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Base up top: 445 cm    Temp Top; -2 Degrees Base at bottom; 275 cm New Snow since close: 0 cm Weather; Overcast   Its another relatively mild overcast morning in Nozawa Onsen today. With a freezing level sitting at around 800m and some precipitation expected the snow will be slushy from the get go. However on higher elevation slopes such as around Yamabiko snow quality will be markedly better and there is a definite possibility for snowfalls later in the day. Today is the day to break out the carving skis and smash some pistes. Yesterday was very similar to what we should expect today. Overcast, warm and high humidity meant the snow became slushy during the afternoon even […]

Base up top: 450 cm    Temp Top; -3 Degrees Base at bottom; 280 cm New Snow since close: 0 cm Weather; Overcast Its an overcast morning in Nozawa Onsen today and temperatures are warmer than yesterday. Today will be an excellent day to cruise or blast at high speed the groomed pistes which will offer fast conditions. However with the warmer weather off piste will be crusty except up top in Yamabiko. Speaking of which the natural halfpipes are in good shape. Yesterday was such a good day with crystal clear blue skies lasting all day. The snow was perfect wind compacted powder that allowed for very high speed skiing and perfect landings. Low crowds meant the pistes remained […]

Base up top: 470 cm    Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 305 cm New Snow since close: 10 cm Weather; Clear   Its a clear one in Nozawa Onsen with light winds and only a few clouds dotting the sky. With wind resetting tracked out areas there will be plenty of fresh tracks on offer about the mountain. Many people had issues with slow snow and/or incorrect wax type yesterday. Hopefully with overnight grooming and cooling of the snow this issue will not be so prevalent today. We should see these fine conditions last most of today will a gradual increase in the freezing level over the next 48 hours. Following this a front delivering snow is expected […]

Base up top: 465 cm    Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 280 cm New Snow since close: 15 cm Weather; Blizzard   Its a very wild morning out on the slopes of Nozawa Onsen this morning with sideways blowing snow and blustery wind. Since last lifts yesterday we have had at least 15cm of fresh powder fall on the upper slopes with much more accumulating on the protected lower slopes. There will be good riding in most areas with the lower pistes being the pick initially. Later in the day when visibility improves the upper runs will be the pick. Very dangerous avalanche conditions remain. Yesterday delivered very surprising conditions. Near blizzard conditions were forecast to remain all […]

Base up top: 440 cm    Temp Top; -10 Degrees Base at bottom; 265 cm New Snow since close: 20 cm Weather; Windy Its blowing a gale in Nozawa Onsen this morning. We just had a patch patch of blue sky pass over about thirty minutes ago however snow has started to fall again. Its a proper blizzard out there, especially on the top half of the mountain. Here the temperature is -10C, or around -25C with windchill. Yeah, don’t forget the extra layer, or six… Its possible that the Nagasaka gondola will not be running, but hopefully the Hikage gondola will be spinning to get people to the top. Those who venture out will be rewarded with deep wind […]

Base up top: 405 cm    Temp Top; -8 Degrees Base at bottom; 250 cm New Snow since close: 1 cm Weather; Partly cloudy   It is a partly cloudy morning in Nozawa Onsen today with a dusting of 1cm recorded at the top, no significant falls have been reported as of yet. Until some significant falls occur, a possibility later in the day, the best skiing will be had on the groomed runs which will be in great condition thanks to the relatively light crowds yesterday. Yesterday saw beautiful and quite warm sunshine last until late afternoon. It was a great day to make laps of your favourite pistes. Snow quality at Yamabiko remained excellent as usual and the […]

Base up top: 425 cm    Temp Top; -6 Degrees Base at bottom; 255 cm New Snow since close: 0 cm Weather; Clear   Continuing on the trend of clear bluebird mornings we have a cloudless sky, light winds and golden rays of early light in Nozawa Onsen. It will be yet another good day of skiing and boarding, with a focus today on the pistes and park. Off piste still holds the occasional patch of dry untracked snow up high but most well known areas are tracked out. Now for the powder hounds its a matter of waiting for the fresh to fall once more. We should expect more snow to start to fall later today when clouds are […]

Base up top: 430 cm    Temp Top; -7 Degrees Base at bottom; 265 cm New Snow since close: 10 cm Weather; Clear   Its another visual stunner in Nozawa Onsen this morning. Clear skies, sun, light wind and 10cm of unexpected fresh snow overnight. Make sure you bring the camera unto capture the scenery or better yet, book in a skiing or boarding photo session with Nozawa Holidays for personalised skiing action shots. Its a Japanese national holiday today so expect it to be a bit busier on the slopes than normal. Worth a look this morning will be the Yamabiko tree runs that will be loaded with fresh or those who are after mellow groomed runs might want […]

Base up top: 430 cm    Temp Top; -12 Degrees Base at bottom; 260 cm New Snow since close: 10 cm Weather; Partly cloudy   Its been a bit of a disappointing storm system in comparison with the snowfall amounts we were expecting. Overnight we had 10cm of windblown falls, no where near the 50cm we were expecting. Its possible there was some minor variation in wind direction resulting in a dramatically different snowfall outcome. Right now snowfalls have become isolated and it is a partly cloudy day in Nozawa Onsen with nice breaks of sunshine. Even though we haven’t had the massive totals we expected conditions are still very nice indeed. There is plenty of fresh powder amongst the […]

Base up top: 420 cm    Temp Top; -12 Degrees Base at bottom; 260 cm New Snow since close: 10-15 cm Weather; Snow   Whilst it has dumped overnight with 10-15cm recorded up top, the totals have been somewhat underwhelming in comparison to the half meter that was expected. Its possible and even commonplace this season that the frontal system will arrive to the region slightly later than predicted, usually between 6-12 hours behind the suggested timings. Therefore more likely than not it will snow hard today, greater than expected, as the weather moves over the region. Nevertheless, 10-15cm is not to be scoffed at and there is sure to be some outstanding skiing and boarding on the hill today. […]