New Snow (Resort): 15cm (Yamabiko)
New Snow (Village): no snow, plenty of rain.
Weather: Rain in the village, snow on the mountain
Snow Depth: 170cm (Yamabiko)
Outlook: Rain in the village, snow on the mountain – becoming snow down to the village later.
Open Areas: Lower slopes are badly rain effected. May be some closures.
Unfortunately heavy rain is falling in the village at the moment. The snowline was at around the mid station of the Nagasaka Gondola earlier this morning, however the trees I can see out my window at an elevation of around 800 metres are now beginning to get a white tinge. Heavy snow is falling on Yamabiko, there is around 15cm of heavy snow. Underneath the snow there is a layer of slush, I imagine Yamabiko saw considerable rain last night.
Further down the mountain is a miserable scene. Schneider, Challenge, Utopia and the steep runs of Skyline have taken a hammering from the rain. There is a massive gash-like slip in the run next to the ski jump, and patches of dirt everywhere. Even if there is a lot of snow overnight, be careful on those runs until they get their base back.
Keep your fingers crossed for a drop in temperature, if we get that combined with continued precipitation we could be in for some good conditions later on and over the next few days.