm reported on 12 days Previous report Next report 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com