IT’S official – 15 metres of snow has fallen at the foot of Niseko’s Mt Annupuri this year… and there’s more to come.
With more snow forecast this week, it’s looking like last year’s total of 15.3m might soon be surpassed.
While these sort of averages have long been bandied about with no official recording, it’s good to see the cold hard facts (pardon the pun) being recorded by local bloggers 360Niseko.
Every day for the past few seasons they’ve been taking a daily measurement on their high-tech snow measuring station – that is, a table with a rule fastened to it.
They take a photo of the snow against the ruler, upload the evidence to their site and keep a record of their findings.
Using this data they’re able to make some pretty awesome graphs illustrating just how much snow Niseko gets in different months and compared to other resorts worldwide.
See a couple of these graphs on page 10 of this season’s Powderlife magazine which you can read here or download through the Appstore for iPhone and iPad.
Their recordings are taken in Hirafu Village at about 350m above sea level. Up on the ski hill the figure will be much higher.
Meanwhile the resort’s official base depth at the peak is 505cm, which means there will be plenty of snow around as we head into spring.