Base up top: 415 cm Temperature; -12 Degrees Base at bottom; 315 cm New Snow: 38cm 30 plus centimeters of snow again overnight in Nozawa. It is just part of the routine now to wake up and clear a foot of snow off everything before the day begins! Imagine waking up and the grass had grown a foot overnight can be hard work but snow is a lot more fun than grass. Yesterday was pretty harsh conditions up on the mountain. Getting off the gondola at Uenotaira felt a bit like we had arrived at the base camp for a North Pole expedition. If you could get into the valleys and out of the wind and driving snow though […]
Life in Snow motion continues in Nozawa Onsen
Base up top: 380 cm Temperature; -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 290 cm New Snow: 23cm Hard to believe January is over and it was one of the snowiest we have had for a while. There were not many days that it did not snow in January! Looks like February has taken over where January left off with snow cascading pretty heavily from the sky today too. The last two years in February we have had a warm spell shoot thru, kind of hoping we get it this year too. Time will tell but at this stage it is looking like life in snow motion will continue in Nozawa It is cold today too, when I woke up my […]
May even need the sunglasses today…
Base up top: 410 cm Temperature; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 305 cm New Snow: 20cm Here comes the sun… Has been a while but yesterday afternoon the sun burst on to the stage to create a magic day on the slopes. With a 420cm base, a good overnight dump and very few crowds the stage was set for perfection. Snow conditions were excellent under foot on the groomers and up on the slopes of Yamabiko there was even a good coverage of powder that remained untouched for most of the morning. Had some snow last night but the sun is out again this morning so should be another amazing day. Visibility is looking pretty good up top too […]
Be careful what you wish for…
Base up top: 420 cm Temperature; -11 Degrees Base at bottom; 300 cm New Snow: 45 cm since close of lifts last night Hard to believe but still snowing in Nozawa and has not stopped. This is one of the most consistent runs of heavy snowfall I can remember. Who knows if it keeps up we may challenge the next record of 530cm base set on February 5th 2006. The forecast is showing more moderate to heavy falls on the way so it may be a reality. They have already started to dig out some of the snow below the lifts as they are becoming dangerously close to the runs below in places. Yesterday on the mountain was another […]
Snow really happens in Nozawa Onsen
Base up top: 420 cm Temperature; -11 Degrees Base at bottom; 310 cm New Snow: 37 cm since close of lifts last night Another 30cm of snow overnight has fallen and we now have a 420cm base in place with no end in sight. It is still snowing heavily this morning. Believe that gives us one of the biggest bases in Japan at the moment. We had a few pauses in the snow last night but they were very short lived. The battle between man and snow continues and unfortunately it is a losing one. Even if we clear the snow there is limited space to put it so most have resorted to putting it in dump trucks and […]
Somebody please turn off the snow tap
Base up top: 405 cm Temperature; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 310 cm New Snow: 50 cm since close of lifts last night Think it is time for the snow dance to take a break or the unbelievable will soon become the unlivable! Has been snowing heavily again overnight in Nozawa Onsen and since the lifts closed yesterday we have had another 50cm. That makes it about 200cm in just 2 days I think, but starting to lose count! Hard to believe and even harder to shovel! The base up top is now over 4 meters so we are in record territory. I am still not sure it is a great thing for skiers and boarders or not but […]
Too much snow in Nozawa? A funny dilema for a ski resort!
Base up top: 370 cm Temperature; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 280 cm New Snow: 40 cm Plus 30cm since the last report so lots! It is phenomenal! The snow just keeps coming in Nozawa Onsen. There is so much the call of ‘too much snow’ is being heard on the lifts and in the bars. Nozawa even made the National News today as being one of the snowiest places in Japan! We had 1 meter of snow yesterday in total, 65cm at night then another 35cm during the day. The heavens finally stopped thumping us late in the afternoon just in time for a BBQ! There has been at least another 30cm plus of snow fall since 2 […]
Buried under 2 Foot of fesh snow in Nozawa Today
Base up top: 340 cm Temperature; -9 Degrees Base at bottom; 250 cm New Snow: 65 cm We are getting absolutely buried in new snow in Nozawa Onsen today. Official reports are showing up to 65cm up top we are struggling to shovel 70cm in the driveway just to get all the eager powder hounds out the front door and up the slopes! It started on my way to the Onsen last night around midnight and by the time I had come out there was 10cm on the ground. I gathered a further 5cm on my head on the way home! It just continued dumping all night and is still heavy now with no sign of stopping! Anyway better […]
White is the new black in Nozawa
Base up top: 295 cm Temperature; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 200 cm New Snow: 12 cm A blizzard in Nozawa just hit us and the whole place has turned white. Up top is a bit of a white out and lots of guys came back down early. The good news is we have had over 10cm of fresh snow in about 2 hours and it is starting to ease! It started this morning like it finished yesterday nice and sunny but some dark clouds rolled in and it quickly changed. Yesterday was an amazing day on the mountain with 30cm of fresh and beautiful sunshine. Some of the season long gang were claiming it as the best day […]
There are no friends on a powder day in Nozawa Onsen
Base up top: 300 cm Temperature; -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 210 cm New Snow: 30 cm There were no friends around the breakfast table this morning. With the fresh delivery of a magic foot of light fluffy snow overnight everyone was scrambling over the scrambled eggs to get out the door and up the mountain. The dump we had been expecting tonight came early to everyone’s delight and it snowed heavily most of the night with 30cm been recorded when we woke up this morning. Still snowing lightly now with the sun trying to break thru the clouds but meeting a fair bit of resistance. Will be an amazing day on the mountain today and all the gang […]