Hakuba Now: Friday 6th December 2019
- Dec 6, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 18, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Hakuba region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 15cm
Posted on Friday 6th December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Hakuba.
A very good one it is - the first day of the ski season, in fact!
Our mountains have been blessed with some good snowfall over the last few days and it's good to see patrol walking knee deep in snow. That's what we like to see.
Snowfall headlines, from the ski resorts themselves, as I have them:
Happo-one: yesterday saying 60cm of fresh snowfall, presumably high up; this morning saying 'snow depth' of 20cm at top of gondola; reporting 10cm of new snowfall on official site
Hakuba Goryu: reporting 15cm of fresh snowfall and 50cm of snow depth on upper slopes
Hakuba 47: reporting 10-15cm of fresh snowfall and 80cm snow depth on upper slopes. Yesterday there were showing a ruler of 50cm of fresh snowfall
Those three ski resorts are part open from today - details outlined below.
I can't find any official word just yet from Tsugaike Kogen...
Light snow falling early morning but the snow is easing off - there's even signs that the sun might even break through in places, maybe not - but we are expecting a generally cloudy day.
Enjoy!
Regarding snowfall numbers:
You can very easily get lost chasing numbers.
Even a keen observer like myself can sometimes get confused and at times I need to process what seem to be sometimes conflicting reports (official numbers which can be vague; social media posts by the resorts etc).
And of course, as we know - and as I mention in almost every single report I post - more snow falls higher up on the mountain than falls at base areas.
Sadly, I do not live on the top of the mountain and it is impossible for me to properly report from there... on any one day, never mind on a daily and consistent basis.
So for 'mountain numbers', the best I can do is report what the ski resorts themselves say as well as add in any personal notes from when I go out myself.
As something of an experiment, I am for now going to be adding the 'new snowfall' numbers reported by resorts, where available, in the data below. We'll see how that works.
I also have what I hope is a cunningly cunning plan regarding 'numbers', and I will tell you more about it soon - hopefully in a report sometime next week.
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Hakuba Happo-one
Operating lifts:
- Happo Gondola Adam - 8:30am until 2:30pm (last one down at 4:00pm)
- Kokusai Number 3 pair lift - 8:45am until 3:30pm
- Panorama pair lift - 8:45am until 3:30pm
Courses open:
- Panorama
Official snow depth:
- Kurobishi: 80cm
- Usagidaira: 75cm
- Lower: 5cm
New snowfall (**reported by the ski resort**):
- Kurobishi: 10cm
- Usagidaira: 10cm
- Lower: -cm
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Hakuba 47
The top area open but you need to get the Hakube Goryu gondola up there.
Operating lifts:
- Line E pair lift - 10:00am until 3:40pm
- Access via the Hakuba Goryu gondola
Courses open:
- Upper Line E area
Official snow depth:
- Top: 80cm
- Base: 20cm
New snowfall (**reported by the ski resort**):
- Top: 15cm
- Base: -cm
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Hakuba Goryu
Operating lifts:
- Goryu Telecabin Gondola - 8:15am until 4:30pm (last one up at 3:50pm)
- Alps Number 1 pair lift - 8:30am until 4:00pm
Courses open:
- Top Line E area
Official snow depth:
- Top: 50cm
- Toomi: 20cm
- Iimori: -cm
New snowfall (**reported by the ski resort**):
- Top: 15cm
- Base: -cm
Tsugaike Kogen
Plans to open as soon as there is enough snow
Hakuba Cortina
Plans to open on Saturday 14th December 2019
Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field
Plans to open on Friday 13th December 2019
Hakuba Valley Kashimayari
Plans to open on Saturday 14th December 2019
Hakuba Norikura Onsen
Plans to open on Saturday 14th December 2019
Hakuba Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Friday 6th December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 15cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 5cm (6th December) November 2019 snowfall 4cm reported on 1 day December 2019 snowfall 11cm reported on 3 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Hakuba. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.