As none of our regular correspondents are posting from Niseko yet I thought the snow report from snowjapan.com deserved an airing over here. I'll be adding some photos and reports from Niseko for an all too brief 10 days in February, so this has made me smile this morning:
Quote:
Current Official Snow Depths:
Top - 275 cm
Bottom - 140 cm
Lots and lots of snow out there this morning. Since last report we've had another 55-60cm of snow. At times yesterday it was coming down at near 10cm per hour. It eased a bit overnight but since around 6am this morning it has started snowing pretty heavily again. As it states in the avi report below some leeward slopes have accumulated up over 1.5m in the last 24 hours and there has been rapid cornice development. So as you would expect avalanche danger currently is extreme and all gates will remain closed today. It's very cold out there this morning, below -10 in the village and close to -20 up top with significant windchills up high, so make sure you really rug up.
The snow is very deep off-piste, in many places with not so steep gradients it's actually too deep. Lots of people getting stuck out there in the deep stuff. On-piste yesterday people were reporting up over knee deep turns and it should be similar today. All in all an epic system that has transformed the resort from a mediocre, hardpacked cover just a few days ago to the deep powder wonderland Niseko is famous for.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 11-01-11 9:09; edited 2 times in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
My departure has been delayed again. Aiming to head out in early February now, after Wales beat England
Mike Pow, it's a shame you're not out there to post photos yet - the stuff from the Beacons you've been posting is great, but I'm sure you'd rather be over there
I fly out on the 10th of Feb. Be great to meet up.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Will try and give some first-hand reports when we get out there in late Jan (27th, I think). In the meantime am loving the current weather, and the occasional tidbits that nozawaonsen is dropping into the weather thread
Mike Pow (or anyone else), any recommendations for companies to use for guiding? We'd quite like to go exploring over the back while we're out there...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I'm not in Niseko, but between Sapporo and Asahikawa. I can stick some pics up through the season for those interested - it could be a general Hokkaido thread rather than a Niseko specific thread if that's cool? (I'll be in Niseko a few times through the winter, but mainly ski at Kamui Ski Links, and various other places around Asahikawa)
I was away in Thailand over New Year, and from what I hear there was somewhat of a drought after a decent snowfall over Christmas. But, around the 7th / 8th it started to snow and hasn't really stopped. We arrived back on the 9th, and my car was buried completely - it took 2 hours to dig it out. My town was in the news as it had received so much snow, I'll post some pics when I get home.
We had people travelling back to the north from Niseko who called to ask if they could stay, as the main expressway was closed due to the snow preventing them from getting home. They had said Niseko was crazy with the amount of snow. My first trip down there will be in a couple of weekends time.
Yesterday (10th) I hit Kamui and had great conditions. Because of poor early season snow, there is still some sasa poking through in places. But there was 50cm + of fresh snow. And despite being a national holiday, the place was very empty, so we had our pick of lines for the whole day.
It's been snowing steadily, but not too heavily overnight and into this morning. From my window now it looks like it's still going, and the forecast is for it to continue to the weekend and beyond. I'm going to hit one of my town's ski hills this evening which, though small, should be great after all the snow we've had.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
rob@rar, Its heavy in the alps now, but seems to be a little better in a few days,, this make me sick, I want to go NOW
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Ok, a few pics I took at lunchtime around my town. It started snowing very heavily after lunch, and about another foot has fallen since. Heading up for some night skiing now, should be fun!
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
MagSeven wrote:
I'm not in Niseko, but between Sapporo and Asahikawa. I can stick some pics up through the season for those interested
Excellent!
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
MagSeven, That's great! Maybe the thread should be Hokkaido 2010-2011... (or even Japan 2010-2011).
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Tue 11-01-11 9:30; edited 1 time in total
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Great hill Kamui. Fond memories.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
MagSeven, just in case you were still wondering...yeah, it's fine for you to post pics of general Hokkaido snow
And cheers for the recommendations, Mike and Nozawa.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
MagSeven, I really liked Kamui too. Worth a trip out if you're over that way.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Snow has continued on and off over the past couple of days, at times very heavy. Temps are low, -10C or below at town level. I believe the same is true down in Niseko although the snow is coming down faster and more consistently. A few pics:
Our car is under there somewhere
Two hours and two aching arms later, there it is!
Our local hill. The normally super efficient piste bashing couldn't keep up with the snow
My other half enjoying the pow under floodlights (Back in the UK, the post work activity would be sitting on the sofa watching Eastenders! Japan wins)
I'll post some pics after this weekend at Kamui. Then next weekend it'll be Niseko!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Some pretty stunning snowfall yesterday in Japan... 1.14m...
