Sunset at Yamabiko last night.
Base up top: 330cm Temp Top; -8 Degrees
Base at bottom: 160cm
New Snow since close: 0cm
What a day we have in Nozawa Onsen today. The weather does not get much better than this!
Looking out the window at the moment you will see bright full blue skies with not a cloud to be seen. The trees are standing dead still with not a breath of wind. To top it all off the powder snow is in pristine shape with cold overnight temperatures. I think it is safe to say that it will be an excellent day of skiing and boarding in Nozawa Onsen today.
Yesterday was also an outstanding day. Moderate snow showers continued until the early afternoon when the clouds parted to be replaced by sunshine and partly cloudy conditions. Moderate winds eased and became light during the afternoon.
Crowd levels were exceptionally low, typical for March weekdays in Nozawa Onsen. It was and is still easily possible to find pockets of untracked fresh even in the most obvious locations yesterday afternoon and today; such as the Yamabiko area and beside groomed runs. Off piste an icy base riddled with death cookies was menacing but this should improve today as the snow settles.
At the moment the forecast looks quite nice. Expect bluebird conditions to continue for the remainder of today before some unstable weather moves over the region tomorrow. Rain is a possibility during the day but by late afternoon, it will turn to snow. We then expect a good sized dump overnight Wednesday. Thursday will be a good day with light passing snow showers before clearing during the late afternoon. From Friday onwards we should see a run of cool clear day accompanied by light winds. Perfect spring weather.
Yamabiko snowball
