February 22

Again great snow & this time the lifts were running. Some higher lifts closed from high wind. But great great stuff to be had Hanazono 1. Strawberrys lasted 4 runs before finally being smashed.

February 21

Again good snowfall. But today wind is really strong. Probably only the smaller lower mountain lifts are going to have a chance today.

Forecast for snow and high wind throughout the day. Winds due to ease around 6PM.

February 20

Good snow fall but fairly high winds today. Wait and see what opens up. But might only be lower mountain.

February 19

ANOTHER great day! It just hasn't stopped snowing. Check the snow depth on the charts...

Romain and Tomoko report awesome snow Hanazono 3 through to Hanazono 1.

February 18

Another day of huge snow fall and cool crisp temperatures. What can I say. Conditions are superb. Great ride with Dai-chan under lights from 7pm.

February 17

Naoko reports the nighter was "saiko" (that's a positive).

It's just kept on snowing! Great fun to be had in the Hanazono area this morning. Strawberrys, blueberrys, that bit on the other side of the legend of Shinya. You know what I'm talking about.

The snow was a mixture of free-fallen and wind blown. Reasonably dense, fast and bottom less. A great morning.

February 16

We got the snow we needed - great falls all through the day. But also, alas, quite high winds. So only lower mountain open.

February 15

Winter weather has returned. Colder temperatures and snow forecast unbroken for the next 1-2 days. Need a fair dump of snow to restore off-pieste conditions. Groomers still the place to be.

February 14

Warm windy weather forecast for Feb 14. Stay in bed and eat chocolate. Temperatures fall Feb 15 and snow forecast most of the day.

February 13

Strange weather for February. Temperature ranged from -7 deg to +4 deg. Wet slushy snow falling today lower mountain, and high wind.

February 11

Again no new snow overnight to speak of. However we got blue skies and long sunny periods on the mountain.

February 10

No new snow today. But conditions stayed consistently cold, so snow fall from previous days held up.

February 9

The snow was pretty heavy, not the light fluffy stuff. But bottomless and turns from the top of Hanazono 3 were fantastic. We got lucky, and the gate out of resort was opened by ski patrol just as we got off the lift. Some fast turns through untracked powder. Short walk back to resort. Then repeat two more times. A great day.

February 8

PLAY IT SAFE. Two people were injured today in an avalanche. Occurred at Nito-nupuri, a 1080 metre high mountain close to Niseko. Avalanche was 15-30 metres wide and occurred on a 30 deg slope. Estimated 120cm snowfall in the 24 hours prior.

Heavy snowfall on and off through the day. But high winds so only lower lifts operating. Save yourself for tomorrow - forecast for clear skies.

February 7

Max has been awol. Trying to bring him back on the straight and level.

On the snow front. Big falls due from 9pm tonight, and continuing all day tomorrow. Fingers crossed that the wind isn't too strong and lifts are running. Going to be a massive snow clearing day tomorrow. Who's on shift, Max or Dee?

January 26

Happy Australia day!

Bit of new snow overnight. Temperature has remained cold so the remaing pockets of powder to be found in the trees still good.

January 25

Happy birthday Jess!!!

A white day. A great day. Just enough new snow to be able to scream through the ungroomed magic of strawberry fields. Ski patrol opened gate, so then up to Hanazono 3 for some skiing out of resort. Magic. 10 mins walk back to resort but well worth it.

And big air contest today ...

January 24

What happened today??

January 23

Warm front due today with rain and strong wind. Ouch. Head for an onsen, eat some sushi, watch some satelite TV, and don't slip on the ice. Look to tomorrow for salvation: snow from tonight and cold temperatures return.

January 22

Very cold morning (-14 deg C at 7am) and no new snow overnight. Warmed up and sunshine late morning to early afternoon.

January 21

There were a few sore heads this morning as a few of us had a pretty big night last night. Highlights of the night were, me slapping Kenny in the face with a hand full of orange juice, D pulling Kenny's hoodie over his head and pulling the draw strings as tight as they could go, followed with about 37 sailor knots that were undo-able. oh, I nearly forgot! I pushed Kenny onto some cute girl only for him to get headbutted in the chest (I forgot to mention to him that she is in the premier league)..... Kenny isn't even a guest at Shizenkan! but somehow he is always around.