Sadly not there this year and this is not my video, just one from you tube... but it does give some impression of the drunken, snowy, fiery, fighty, friendly sake fueled nature of the evening...
have to say i am starting to think a jaunt to Japan should be on the list of things to do....great pics and reports
I reached that conclusion last season after seeing MikePow's photos, amongst others. As a result I'm off to Niseko next month for a couple of weeks
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
No real change here! Snow has continued to fall. Friday night and Saturday we had probably about 50cm before a very brief period of clear skies. Then the clouds rolled in again and gave us probably another 25cm in the very early hours of Sunday morning.
This morning it is snowing on and off. The temperature has risen a little, so the snow doesn't seem quite as light and fluffy as it has been. The forecast is for it the snow to continue though, and temperatures to dip again as the week progresses. Maybe some clearer skies come the weekend, but that's still a long way off.
We hit Kamui on Saturday and had an incredible day. Most of the runs had been left unpisted, leaving nice fluffy snow all over. Our friends who are beginner snowboarders struggled a bit though! Through the trees and over the backside snow was waist deep in places and very light. Faceshots galore! Only took a few pics as it was too chilly to get the camera out for too long. Will add a couple of photos to this post when I get home this eve. Sunday unfortunately, due to a closed expressway and a few too many Sapporos on Saturday eve, we had a late start and just hit our local hill, which was fun for a couple of hours even though its only a couple of chairlifts and nowhere near as extensive as Kamui.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Previously I've not paid much attention to the snow reports from Niseko, but this season I've been reading them rather more avidly. An extract from today's report has boggled my mind:
Quote:
A very strong low pressure system is developing in the north Pacific and with high pressure over Siberia a north westerly airflow is moving across Japan and will continue to bring snow for the foreseeable future. We've now had 15 days straight of snowfalls with an average of 25cm per day bringing the total snowfall to around 3.8m already this month.
Good grief!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
rob@rar wrote:
Previously I've not paid much attention to the snow reports from Niseko, but this season I've been reading them rather more avidly. An extract from today's report has boggled my mind:
Quote:
A very strong low pressure system is developing in the north Pacific and with high pressure over Siberia a north westerly airflow is moving across Japan and will continue to bring snow for the foreseeable future. We've now had 15 days straight of snowfalls with an average of 25cm per day bringing the total snowfall to around 3.8m already this month.
Good grief!
It really is nuts, just when you think its going to stop snowing, it starts up again!
After a relatively clear morning, I'm now looking out the window at some of the heaviest snowfall I've ever seen. This, I'm told, is thanks to what my colleagues are calling a 'ninja' low pressure. This is hitting us locally and by the looks of it will significantly add to the already huge amount of snow we have.
A friend down in Niseko has said the warmer temps and some sun today are making things a bit sluggish (by Niseko standards!) But there are colder temps and more snow in their forecast.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
So that's where all the Alpine snow has gone!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
We saw the sun here today for the first time in a long time. It was a beautiful crisp day, about -6 in the afternoon, but temperature is dropping rapidly this evening. It's been nice to see some of the surrounding hills with a blue background and the sunset was gorgeous. And a bonus not to have to dig out the car!
A different story down south of Sapporo though. snowjapan is reporting high winds and snow falling down in Niseko. A friend who lives between Niseko and Sapporo posted pictures of a blizzard today on his facebook, and commented - "The day the whole world went away!" EDIT on this last paragrapgh - it seems it was largely sunny in Niseko itself. The bad weather pretty much passed it by. By the sounds of it more snow is needed down there, although I'm sure people enjoyed a rare glimpse of the sun.
Photo is from our balcony taken just after sunset when I got back from work this evening.
Saturday we're heading to Niseko for a long weekend. Will report back after that.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Looking forward to hearing what conditions in Niseko are like at the moment - sat in Tokyo right now killing time until our Thursday flight to Sapporo
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Hi I'm off to Zao and Shiga Kogen next week , will try and do some postings while out there, and some pictures need to bone up on how to do it.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Just back from Niseko. We were hoping to hit Rusutsu today, but unfortunately Mrs MagSeven has come down with a bug, so we came home slightly early.
But, Niseko was great. Saturday was surprisingly sunny at times, and all the gates were open off the peak. It was busy, but the snow was excellent early on. Once the masses had tracked everything out, there was still some nice chopped up but soft pow to be had in the trees lower down. There was snow on and off through the day and overnight meaning there were some freshies to be had on Sunday. I stuck in the trees around Higashiyama and had a blast with a local guy showing me some lines. By the afternoon, most places were well tracked out though and the fairly high temps meant everything was pretty heavy. More snow is certainly needed. We did the Nighta on Sunday though, which was a laugh. It's amazing how much of the mountain is open for night skiing.
