What a day yesterday, blue skies and +22.5C in the valley bottom of Hakuba. It hit +9.5C at 2080m and +6C at 2456m. We didn't go skiing.

Overnight temperatures in the valley remained at +12C most of the night then dropped a little as strong winds, thunder, lightning and rain hit. Very windy in the valley this morning with snow forecast for most of the week above 1200m.

Another aberration in weather is current relative humidity, yesterday it was close to zero percent, today it is 25%. Typical is 75 to 85%.

Yesterday below 1400m had progressively poor snow quality even on northerly aspects. It was heavy and manky. Up to 2100m the snow quality was good, dry powder about 30cm deep with below freezing temps. However at around 1700m the mark the new snow was sluffing very easily on the previous melt freeze crust on all aspects. Natural single point releases were common, along with ski triggered sluffs. A good day to avoid terrain traps where seemingly harmless sluffs can accumulate a lot of snow.

Reports of deep dry powder up to 2300m with knee dep turns and face shots. Yesterday was a good day to go high and stay there, only coming down in the afternoon.

Temperatures forecast to reach +14C at valley bottom today with rain tonight.

Yesterday offered dense creamy wind buff in the gullies and ice on the ridges below 2100m on north aspects. Better than nothing. It remained colder than forecast at valley bottom and into the afternoon started to snow at all elevations.

Overnight more snow than forecast with 16cm in the valley at 800m – not the usual overload – and only 7% water. And it fell with very little wind. A pretty good turn around from previous conditions. Go and get some safely.

Cold yesterday with about -10C all day at 2000m. Not so much sun either and wind higher up. This meant the only good corn was well below tree line and we found some at between 800m and 1200m on a north aspect. At 2000m there were reports of wind deposited storm snow mixed in with wide areas of scoured frozen rain crust. We found patches of wind deposit and at times felt like it was winter for a few consecutive turns.

Clear overnight with a rock hard spring snowpack in the valley this morning, remaining frozen at tree line all day with some snow to come and possible sleet/rain in the valley bottom.

Unless you go high with the hope of roaming for random patches of wind deposit amongst the ice, the best skiing is again at just below freezing level on corn before the precip starts.

With gradual snowfall forecast, good skiing by next week in the more distant backcountry, though the expected wind will strip the obvious places. Low angle gullies and depressions beyond Tsugaike and above 2000m will be ok, likewise some ‘other places’ lower down where the wind doesn’t reach as much yet the snowfall is higher than you get closer to town.