Base up top: 340cm Temp Top; -15 Degrees Base at bottom: 195cm New Snow since close: 15cm Wow, what a day it was yesterday! We had some of the deepest powder of the season as heavy snowfalls continued all day. Even with the holiday crowds (which thinned out in the afternoon) it was still possible to find fresh tracks through the trees all day. Areas which were tracked in the morning quickly filled in with fresh snow and within hours up for grabs again. It’s safe to say that yesterday was one of the best days of the season so far. Yesterday also saw some of the most unstable conditions this year, with slides occurring on even more moderate slopes. […]
Monday Madness
Base up top: 310cm Temp Top; -9 Degrees Base at bottom: 155cm New Snow since close: 20cm This morning we are greeted with heavy snow and at least 20cm of fresh powder in Nozawa Onsen. Woohoo! Its going to be a good day. Yesterday was the most crowded day of the season so far, but the holiday vibe on the mountain made up for the crowds. The Gondola and Yamabiko were the busiest sections, especially in the morning. However it was still possible to escape the crowds and venture to the less known areas of the resort. It was a sunny and partly cloudy day yesterday; a good day for exploring new runs. The snow remained in great shape thanks […]
Sunny Sunday
Base up top: 290cm Temp Top; -13 Degrees Base at bottom: 155cm New Snow since close: 0cm The good days keep rolling on here in Nozawa Onsen. Snow from the dump over the last few days is still in excellent quality thanks to persisting cold temperatures, and if you know where to look there are fresh tracks on offer. Should be another good days riding. It’s partly cloudy at the moment, but we expect clouds and snow showers to return by the afternoon. High crowd levels this long weekend are causing some lift lines. Yesterday was an epic day, hardly a frown on the hill. Deep fresh powder was on offer through the trees. The snow was so deep that […]
Dumping!
Base up top: 270cm Temp Top; -11 Degrees Base at bottom: 140cm New Snow since close: 2cm It’s absolutely dumping in Nozawa Onsen this morning! The heavy flakes started at about 7am and since then about 5-10cm has gathered on the lodge railing. Its looks like this weather has really set in and snowfalls are forecast to continue for the rest of the day, along with extremely cold temperatures. A couple of strong wind gusts even down in the village means that some lifts may go on wind hold, especially higher up. Yesterday was another nice day on the mountain. There were many powder stashes on offer around Yamabiko thanks to windblown snow being deposited on the leeward side of […]
Cold Clear Winters Day
Base up top: 270cm Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom: 150cm New Snow since close: 0cm We have a classic clear winter’s day here in Nozawa Onsen. Cold temperatures across the resort, plentiful Japan powder, high winds aloft and perfectly groomed corduroy. Today will be a very good day for skiing and boarding. There is still plenty of light dry powder on offer after yesterday. Although it hasn’t snowed overnight, strong winds in the higher reaches of the resort have blown fresh snow to cover most tracks, especially in the gullies. There are also a few windblown natural features up high to slash or jump. Yesterday was an excellent day on the mountain. Light snow intensified and by mid […]
Snow returns to Nozawa Onsen
Base up top: 280cm Temp Top; -4 Degrees Base at bottom: 145cm New Snow since close: 3cm Light snowfalls commenced in Nozawa Onsen during the early hours of this morning and have continued without a break since then. So far we have had 3cm fall on the upper slopes of the resort, 2cm lower down. Just a dusting so far but snow is set to continue for the rest of the day hopefully building to a significant amount of fresh by the day’s end. Riding at the moment is dust on crust material and crowd levels a very low indeed. Visibility even up high is better than expected. Yesterday was an excellent surprise. With only light snowfalls […]
The week ahead looks good
Base up top: 280cm Temp Top; -11 Degrees Base at bottom: 150cm New Snow since close: 2cm Today in Nozawa Onsen we have overcast conditions and passing snow showers. It will be fast and icy until we receive a more significant dump of snow, as we only had a dusting overnight. You know you are a good skier or boarder if you can hold a carve on days like today as yesterdays rain combined with an overnight snap freeze will result in sheet ice conditions. Yesterday was good in the morning. The top lifts and gondola were on wind hold to 11am, but when they opened riders were greeted with a decent depth of fresh snow and […]
Challenging Conditions
Base up top: 290cm Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom: 150cm New Snow since close: 2cm It looks like we have occasional snow flurries and mist about Nozawa Onsen this morning. The weekend crowds have moved on and there is sure to be a few fresh tracks around. There should be a warming trend today with the freezing level spiking around 1700 meters later today. Some light rain is also possible. Yesterday was an ice rink on the mountain. Groomed runs were manageable with good edge control and a head for busy conditions. Patches of discontinuous fresh powder were available through the trees, but in between those was sheet ice and fields of death cookies. Challenging […]
Finally some fresh snow
Base up top: 290cm Temp Top; -8 Degrees Base at bottom: 150cm New Snow since close: 3-15cm To the delight of many punters we have some light snow falling about Nozawa Onsen this morning. Drizzle turned to wet snow at about 8pm last night as temperatures gradually cooled. It looks like winter has finally returned and it will be a good day on the mountain, especially if this snow keeps up. Sticks and branches which had begun to show with yesterdays melt have already been covered, masking any potential damage from the rain. The temperature change was quite gradual so hopefully there won’t be so much abrupt dust-on-crust conditions today. Yesterday the conditions were not so nice. […]
Fun in the Slush
Base up top: 290cm Temp Top; 2 Degrees Base at bottom: 155cm New Snow since close: 0cm It’s a very damp day in here today. We had quite a bit of rain overnight all the way to the top and subsequently, lost a bit of cover. Thankfully the rain stopped around 7am in the morning but it is still very warm, well into the positives across all elevations. Today the snow will be wet, slushy and slow in places, waterskiing conditions. Should not stop people from having fun, there is never a bad day on the slopes! Yesterday was another very nice day. Blue sky and sunshine lasted the morning before some high cloud and wind rolled […]