Sunday 27th December 2009

Weather conditions: Overcast
New snowfall: 0 cm (village)
Snow depth: 122 cm (Goryu base) 190 cm (Goryu top)
Hakuba didn’t receive any new snow last night and awoke to flat cloud cover this morning. This cloud cover should clear through the day and allow the sun through as the day progresses. Temperatures today are warm again today, but unlike the past couple of days there isn’t the sun to soften the slopes this morning.

The holidays have officially started in Japan which means the slopes will be very busy today. There could be some congestion on the main slopes of the resorts, with lift lines getting longer by mid-morning.

Conditions on the runs will be much the same as yesterday with chopped and packed powder and hard pack. Again the sun over the past couple of days did a great job of melting the south facing aspects, this in turn causing freeze crust.

Snow is expected this coming week, which will add to the already good base that we have.

Present avalanche conditions:
Considerable (in the alpine)
Considerable (in the tree line)
Considerable (below tree line)

More settlement in the snowpack over the past days have decreased the avalanche level from high to considerable. Still there is a good wind slab out there and leeward slopes will have inconsistent depths in the snowpack. South facing aspect will have had a lot of solar radiation and thus in afternoons will be softenin up, wet snow slides will be possible on these aspects. Due caution should be taken entering steeper start zones in the alpine as snowpack will be variable and possible instability around convex ridges and rocks.

Official resort snow depths on 27th Dec 09:

Happo-one:
80cm (Shirakaba)
80cm (Sakka/Kitaone)
185cm (Kurobishi/Usagidaira)
Hakuba Goryu:
100cm (Iimori)
120cm (Toomi)
190cm (Alps daira)
Hakuba 47:
160cm
Tsugaike Kogen:
90cm (Kanenonaruoka)
75cm (Maruyama)
185cm (Tsuganomori)
Hakuba Iwatake:
80cm (Shomen)
105cm (Sancho)
Sun Alpina Sanosaka:
90cm