Today D and I met up with a few friends from Osaka and Tokyo in Hanazono to do a few runs through Strawberries. It snow was heavy and bumpy and probably not a good mix with a hangover. There was a medium hit that Hiroshi found that he landed pretty sweetly and I followed only to land exactly in the same spot. I just stuck it by pretty much knee-ing myself in the chest to take the impact. Hasha and D did the smart thing and avoided the hit all together. The Gondy run home was death, low vis and that marble snow is the worst combination with 4 hrs sleep. I made a B line to Shizenkan quick smart.

January 20

[night] I managed to share a few "nighter" runs with D tonight. Its suprising how empty the hill is at night time. The snow quality is still top notch and there is still pow to be found in the trees. It was just a cruisy night on the groomers with some dinner conversations in the Gondy up the way up. QUALITY TIME!

[morning] Better day today. About 5-10cm snowfall over night and lots of wind blown snow. Snow was heavy but really good fun. Reasonably fast and deep enough not to feel any hard base. Some great turns in Hanazono 1.

January 19

[roundup] WHO BROUGHT THE AUSSIE SNOW???

It's wet and heavy. Thats all I have to say about it really. NOT HAPPY JAN!. Its the kind of snow that just pelts your face and leaves you feeling like someone rubbed wet and dry sand paper across your cheek. Maybe its what that micro dermabrasion thing feels like but I wouldn't know as I am not metro but I'm sure it would feel pretty similar.... X 100.

The top lifts were shut in the morning. I'm not too sure if its because of the wind or because you couldn't even see your own nose because you might as well been blind folded. By lunch time, most of the decent lifts were shut. Today would of been a good day to go and have a squiz into Otaru or Saporro or rug up with your parter in a cosy blanket and watch dvds.

[8am] Warm and windy. Up to plus 3 forecast at the village level today, and potentially high wind speeds. Cooling down with heavy snowfall predicted from late afternoon and con tinuing overnight.

January 18

5-10cm of new snow overnight, and great conditions upper mountain. Not a deep-powder-slash day, but deep enough for some good fun. Groomers in excellent shape both upper and lower mountain.

January 17

Today I Went out for a few runs with Brock (new staff member) and did a run down Tetsu and Royce, Although minimal snow fell from last night, there were still good patches to be found. Miharashi was pretty bumpy which made it pretty interesting macking it across the fall line.

We had enough of tree runs and headed out to Hanazono Park. Its pretty much the first time that I have hit the park this season as the snowfall has been awesome so far with regular dumps. The park is shaped quite well and the jumps and rails are very predictable. It was Brocks first attempt at rails and I'm happy to say that there were no missing teeth, crooked noses, concussions, skinned knees etc of the sort which is always a good thing when playing in the park.

January 16

Fantastic conditions. 10-15cm new snow overnight added to the falls from yesterday meant deep powder again this morning. Consistently cold temperatures means the snow stays good. Little powder stashes to be found until late in the day.

January 15

[11pm] Snowfall continued through the day. Just spent 2 hours clearing snow from the car park and off the veranda.

THE BIGGEST that I have seen in the 6 years that I have been here. The snow was up to my thigh when I woke up and walked outside of the backpacker and by the afternoon, it was up to my hip. There were reports of 3 meters of freshies on top of the mountain and it is totally believable. The day was EPICAL! ( I think thats a word?) I think in spots there was too much snow and not enough steeps.

Massive falls overnight! Check the charts below... Off to Hanazono for first lifts. So much snow that we were getting bogged on the "groomed" runs. Got some great turns in strawberrys.

12:10am ... man that wind is blowing, and snow is coming down hard. Hope it eases for the lifts to be running...

January 14

Ditto for yesterday - no new snow overnight. Early groomers might be the place to be. But snowfall forecast from late morning onward. A storm is due to hit the area late tonight, with huge snowfall predicted tomorrow early AM.

January 13

No new snow overnight. Hit the groomers early.

