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It really is insane how hard my home mountain is getting hit right now. It's been a long time since Snoqualmie has gotten hit this hard so quickly, and its not stopping.
**This post was edited on Jan 4th 2022 at 8:57:41pm
Yea early December I was shitting a brick bc I planned a ski trip to Crystal in WA with the boys and it was dirt and atmospheric rivers of rain. Three weeks later we show up and its like 15-20 degrees and 100% open. Like damn. PNW knows how to turn it around FAST
As a Hokkaido, Japan skier, I am contractually obligated to tell you that we have already received 250 inches of snow which is somehow slightly below average for early January.
DingoSeanAs a Hokkaido, Japan skier, I am contractually obligated to tell you that we have already received 250 inches of snow which is somehow slightly below average for early January.
Alta will probably hit 250 inches today or tomorrow 🤷
Just very slightly above average for Alta actually. Surprised Hokkaido doesn't get more than that tbh. Utah gets good snow, but didn't think it'd be even close to Japan.
Monsieur_PatateJust very slightly above average for Alta actually. Surprised Hokkaido doesn't get more than that tbh. Utah gets good snow, but didn't think it'd be even close to Japan.
Its really because Hokkaido, and Japan as a whole, has a shorter actual snowfall season - but it just consistently dumps the whole time when it's on.
Niseko essentially receives all of its snow between Mid-December and the beginning of March. Almost nothing falls after February - only about 40/50 inches or so in March and April. Yet, It averages about 550 inches, or 14 meters a year...
Niseko breaks that 14 meter mark every other year. Last year was considered by everyone to be 'fuckin sick', and it only hit 12.1m (less than 500 inches) of snow... almost completely shut off the snow from March 3rd though...
I moved back up here from Tokyo on December 7th, and it didn't even start snowing until about December 12 or 13th. It's basically snowed roughly 250 inches in 3 weeks, which is pretty decent even for here.
something to also note - I live at only about 750ft elevation... and I'm only a half mile from the chairlift, and wake up to avalanche bombs going off every day.. The elevation here is simply FAR lower. The top of the peak, which isn't even lift accessed, is under 4000ft.. and yet it still pukes like this.
Go further south in Japan, and the snowfall season is even shorter... Sometimes only January and February and then thats it... and they still get something like 350-450 inches of snow a year which is about or more than what you see in Colorado.
I mean, you can see snow in March and April in Japan, but usually its pretty wet, and includes big snow-eating rain events.
DingoSeanIts really because Hokkaido, and Japan as a whole, has a shorter actual snowfall season - but it just consistently dumps the whole time when it's on.
Niseko essentially receives all of its snow between Mid-December and the beginning of March. Almost nothing falls after February - only about 40/50 inches or so in March and April. Yet, It averages about 550 inches, or 14 meters a year...
Niseko breaks that 14 meter mark every other year. Last year was considered by everyone to be 'fuckin sick', and it only hit 12.1m (less than 500 inches) of snow... almost completely shut off the snow from March 3rd though...
I moved back up here from Tokyo on December 7th, and it didn't even start snowing until about December 12 or 13th. It's basically snowed roughly 250 inches in 3 weeks, which is pretty decent even for here.
something to also note - I live at only about 750ft elevation... and I'm only a half mile from the chairlift, and wake up to avalanche bombs going off every day.. The elevation here is simply FAR lower. The top of the peak, which isn't even lift accessed, is under 4000ft.. and yet it still pukes like this.
Go further south in Japan, and the snowfall season is even shorter... Sometimes only January and February and then thats it... and they still get something like 350-450 inches of snow a year which is about or more than what you see in Colorado.
I mean, you can see snow in March and April in Japan, but usually its pretty wet, and includes big snow-eating rain events.
Interesting, yeah, LCC will get similar numbers but over twice that time period, like Oct/Nov until May, more spread out.
What water ratios do you get though since it's so much lower in elevation and close to the ocean, I assume the snow is somewhat heavy?
