Weather and snow conditions in Nozawa Onsen now

Nozawa Onsen Snow Report 6 February 2014

Very cold temperatures and light snow are continuing in Nozawa Onsen at the present time. You could say that the riding today will be epic! Many areas of off piste powder were left untouched yesterday and with the additional 15cm that has fallen last night there are sure to be some very deep stashes about. Time to get out and get amongst it! Wind strength is far less than what we experienced yesterday.

Yesterday was so far the coldest day of the season with a top temperature at the summit of -12C at the summit. As a result, the snow was extremely dry. It was so cold and dry that ultra cold weather wax was required for maximum drive and speed over the snow. Off piste was quite variable and dangerous. Some areas had waist deep powder on an icy base, stability was low. With decent speed it felt bottomless however. Other areas were sheet ice, heavily scoured with prominent death cookies hidden under a layer of powder. You needed to know where to go really. Conditions should become excellent over time with a degree of consolidation.

According to the forecast light snowfalls and very cold temperatures are set to continue the rest of today before becoming isolated overnight into tomorrow. Later tomorrow partly cloudy conditions are a definite possibility. Further ahead, we expected another extended period of moderate snowfalls and cold temps from Saturday into Tuesday next week. The Iiyama Snow Festival is on this weekend for those in the area.