January 12

Conditions a bit different to what the weather man said. We have clear blue skies this morning. Not much snow overnight to speak of, but what a view from the mountain. Good to have some sun and vitamin D. Were still some good lines to be had in the trees this morning at Hanazono.

January 11

Some snowfall early AM and consistently cool temperature over the course of the day. So snow quality is good. [Evening] Naoko reported good conditions to be had on the nighter, and almost no one out there.

January 10

[Evening] After dumping snow for most of the day, night skiing was amazing. Deep snow, good visibility, and not cold. Some untracked stuff out to the edges of the lights. An awesome session.

[Morning] Just a dusting of new snow this morning. High winds over night mean potential for deep patches of wind blown snow. As well as some exposed hard pack. Wind is forecast to ease this morning, so looking like normal lift operation by 8:30am. Heavy snowfall to be expected from midday onward.

January 9

No new snow overnight to speak of. High wind (and potentially a storm) is forecast ... could see some wild weather starting later today. Snow predicted all day tomorrow.

January 8

Blue sky day!! Low wind upper and lower mountain. Peak is sure to open. (Check patrol advisory on avalanche danger.) And quick, get out there.

January 7

The peak opened today!! And with it a whole mountainside of untracked backcountry opportunity. Take care out there and observe information posted on avalanche. Mad skier Taiji reported great conditions upper and lower mountain. Cool temperatures are helping to maintain excellent snow quality.

January 6

Another consistently cold day predicted, with max of minus 4 in the village. Snow falls early evening Jan 5 + some snow overnight + the chance of sun appearing in the morning means we're set for a goodie. More snow forecast from midday onward.

January 5

About 10cm of new snow lower mountain overnight and more up high. Consistent cold temperature with max of minus 5 in village predicted. Snow quality is excellent, light and dry. Cold temps means it will remain good all day. At least until its been plundered by all you.

January 4

Snowfall accumulation overnight 2 cm. A few flurries expected late morning and again late afternoon. Upper mountin minus 8 at 7am. Freezing level below base of village. Light snow forecast on and off for next 24 hours.

January 3

About 5cm new snowfall overnight. Look toward the Annupuri back bowls or Fujiwara from Hanazono 3 if open. Otherwise early morning groomers might be the place to be.

January 2

Again good snow fall and again warm today. Snow base is sky rocketing past last season!! Deep powder to be had upper mountain.

January 1

Happy new year!!! Good snow fall meant conditions are good for those who are awake. Temperatures are still relatively warm, about zero deg C in the village. So snow is heavy.

December 31

Huge snowfall over night. But wind has come up and looks like the gondola and centre 4 may not be in operation. Max is back to bed. A good call or missing out on deep powder??

8:42am update: "Operation temporarily suspended" for almost all lifts.

December 27

I'M BACK!. Yes that is right, the Maxer is back for another Niseko season and I know all you 2 die hard avid snow report readers (my mum and little sister) have been waiting for my first snow report of the season and here it is.

Granted I have been back for a few weeks and I have been slack with this section but I do have an excuse. I have been promoted to "Manager" which means that I do less work and get everyone else to do more work while I look busy telling someone else to do something that I should be doing....if that makes any sense.

During the season a new staff member will be contributing while I look busy doing things that arn't really relevant to anything. Also during the season, please excuse my grammar and spelling as I barely scraped through the HSC and ....... I'm a snowboarder (should explain a lot). Onto the Report!

My first decent day that I have been out since the season has started. Yesterday most of the mountain was shut because of winds and Hanazono was shut all day. Off to Hanazono. We lucked out big time. 1 whole day of untouched snowfall and only a handful of riders out for a good 4 or 5 runs. It didn't matter where you went, knee to thigh deep white stuff was plenty to be had, even on the groomers where the Stomping ground is supposed to be. Back leg was buring big time as i only brought my 154 freestyle stick this season. I know I'm going to regret that decision real soon. After 4 lines I was done!.

Telewarping myself to the Family pair quick smart to meet a few Lodge guests who were keen as mustard to turn to the dark side and enter the sideways sliding realm. Greg and Emma did super good on their first day and I'm glad to say that noone was injured or got any whiplash, projectile vomoting etc during my watch.