Monsieur_PatateInteresting, yeah, LCC will get similar numbers but over twice that time period, like Oct/Nov until May, more spread out.
What water ratios do you get though since it's so much lower in elevation and close to the ocean, I assume the snow is somewhat heavy?
Nah, it's pretty dry actually. Not extremely so, but Its as light as youd ever need it, while being sticky enough to bond well to everything. It feels like it's as light as anything I skied in Colorado, but with the ocean humidity, it all just sticks together and bonds a lot better? I don't know how to describe it...
Hokkaido is pretty cold. Last night it was -15 C here in Niseko (I sorta forget Farenheight now, so I have no idea what that is... but its cold either way) so when its snowing, its always pretty cold and dry. The snowiest places in Japan are all on the Sea of Japan coastline, because cold ass air masses roll over the sea from Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria in the northwest, soak up moisture from the sea, and absolutely deposit as soon as they hit the Japanese islands... similar to lake-effect snow in the great lakes, but on a far more consistent scale. It would be as if there were proper mountains in Ontario or Michigan. In Japan's case, its Sea-effect snowfall.
If you head into the Central part of the island, you generally get far colder temps, and higher elevations easily down to -25C or -30C at times, and the mountains touch 7000ft but the snow doesn't seem to be significantly more dry or anything to me... its all dry enough that my everyday skis this time of year are 127mm wide...
And that's just it about a lot of Japan... you have 100 days of snow a year in places like western Hokkaido or Niigata... and they're all mostly consecutive for a 3ish month span... the reset rate on a powder day is so much that every day is just powder after powder after powder. There has not been a single blue-sky day in the last 3 weeks. It's just been constantly stormdays. If you look at the snowpack at the road-cut, theres no obvious layers until later in the season... its just one big layer.
At the end of the day, it snows a lot here in 'Yuki Guni' (snow country) so much so that there are houses and even public buildings with a built-in 2nd entrances on the 2nd story, ready for when the first story becomes fully buried with snow... I have to walk 'downhill' onto my deck now... 3 weeks ago I was using the stairs. (about 8 or so)
DingoSeanNah, it's pretty dry actually. Not extremely so, but Its as light as youd ever need it, while being sticky enough to bond well to everything. It feels like it's as light as anything I skied in Colorado, but with the ocean humidity, it all just sticks together and bonds a lot better? I don't know how to describe it...
Hokkaido is pretty cold. Last night it was -15 C here in Niseko (I sorta forget Farenheight now, so I have no idea what that is... but its cold either way) so when its snowing, its always pretty cold and dry. The snowiest places in Japan are all on the Sea of Japan coastline, because cold ass air masses roll over the sea from Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria in the northwest, soak up moisture from the sea, and absolutely deposit as soon as they hit the Japanese islands... similar to lake-effect snow in the great lakes, but on a far more consistent scale. It would be as if there were proper mountains in Ontario or Michigan. In Japan's case, its Sea-effect snowfall.
If you head into the Central part of the island, you generally get far colder temps, and higher elevations easily down to -25C or -30C at times, and the mountains touch 7000ft but the snow doesn't seem to be significantly more dry or anything to me... its all dry enough that my everyday skis this time of year are 127mm wide...
And that's just it about a lot of Japan... you have 100 days of snow a year in places like western Hokkaido or Niigata... and they're all mostly consecutive for a 3ish month span... the reset rate on a powder day is so much that every day is just powder after powder after powder. There has not been a single blue-sky day in the last 3 weeks. It's just been constantly stormdays. If you look at the snowpack at the road-cut, theres no obvious layers until later in the season... its just one big layer.
At the end of the day, it snows a lot here in 'Yuki Guni' (snow country) so much so that there are houses and even public buildings with a built-in 2nd entrances on the 2nd story, ready for when the first story becomes fully buried with snow... I have to walk 'downhill' onto my deck now... 3 weeks ago I was using the stairs. (about 8 or so)
That's crazy, I need to make my way there, it's on the bucket list, just haven't gotten to it yet, hopefully soon...
