Morning from my Hirafu base with more fresh snow to report and very cold temperatures.

-17 degrees being reported by Niseko Village and Annupuri areas this morning on their upper slopes.

Again not a huge amount of fresh down here, but it's snowing now and there's a solid 10cm here at base and as you can see from the report below there's more being reported around the mountain, so conditions should be pretty good this morning - especially higher up. I will have to go and check!

It's not the most important number but just for the record the official upper snow depth at Niseko Grand Hirafu hits 400cm this morning.

The forecast still has snowmen lined up each day through into the weekend so snow is expected daily - how much? We'll just have to see what we get served up.

Yesterday the wind conditions prevented some lifts from getting started. How's today shaping up? Looks better this morning with all resorts open and apart from possible late starts due to some checks on the top lifts at Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village, open as normal.

Have a fun day!

---

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Japan - National Foundation Day.

---

Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day

Niseko Grand Hirafu:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning.

Niseko Hanazono:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning. Possible late start for top King 4 chair.

Niseko Village:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning. Possible late start for top Wonderland chair.

Niseko Annupuri:
Looks set to be open as planned this morning.
---

Niseko Avalanche Report

Niseko base 6am: -11C, 20cm of snowfall in 12 hours. Moiwa 800m: NE5m/s, -13C, 30cm snowfall. Annupuri 1000m: W5m/s, -13C, snowpack 285cm. Hirafu 1000m: -12C. Peak 1308m: SE speed n/a, -18.6C. Coastal data: Benkei cape WNW17m/s, Kamui cape WSW18m/s, 996hPa, 1.6m waves.

30-40cm snowfall has been observed mainly in western areas. The snowdrifts are slowly developing but stabilizing at the same time. The slabs are also stabilizing, however cornices and knolls above 800m are still unstable and considerable avalanche risk remains in typical avalanche terrain. Gates opening are yet to be determined, please respect the ski patrol’s decision.

Better refrain from riding high altitude open steep slopes today. The stabilization process is delayed due to low temperature and a failure from Feb 7th layer would trigger a large surface slab slide. The areas outside the gates is not the ski resort anymore, always be alert and ride cautiously. Carrying an avalanche beacon is not compulsory in the Niseko out of bounds area, however it is seriously recommended to do so to minimize the risks. Avalanche beacons may save not only your life, but your buddy’s too. Have a nice day.

---

Official resort snow depths:

Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 400cm
Base - 130cm

Niseko Village:
Top - 280cm
Base - 180cm

Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 300cm
Base - 180cm

---

Lifts open for night skiing (planned):

Niseko Grand Hirafu
Ace Family Pair lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Hirafu Gondola, Holiday Number 1 Pair lift

Niseko Hanazono Resort
No night skiing at the Hanazono area

Niseko Village
Community Chair and Banzai Chair

Niseko Annupuri
Jumbo Number 1 Quad

---

Niseko Grand Hirafu 6 day weather and snow forecast