Base up top: 310cm Temp Top; -2 Degrees Base at bottom: 165cm New Snow since close: 0cm Another stunner in Nozawa Onsen this morning. Brilliant atmosphere clarity is delivering spectacular views with a totally cloudless clear blue sky. Highly recommended too make the effort bringing the cameras up the mountain this morning. The groomed runs will be fast early with the cold overnight temperatures, probably grading to fun and slushy later. Off piste conditions should be quite variable; depending on sun exposure. We are expecting quite warm temperatures well into the positives, even at the top, so a classic spring like day is expected. Clear conditions will persist for the morning at least before bands of high […]
Springtime Conditions
Base up top: 320cm Temp Top; 0 Degrees Base at bottom: 175cm New Snow since close: 0cm Well, what a day we have in Nozawa this morning; crystal clear skies with a couple of wispy high clouds. The Sea of Japan will be visible from near the summit. If you like fair weather skiing then today is your day. If you like spring skiing you will also enjoy the turns on offer. Runs will be slushy with the strong sun and warm temperatures as it’s nearly above freezing all the way to the top. Like the past couple of days crowds are non-existent. Yesterday was a fun day on the slopes. Good powder fields were on offer […]
Snowy Weather Continues
Base up top: 320cm Temp Top; -8 Degrees Base at bottom: 175cm New Snow since close: 2-10cm It’s an interesting morning here in Nozawa Onsen. We have some light snow falling across the mountain with quite a large variation in temperature from top to bottom. Up high it’s still cold, sitting at -8C but down low is positively balmy at about +1C. Therefore we should expect a high degree of snow quality variation across differing altitudes today. Interestingly we have also had more snow down low than up high. 10cm was recorded on the lower slopes while up high only received 2cm. Yesterday was a quiet day on the hill. Thanks to cold morning temperatures the snow […]
Cloudy with Snow
Base up top: 320cm Temp Top; -10 Degrees Base at bottom: 180cm New Snow since close: 5cm It’s another snowy day here in Nozawa Onsen. Light flurries continued overnight producing 5cm up top and 10cm in the village. It looks like today will be yet another nice day with plenty of fresh tracks on offer and minimal crowds. Yesterday saw great conditions across the mountain. Morning snow showers gave way to partly cloudy conditions. Lift lines were almost non-existent and the snow remained in great shape throughout, especially in the trees. The sun remained until just before last lifts when the snow clouds once again blew in obscuring the top half of the resort. The current forecast looks like a […]
Afternoon Updates
Base up top: 320cm Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom: 175cm New Snow since close: 8cm Sorry for the delayed report today guys. Everyone is wondering what the snow is like and I can assure that it is quite fine and hasn’t suddenly all disappeared. We woke this morning to passing snow showers that had dusted the resort with 2cm of fresh cover. Since first lifts we have had a further 6cm fall up top. It is now sunny and partly cloudy in Nozawa Onsen this morning and it has been a great day on the mountain with minimal crowds. Some were saying yesterday was the day of the week and they were mostly correct with […]
Return of the Japan Powder
Base up top: 320cm Temp Top; -12 Degrees Base at bottom: 180cm New Snow since close: 20cm Weather; Snow There is heavy snow about the village of Nozawa Onsen this morning. We have had 20cm fall overnight across the mountain and cold temperatures will ensure the fresh accumulations will be of high quality, especially up high. Strong wind about the peaks yesterday will have formed quite a few wind features to hit. We saw extremely cold windchill factors yesterday lingering around -20 to -30C so it’s safe to say yesterday was cold, very cold. This didn’t seem to keep the weekend crowds away. However those who braved the conditions were rewarded with perfect knee deep powder amongst […]
Delayed Dump
Base up top: 300cm Temp Top; -12 Degrees Base at bottom: 160cm New Snow since close: 5cm Weather; Snow It’s always good to wake to the sound of snow sliding off the roof and the machines clearing the road in the morning. This was the case in Nozawa Onsen earlier. It’s currently dumping consistent thick flakes and really looks to have set in. Finally this long awaited system has begun to deliver which is good as the lack of substantial snowfalls yesterday was starting to make my forecasting look bad! Today is Australia Day and there is a real party mood in the lodges this morning. With the good snow on offer, it should be a good […]
Snowy Expectations
Base up top: 290cm Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom: 160cm New Snow since close: 5cm Weather; Snow showers Passing heavy snow showers are producing the goods in Nozawa Onsen this morning. A particularly heavy one passed through between 7 and 8am delivering around 10cm to the lodge railing. Its not snowing at the moment but looking west we have some more dark clouds looming on the horizon that look very promising. Yesterday saw beautiful conditions. Clear weather remained for most of the day with some interestingly shaped high clouds moving over during the afternoon. The skiing was fast and icy on the groomed runs- perfect for practicing carving technique at speed. The off piste areas […]
Bluebird Day!
Base up top: 305cm Temp Top; -1 Degrees Base at bottom: 160cm New Snow since close: 0cm Weather; Perfect blue sky It’s a perfect clear blue sky day here in Nozawa Onsen, the best clear day of the month so far. Not a cloud in the sky. Bring the cameras up as there will be some pretty special views to take in. Today looks like it will remain clear till the afternoon when some high cloud should move through preceding the much talked about frontal system. It’s warm up there at the moment, temperatures should reach above freezing across the whole mountain. The snow will be slushy and fun, especially on the groomers. Yesterday saw fast conditions […]
Anticipation Builds
Base up top: 310cm Temp Top; -8 Degrees Base at bottom: 160cm New Snow since close: 6cm Weather; Partly cloudy It is an atmospheric day here in Nozawa Onsen this morning. We woke to some fog and low lying cloud enveloping the village. When that cleared, a clean atmosphere and passing mist on the opposing mountains afforded a very nice view. We have had a dusting of fresh snow up high overnight refreshing the mountain. Groomed runs should be the pick again today and will be fast and fun. There are challenging conditions off piste as crust layer has formed, so fresh snow is needed there. Even up high yesterday the snow was very heavy going and […]