This morning was clear, but I think more snow is forecast early this week, so hopefully it'll refresh things a little for ChrisWo.
I didn't take any photos on the mountain as my camera battery died and I forgot the charger. I'll edit this post later and add a pic of the rare sight of Mt Yotei in the sunshine.
EDIT Just adding a couple of photos:
Spotted this guy in the parking lot. Yes, those are ski bindings mounted on two snowboards. Only in Niseko!
Mount Yotei in the sunshine. Rarely seen!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
rob@rar, I would love to go out to Japan but I've heard the cost is very high.
Could you possibly provide details of your trip with a rough indication of cost? I'd be really grateful.
Thanks
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Love his boots.....kawaii! were you in the trees off MisoShiru? Banzai Chair?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
ronaldothefrog wrote:
rob@rar, I would love to go out to Japan but I've heard the cost is very high.
Could you possibly provide details of your trip with a rough indication of cost? I'd be really grateful.
Thanks
In the range of £1,700 - £2,000 for flights, airport transfer & overnight hotel on the way back to the UK, B&B accommodation in a nice lodge and a 7-day lift pass.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Seems like there's a bit of a drought at the moment! But on the plus side, we've had a few days of gorgeous sunshine. I got 3 hours up at Kamui today as I had the morning off work. The views were spectacular, but unfortunately the snow wasn't! There was still some untouched areas, but the snow was fairly crusty. The pistes were still in good nick though. Niseko hasn't had much more than a dusting for the past few days either, although their forecasat is looking better. Fingers crossed for the weekend.
First day on the hill today. The runs are in very good condition - mostly smooth and covered in softish snow (nothing scratchy or icy). It was very difficult to find fresh snow off piste though. Skiing in the trees or out of bounds (we only went out of strawberry gate today) was still fun, but not much powder to be had - except the area above Niseko Village, which seemed fairy crusty underfoot.
It was snowing lightly all morning, but got much heavier after lunch - by the end of the day it was bucketing down (vis close to zero). It's eased off now (worse luck), but there's 5-10 cm sat around in the village, so hopefully a bit more on the mountain. No idea whether we're due any more...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
ChrisWo, the SnowJapan forecast says this
Quote:
A low pressure system is developing around the southern part of Hokkaido and will create instability over our region over the next few days. Hopefully plenty of snow will fall and we'll be back in powder over the weekend.
A low pressure system is developing around the southern part of Hokkaido and will create instability over our region over the next few days. Hopefully plenty of snow will fall and we'll be back in powder over the weekend.
The weather system delivered in Niseko. 30cm or so of light powder and much, much deeper where it had drifted. Sun out times but mostly snowing so fingers-crossed for more faceshots tomorrow...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
thebongolian, sounds good!
For what it's worth this is how I saw it last Wednesday.
"ChrisWo, yes, it is a little calmer in Hokkaido than it has been of late, though it looks like they have a good base after some very good falls over the past two to three weeks. There looks like some fairly decent snowfall coming in over the weekend. Possibly calming a little Tuesday, Wednesday, maybe some more coming through Thursday?
There does look like a potentially serious storm brewing for Japan around 06 February arriving 07 February (though too far out to have much confidence)..."
It looks broadly the same to me today. Calming midweek. Before a potentially significant snow storm arriving Sunday 06 February which could bring heavy snow for much of that week - though it is all a little way off at this stage...
After all it is free
After all it is free
nozawaonsen, music to my ears! I am heading to Hokkaido for 2 weeks from the 6th Feb, fingers crossed that the storm arrives in force (just after we land!)
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
nozawaonsen, we'll miss the big storm (we're on the way home on the 4th), but more snowfall over the next few days will be very welcome! As thebongolian says, it hasd put down quite a lot overnight, and it snowed more again during the day (very heavy around 2pm). It's cleared up this evening though, and I can see stars out of the window (nothing to do with Sapporo Classic unfortunately).
Needless to say, the snow was great today - most stuff was fairly tracked out quickly, but once you dropped into the trees there were plenty of pockets of fresh...some of it outrageously deep. Sadly the lunchtime snow seemed to be enough for them to close most of the gates quite early (peak was closed by 1:30, and 4 & 5 closed not long after 2pm). Not much of an issue though...there was plenty to keep us going
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Mac46 wrote:
Love his boots.....kawaii! were you in the trees off MisoShiru? Banzai Chair?
Both actually! First Misoshiru, then under the old Higashiyama gondola, but then mostly lapping the trees at Banzai.
We're getting bits and pieces in central Hokkaido, but nothing too serious. Yesterday was good at Kamui. Enough had fallen to cover up any tracks, so there were some deep spots, and occasional faceshots in some less well known / harder to access stashes.
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