Niseko Now: Monday 10th December 2018
- Dec 10, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 184cm
Posted on Monday 10th December 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
It is a good start to the week.
Those blue skies that we had as I was writing my report yesterday didn't last long and this morning I am measuring a further 19cm of fresh snowfall on the ground to add to my reports. It's really light and dry. Very nice.
Currently it is generally cloudy. Light snow has been falling this morning and perhaps it will be another day of on-off snowfall.
From this morning the Holiday Number 1 pair lift should be moving from 8:30am at Niseko Grand Hirafu. Hirafu is also opening up the Dai-ni-no-kabe, Kogen, Boyo and all of the Sen-no-ki courses. So there's another chunk of that area available from this morning and you can ride back down to base. Yey.
Niseko Village also now have their gondola moving.
A bit of an 'doh' to report: Annupuri are apparently needing to do some kind of maintenance work on their Jumbo Number 1 quad lift this morning. So keep that in mind if you want to be over in that area.
I look forward to the day when I will be able to just say... everywhere is open. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can do that. The forecast continues to look good and 'snowy' through this coming week, so I should be seeing and reporting fresh snow every day.
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More people seem to be arriving in Niseko day by day now, both people coming to slide and the people working behind the scenes. And that will continue as we approach Christmas as things get gradually more lively.
Blimey, Christmas is just over two weeks away. Santa is due to be on the slopes of Niseko around Christmas - he always seems to choose Niseko (he's clever) - so I hope he gets the bulk of his work sorted before then.
Time - slow down please!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 5am: -9℃, light storm, 20cm of wind-affected snow. Dense snowdrifts with wind-ripples are present in Moiwa 600m elevation. Sea of Japan Benkei cape: NW14m/s (21m/s @ 3am), Kamui cape: WNW13m/s, 1023hPa, 3.0m waves.
A NW20m/s storm has persisted overnight above 1000m elevation and made snowdrifts heavily develop in leeward slopes. Observations showed signs of weak bonding within these snowdrifts. The avalanche risk is high at knoll aspects and heavy-loaded slopes just below the ridges.
The wind will calm down as the isobars spread out and the new slabs will eventually stabilize. The snow in the trees have a slight drag, but good. The conditions are not uniform, so please use cautions. The overall snowpack is still quite shallow.
This information is released for the safety of skiers and snowboarders. Precaution is key to avoid accidents. The access gates to the out of bounds area will remain closed for a while. Do not duck ropes to step out of bounds.
Have a nice day.
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Ski resort operation information: Monday 10th December 2018
The below information is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 150cm
- Base: 65cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 Pair
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 100cm
- Base: 70cm
- Data as of yesterday (not updated at time of report)
Ski lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Courses open:
- Family Course
- Sen-no-ki
- Shirakaba Course
- Center Course
- Beginners Access
- Jumbo Course
- Rinkan Course
- Dai-ni-no-kabe
- Kogen Course
- Boyo Course
- Yotei Sunset
- Parallel Course
- Silver Dream
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Niseko Annupuri
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 100cm
- Base: 60cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (maintenance this morning - unclear if it might get moving)
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
Niseko Annupuri Courses open:
- Utopia Course
- Shirakaba Course
- Paradise Course
- Family Course
- Junior Course
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Niseko Village
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 100cm
- Base: 60cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair
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Night time operations are planned to begin at the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri resort areas from Tuesday 11th December.
There is no nighta at the Niseko HANAZONO area.
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Monday 10th December 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 184cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (23rd November) November 2018 snowfall 84cm reported on 8 days December 2018 snowfall 100cm reported on 7 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. 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.