Clouds move over nearby mountains late yesterday evening.
Base up top: 380cm Temp Top; -10 Degrees
Base at bottom: 200cm
New Snow since close: 0cm
We expected light snow overnight and this morning. It looks as if these haven’t shown and we currently have some partly cloudy conditions over Nozawa Onsen.
The riding today will be similar to yesterday with firm and fast surfaces early, grading to slushy by the afternoon. The groomers will be the pick, with the Yamabiko reds being of the best quality. Off piste riding will be quite heavy going today, especially in the afternoon.
Yesterday was a fun and very uncrowded day on the hill. There were still more than a few untracked areas of powder on offer in the morning. During the afternoon these became heavy with warming temperatures. The groomed runs held classic spring snow which became slushy and forgiving during the afternoon Partly cloudy to sunny conditions lasted all day and we were greeted with a spectacular sunset during the evening. A perfect spring day in Nozawa.
Looking at the forecast ahead we are at the beginning of a gradual warming trend and series of clear spring days. It was forecast to get extremely warming during the next couple of days, but luckily the predictions have backed off and we now expect a peak freezing level of around 2000 meters Thursday and Friday. Saturday should see a very brief cool snap lasting only the morning. Sunday should see another more lengthy cool change lasting into Monday. Hopefully we get some more spring powder soon.
