The sun has been out at Annupuri today so most of the crew from the lodge have been up riding the pow that fell last night. Interesting to note we are the only Gondola in Niseko that is operating top to bottom. Anyway no snow due for a couple days but then a big dump should start the deep stuff for the year. Till then check out todays pics.

Well the weather system that was bringing rain to the region has gone cold overnight and it's dumping snow like only Hokkaido can looks like a foot or so last night and still churning, should be an update and pic and vid later in the day for you to check out.

Snow due tonight on the Annupuri range models are forecasting a decent sized dump so we should see fresh cover for Friday and the weekend as a solid dump is also predicted for Friday night. We'll keep you posted.

Well the season is off and rolling and it was an epic start day at Annupuri the team from the lodge managed to get the first lift and first lines on the Mountain for the season and it was like being dropped straight into some sort of Playstation snow game. There was some great knee - deep blower up high on the runs that were "Officially" open and some even better stuff in a few harder to reach sections. These epic condies did not stay for too long though and we have had temps as high as 12 degrees for the last couple of days which has seen the snowpack harden up and really bind together and the roads have been quite a challenge with plenty of ice. The warm weather wont be with us for long though and models are showing a steep drop accompanied by some great falls of snow as we lead into the weekend. With 5 days till we take official guests here's hoping it's deep and cold so the staff can get their fill prior to our first guests. Hopefully we will have a video report to kick off our snow journal after the next fall.

In the mean time check out the pics of opening day. The first one is the gondola staff getting a final prep talk before launch, the second is our logistics manager Rianna Huebner a long way from her desk on day one and the third is our van being delivered to the front door.

It's OPEN!!!

Well it's a bit of a surprise but the Hokkaido snow machine has blasted to life and all across the mountains there is lots of FRESH seems as though about 1-2 feet dropped last night (20th) here in Annupuri and this morning was interesting as we had to dig cars and steps out from under the blower. Word is that Hirafu has opened today and that Annupuri will be open tomorrow. We should be out there across the next few hours so standby for an "On- the -slopes" report.

Well the seasons first snow has fallen at Kurodake and it's a full two weeks earlier than last year. Weather boffins seem pretty convinced that we are going into an El Nino phase as far as global weather is concerned and this means LOTS more precipitation. Lets hope they are right and we have another of those deep winters Japan is famous for. We will be bringing you reports as soon as the snow starts to fall in Annupuri so log back in regularly to see it progress to opening day.

The long awaited Powder Deluxe package at The Lodge At Annupuri is finally here, as you can see the site is live and you can go check out all the details of this exciting snow escape. We will be bringing you updates on all the happenings from the lodge across the pre-season build up as well as regular reports on snow conditions from Annupuri as soon as the white stuff is on the ground. So have a look around and if you would like to be part of the 2009/2010 Powder Deluxe escapes please contact us with any questions or to book in.