Niseko Now: Thursday 12th December 2024
- Dec 12, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 145cm
Posted on Thursday 12th December 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's still snowing, yey!
I have another 12cm to add to the reports this morning. I believe that takes the total up to 145cm for the season so far. (Some of that melted before more arrived, of course... but it still existed).
Regular and consistent snowfall is on forecasts right through into next week.
At the start of the day, it looks like the top lift at Hanazono is on hold and the Annupuri gondola is operating at reduced speed.
Apparently, a few people have asked about 'how does this compare with previous seasons?'
Well, I'm not able to spend time keeping an eye on the the past with my daily duties in the present. Particularly at this busy early stage of the season. But, as luck would have it, I have been doing these reports for many years (and someone did them before me, too). There are literally thousands of archive reports available on SnowJapan, right here within the Niseko Now section. So you can go back and spend hours reliving previous seasons and analysing this stuff at leisure. You can look at overviews and general data, or you can deep dive into individual reports.
The links to all this goodness are at the top of this report. See those big blue 'tabs' thingies? The ones that say Snowfall analysis, Seasonal archives and Snow depth data. They are your starting points. As are the Annual archive season links at the bottom of this report.
I won't post the actual links here, in the hope that asking people to find them will encourage some learning about where all this stuff is. Enjoy!
By the way, I believe the official snow depth data for ski areas around Japan will also start updating for the new season... very soon.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -8℃, 15cm snowfall in 12h, light snowstorm. Moiwa800m: -10.7℃, NNW10.2m/s (20m @ 6m), snowdrifts are developing and visibility is poor. Hanazono 1000m: -12.4℃, NNE7.3m/s (25m @ 6am) . Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW14m/s (20m @ 5am), Kamui cape NNW11m/s, 1014hPa, 2.7m waves.
Drastic snowdrift developments, up to 80cm, are observed above 800m elevation. Top 50cm layer showed high instability during test, lower layers are consolidated and stable. Snowdrifts are still growing above treeline and the avalanche risk is high in leeward cornice slopes. Unstable slabs have also formed under the chairlifts. Stay away from open steep slopes above 800m elevation today. The snowpack may be shallow, but avalanches can happen when the conditions align. Do not put too much confidence in your skills, knowledge, experience and equipment. Carefulness is key to avoiding accidents. The groomer condition is great, the ungroomed area is a bit dense and heavy due to windload snow. Poor visibility. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Thursday 12th December 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing.
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 20cm
Base: 14cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 122cm (+7cm change since yesterday)
Base: 94cm (+1cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All four lifts scheduled to be operating
Courses:
All courses scheduled to be open
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 25cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 165cm (+15cm since yesterday)
Base: 75cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Ace Family quad
Ace Gondola
King Gondola
King Holiday pair
King Number 3 quad
Swinging Monkey
Courses:
Family
Sennoki
Alpen
King area access
Super
Beginners access
Green
Furiko
Kogen
Boyo
Dai-no-kabe
Kokutai
Holiday
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 105cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 70cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Niseko Gondola
Upper Village Gondola
Village Express
Community Chair
Banzai Chair
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 80cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 70cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Annupuri Gondola
Dream Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 1 quad
Courses:
Utopia
Shirakaba
Paradise
Family
Junior
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
Number 1 pair lift
Number 2 pair lift
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Night skiing
Floodlit night skiing is planned from Saturday 14th December 2024 until Wednesday 23rd March 2025.
Niseko Now 2024-2025 season |
Data as of Thursday 12th December 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 145cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (5th and 8th December) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 107cm reported on 9 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.