Hokkaido Snow Update
16 Jan, 2009
After a slightly slow start to the winter here in Hokkaido things are now well and truly in full swing. The snow banks in Sapporo continue to grow and surrounding resorts such as Sapporo Kokusai and Teine Highlands are in superb condition. In Niseko it appears someone once again forgot to turn off the powder machine as the whole mountain has been regularly blanketed in snow for the last few weeks.
Teine Highlands has a new chair lift running up the existing Kitakabe lift line, unfortunately the cable car has been retired after many years of service. The new lift is a high speed quad complete with bubble for your comfort. Now that the cable car is out of action punters wanting to ski the mighty 1st 2nd and 3rd bowl now have to hike a little to get the goods.
This years winter seems to have gotten off to a slightly unusual start, firstly a late start had a few worried, secondly there have been an odd number of warm days amongst the usual frigid temps, thirdly some of the storms that have passed through have been accompanied by slightly warmer temperatures meaning the snow is not quite as dry as previous years. This may sound a little negative but fret not everyday I’ve had has been powder and everyday has been no less than epic, ask anyone who’s been in Niseko over the last week!
Teine Links
http://nisekosnow.net/niseko-snow-features/sapporo-teine-ski-resort
Niseko Links
http://nisekosnow.net/niseko-ski-areas/niseko-united
Checking some spots around Niseko in the last week
poppin' off a mushroom at Chisenupuri the other day
Road barriers on the road out to Chisenupuri on the 9th