At the end of March the cumulative snowfall in Niseko during this White Season has already exceeded 15 metres (over 50 feet for the non-metric) since the lifts began turning at the end of November. The snowdepth has increased by more than 2.5 metres through March (when the resort is traditionally quiet), including a fresh dump of more than 40 cm last weekend. We have updated our snowfall chart to the end of March and it appears that Niseko might be reaching its peak snowdepth before the inevitable melt begins.
Snowfall chart data is derived from snowjapan.com reports, with the snow depth measured at the top of Hirafu.
31 March 2010
20 March 2010
snowfall & snow depths update
The cumulative snowfall since the official season opening has been 14.15 metres (or for those non-metric folk, over 46 ft).
The snowdepth appears to have reached its peak and is now plateauing, but it illustrates why March continues to deliver such excellent value in Niseko.
Data is derived from snowjapan.com reports, with the snow depth as measured at the top of Hirafu.
15 March 2010
new winter views
10 March 2010
Flaky science
How to predict the consistency of snow
Schuss those dendrites
“THE wrong type of snow” became famous as a lame excuse in Britain in February 1991 when, caught out by a cold snap, British Rail blamed severe disruption to its services on problems clearing unusually soft and powdery snow from its tracks. But British Rail had a point. There are, indeed, different types of snow—and people who live in mountainous areas, or visit to ski, like to know which ones to expect. Forecasting what sort of snow will fall is not easy. But a pair of researchers at the University of Utah think they have cracked the problem.
Jim Steenburgh and Trevor Alcott carried out their research in the Alta ski area, which is about 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) up in the Wasatch range. Good record-keeping at the resort, including precipitation measurements that are taken automatically every hour, allowed them to analyse 457 snowfalls that took place between 1999 and 2007.
What they were looking for was a correlation between the weather conditions at the time of a snowfall and the amount of water in the snow that fell. This is called the snow-to-liquid ratio. For example, if 10cm of snow falling over a given area contains the equivalent of 2cm of rain when it has melted, this ratio is five—a bit slushy.
The higher the ratio (known, confusingly, as the density, even though bigger numbers mean the snow is actually less dense), the drier and more powdery the snow. This is the type skiers prefer. In the Wasatch mountains the average density is 14, although it can vary from well below five to 25 or more.
Dr Steenburgh and Mr Alcott found, not surprisingly, that temperature plays a large part in controlling snow density. Where that temperature pertains, though, is crucial. It is the temperature above the crests of the range, where the snow crystals form, that seems to matter most. When this is around freezing point, the snow formed is dense (ie, the value of the ratio is low). As the temperature falls, snow gets drier and fluffier because of the formation of dendrite crystals (snowflakes, to the layman) that contain lots of spaces. As conditions get colder still, though, the crystals become more compact again, and the snow gets heavier.
What was less expected was the effect of wind. Wind at the mountain tops, says Dr Steenburgh, bashes the snowflakes into one another, knocking the spaces out of the crystals. The windier the conditions, the smaller the snow-to-liquid ratio.
The study, to be published in Weather and Forecasting, found that the fluffiest snow at Alta occurs in falls that contain less than 2cm of water over 24 hours, with a mountain-top wind speed of 29-42kph (18-26mph) and a temperature of -18˚C to -12˚C. If it gets warmer or colder the snow gets heavier with water.
All of which is good news for skiers planning a last-minute trip to the slopes. They will have a much better idea before they set off of what they can expect. It should also help in the prediction of avalanche risk, because snow slips are often the result of dense snow falling on a less-dense underlayer. Now all that is needed is a version of the formula that Britain’s train companies can use, so they can prepare their excuses in advance.
Mar 4th 2010 | From The Economist print edition
Schuss those dendrites“THE wrong type of snow” became famous as a lame excuse in Britain in February 1991 when, caught out by a cold snap, British Rail blamed severe disruption to its services on problems clearing unusually soft and powdery snow from its tracks. But British Rail had a point. There are, indeed, different types of snow—and people who live in mountainous areas, or visit to ski, like to know which ones to expect. Forecasting what sort of snow will fall is not easy. But a pair of researchers at the University of Utah think they have cracked the problem.
Jim Steenburgh and Trevor Alcott carried out their research in the Alta ski area, which is about 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) up in the Wasatch range. Good record-keeping at the resort, including precipitation measurements that are taken automatically every hour, allowed them to analyse 457 snowfalls that took place between 1999 and 2007.
What they were looking for was a correlation between the weather conditions at the time of a snowfall and the amount of water in the snow that fell. This is called the snow-to-liquid ratio. For example, if 10cm of snow falling over a given area contains the equivalent of 2cm of rain when it has melted, this ratio is five—a bit slushy.
The higher the ratio (known, confusingly, as the density, even though bigger numbers mean the snow is actually less dense), the drier and more powdery the snow. This is the type skiers prefer. In the Wasatch mountains the average density is 14, although it can vary from well below five to 25 or more.
Dr Steenburgh and Mr Alcott found, not surprisingly, that temperature plays a large part in controlling snow density. Where that temperature pertains, though, is crucial. It is the temperature above the crests of the range, where the snow crystals form, that seems to matter most. When this is around freezing point, the snow formed is dense (ie, the value of the ratio is low). As the temperature falls, snow gets drier and fluffier because of the formation of dendrite crystals (snowflakes, to the layman) that contain lots of spaces. As conditions get colder still, though, the crystals become more compact again, and the snow gets heavier.
What was less expected was the effect of wind. Wind at the mountain tops, says Dr Steenburgh, bashes the snowflakes into one another, knocking the spaces out of the crystals. The windier the conditions, the smaller the snow-to-liquid ratio.
The study, to be published in Weather and Forecasting, found that the fluffiest snow at Alta occurs in falls that contain less than 2cm of water over 24 hours, with a mountain-top wind speed of 29-42kph (18-26mph) and a temperature of -18˚C to -12˚C. If it gets warmer or colder the snow gets heavier with water.
All of which is good news for skiers planning a last-minute trip to the slopes. They will have a much better idea before they set off of what they can expect. It should also help in the prediction of avalanche risk, because snow slips are often the result of dense snow falling on a less-dense underlayer. Now all that is needed is a version of the formula that Britain’s train companies can use, so they can prepare their excuses in advance.
09 March 2010
Niseko Village sold for ¥6 billion
Niseko Village resort (formerly Higashiyama) has reportedly been sold for ¥6 billion to a Malaysian property, hotel and power conglomerate YTL Corp. Subsidiary company YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd is buying 100% of Niseko Village K.K. from PC One Y.K, a unit of Citigroup Financial Products Inc.
Niseko Village Resort includes the 506-room Hilton Niseko Village, 200-room Green Leaf Hotel, two 18-hole golf courses and 155 hectares of leased ski mountain land with seven ski lifts and 15 ski trails.
"The proposed acquisition will enable the YTL Corp group to participate in one of Japan's finest ski resort destinations on the island of Hokkaido with potential to develop into a world class four season resort through luxury residential development and mountain retail development," YTL said.
Sources: Dow Jones & Business Times (Malaysia)
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