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Sano San – 1/14/2009

New Snow (Resort): 30cm
New Snow (Village): 15cm
Weather: cloudy with poor visibility
Snow Depth: 230cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: moderate snow through to Tuesday
Open Areas: Almost everything is open except Kurokura which is not too far away. Kandahar is open on both sides.

Yesterday saw consistent heavy snow fall from the close of the lifts until the wee hours of the morning. This left up to 20 centimetres of heavy wet stuff in the village, and a foot of new snow up top. Due to the warm temperatures it isn’t the best quality, but who is going to complain about 30 cm of snow? There is a lot of fun to be had out there with very few people on the mountain.

We are looking at a scattering of new snow over the next few days, with the next serious fall on Friday night. This is going to come with some colder temperatures so it should feel like winter again.

New Snow (Resort): 0cm
New Snow (Village): 0cm
Weather: cloudy with moderate snow
Snow Depth: 200cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: moderate snow through to Tuesday
Open Areas: Almost everything is open except Kurokura which is not too far away. Kandahar closed for the weekend.

Despite being mid January, it has been feeling very April-esque in Nozawa. Since last night until just after lunch today, we have been suffering some filthy weather in Nozawa. Steady rain fell top to bottom overnight which combined with warm temperatures to deplete snow depths all over the mountain. After three fantastic days last week which had us thinking that the season had really got underway, this weather was an unexpected turn for the worse, to say the least. Since lunch we have seen a brief but very heavy snow flurry. Hopefully we will see a reasonable amount of snow fall in the next 24 hours to freshen things up again.

The forecast has a little more rain falling on Thursday, before a return to wintery conditions on Friday.

New Snow (Resort): 0cm
New Snow (Village): 0cm
Weather: Fine
Snow Depth: 210cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: moderate snow through to Tuesday
Open Areas: Almost everything is open except Kurokura which is not too far away. Kandahar closed for the weekend.

Today was a fine and busy day on the mountain. There has been no fresh snow in the last 24 hours, however we are expecting snow overnight and during the day tomorrow. This is expected to come after a brief period of light rain. It is very cool in town at the moment and I would be surprised if this rain was not just restricted to the village and lower slopes.

New Snow (Resort): 15cm
New Snow (Village): 10cm
Weather: Fine
Snow Depth: 220cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: warmer temperatures and light snow expected over the next week.
Open Areas: Almost everything is open except Kurokura which is not too far away. Kandahar closed for the weekend.

We awoke to heavy snow in the village this morning, about 10 cm was left on the doorstep but it has now eased. Today should be a pretty good day up on the mountain with that top up. Of course, it will be quite busy up there as usual for the weekend.

Warm temperatures and light snow are in the forecast for the next week or so. I have been laid down with a cold for the last couple of days, will get a stick watch up as soon as I make it back up the mountain. Tomorrow is kids day at Nozawa, children under 15 get a free one day lift pass.

The Dosojin Hi-Matsuri is held every year on fifteenth of January. Two groups of villagers play important parts in the fesitval – 42 year olds and 25 year olds. They spend 3 days building a large shrine, then for the main event the 42 year olds climb to the top, while the 25 year olds protect the shrine against fire attacks from the rest of the villagers. The Fire Festival is a big celebration for the villagers, and much free sake is consumed. Be very careful, sake in the cold goes down like water. All visitors are asked to carry a badge to identify themselves and their accommodation, so that those who overindulge can be given a ride home in a fire truck (after a spell in the tent of shame).

The evening started with some ceremonial events such as lighting a fire with a flint to then light the fire sticks. Then the action gets under way: In this video the protectors are saying “hi motte koi” Which means bring on the fire. The first fire attacks come from the youngest villagers, who are carried up by their parents. The 42 year olds are sitting on top of the shrine egging the attackers on (and drinking a lot of sake). Apologies for the shaky video, it was a bit of a scrum.

It gradually gets more serious, and the adult villagers use bundles of burning sticks to attack with full force.

It culminates with the burning of the shrine (no there is noone in the top part).

Everyone really enjoyed the evening

New Snow (Resort): 0cm
New Snow (Village): 0cm
Weather: Fine
Snow Depth: 210cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: Heavy snow tonight
Open Areas: Almost everything is open except Kurokura which is not too far away. Both sides of Kandahar are open to the public.

There has been no new snow overnight, and today is a very fine day. Last night the fire festival was held, I imagine there are some very sore heads in town today. Fire Festival report coming soon.

New Snow (Resort): 30cm+ (Everywhere)
New Snow (Village): 15cm
Weather: Very Heavy Snow
Snow Depth: 225cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: See weekly outlook – posted below
Open Areas: Almost everything is open except Kurokura. Both sides of Kandahar are open to the public.

Yesterday morning was heaven everywhere on the mountain but by late afternoon there was barely a scrap of powder left anywhere. Late last night and early this morning Mother Nature hit the reset button and conditions this morning were fantastic again. The Kandahar West course, which gets groomed from one side to the other each morning was knee deep by mid day. Course edges and ungroomed runs were knee to thigh deep, and the quality of snow is exceptional. With the fire festival to look forward to, today is a day many people will be remembering for the rest of their lives.

Over the last few days dual low pressure systems have tracked across Japan bringing snowy weather to the northern half of the country. The second system is sitting just north of Hokkaido and currently sending plenty of snow down to Nozawa. Slowly but surely this low will move northeast and as it does the winds will decrease and move to a more westerly direction. By Saturday the current snowfall should cease.

The next chance for snow will be Monday. However this looks to be a relatively warm system as it originates down near Taiwan. It should produce snow up on Yamabiko however we may see some rain on the lower slopes as initially the wind will be from the south bringing in some quite warm air. Fingers crossed this doesn’t occur.

Around the 22nd or 23rd of January there is the possibility of a large snowfall. One forecast model doesn’t have much happening during this time but another shows a greatly expanding Siberian high (1064mb central pressure), strong northwesterlies crossing the sea of Japan and also significant moisture. I’m going to watch this model closely to see if it maintains this prediction. Once again fingers and toes crossed.