Isaac skins along a steaming volcanic caldera not far from Nozawa.
Base at top: 355 cm
Temp at Top: 0 Degree
Base at Uenotaira station: 265 cm
New snow since close: 0 cm
Weather: Overcast
Looks like the sun has vanished overnight and we currently have some overcast hazy skies above the village. The temperatures only just reached freezing at the top of the mountain so expect the snow quality to be mostly slushy, a little firmer up at Yamabiko. There will be some fun turns to be had on piste with very little in the way of crowds as per usual for March.
Yesterday was an awesome spring day. The snow quickly became slushy in the warm sunshine as the smell of defrosting forest wafted around the lower hills creating present aromas. The snow was best on piste with Skyline and Yamabiko particularly fun. Off piste the snow was slow and sticky, definitely a day for the groomed runs.
Todays photo shows a volcanic caldera not far from Nozawa. It is a great touring day trip for sunny spring days. We had attempted to reach this lake on Saturday but turned back due to pure laziness. I absolutely lament this decision. Yesterday some of our friends repeated the trip and came back with this great photo depicting the steaming lake that was in parts bubbling with emitted gases. Thanks for the photo Frederik! Just goes to show how centralised Nozawa Onsen is for exploring the surrounding countryside.
Ahead and the forecast is for snow, snow and more snow. These will kick off later tonight and I wouldn’t be suprised to wake tomorrow with 20-30cm on the ground. These falls will continue tomorrow and Wednesday. On Thursday the weather looks to be a mix of sunshine and isolated snowfalls that will become heavier overnight into Friday. For next weekend, mostly light isolated falls of snow interspersed with sunshine. It looks like a good week is ahead of us.
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