Tenki and Yuki Diary 18 Feb 08

Know the weather = know the snow pack = know the stability.

Steep Deep Japan Hakuba  weather data for the 24 hours to 7am for 860m asl Max temp -1C, min temp -11C and  -10C at 7am. 4cm of new snow in the last 24 hours with a density of 80kg/m3, equivalent to 8.7% water - getting lighter.  Barometer has risen to 921mbar and the skies are at last clear and blue this morning.  Wind aloft is moderate from the north west. 

Field observations:  We did not travel in the stormy backcountry yesterday, rather spent the afternoon building an igloo for a friend and saved our energy for this week of potentially clear weather. 

Please refer to the Hakuba backcountry travel advisory from the guides at Evergreen Outdoors.