Niseko Now: Tuesday 13th December 2016
- Dec 13, 2016
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 185cm
Posted on Tuesday 13th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Hello from Niseko base here and after that run of much colder temperatures, it is a much warmer start to the day this morning. Having said that it is still only hovering around 0 degrees as of 8am and probably won't venture much more than a few degrees into positive numbers during the day, so it's nothing to get startled about.
After clouds clearing and leaving us with a fine day yesterday with blue skies, we did actually get a limited delivery of fresh snow overnight. I measured 2cm, and as you might expect it is not as light and fluffy as we had previously, but light snow does continues to fall early on. It is expected to ease off soon.
Hopefully it will be snowing once again by the end of tomorrow and continue through the weekend.
In the meantime, pesky southerly winds might well affect higher lifts in particular today so be wary of that.
The Free Ride Park at Niseko Grand Hirafu is now open. (Well, open from 10am-4pm!)
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -4℃, mild wind and 4cm snowfall in 12 hours. Coastal data: Kamui cape ENE8m/s, 1012hPa, 0.7m waves.
A southerly storm is picking up above 800m as the next low-pressure system is approaching. Typical pre-low pressure snowfall crystals are observed below 600m elevation, however the snowfall amount is small.
Bushes and bamboos are not buried and the out of bounds areas are not suitable for riding yet. Still many hollow space lurking under the bamboo. Try to bootpack and you will sink to your chest and have a very hard time walking out. Better not carelessly drop into the valleys.
The storm is forecasted to pick up as the wind swings westerly. Beware of sudden weather changes. The light is weak and the visibility is poor. Ride carefully.
The general avalanche risk is low.
An Avalanche Institute member’s son has been caught ducking ropes in Hirafu yesterday. Both father and son are deeply reflecting on this matter and we made sure it would never happen again.
Sincere apologies to the Hirafu Ski Patrollers for the troubles caused.
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Resort specific opening news at time of writing (subject to change during the day):
All four resort areas appear to be able to open as planned at the start of the day. The King Number 3 and Swinging Monkey lifts at Niseko Grand Hirafu might be affected by winds this morning.
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Ace Family pair*
- Ace Number 2 Center Four*
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola*
- King Number 3 quad
- Holiday Number 1 pair*
- Swinging Monkey
Courses that are not yet open:
- Sennoki
- Onsenzawa
- Super
- Large
- Kogen
- Ni-kabe
- Konayuki
- Miharashi
- Dynamic
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Hanazono 1 quad
- Hanazono 2 quad
- Hanazono 3 quad
Courses planned to be open:
- All open apart from Hanazono Park
Niseko Village
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola*
- Village Express*
- Community Chair*
- Banzai Chair
Niseko Annupuri
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Jumbo Number 1 quad* (opening late this morning)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Annupuri Gondola
Courses planned to be open:
- Utopia
- Shirakaba
- Silver
- Paradise
- Junior
- Family
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Official resort snow depths as of Tuesday 13th December 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 200cm
Base - 70cm
Niseko Village
Top - 80cm
Base - 60cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 70cm
Base - 60cm
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Night skiing is planned until Monday 20th March 2017 at the Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village resort areas. There is no nighta in the Hanazono area.
The lifts marked with a * above are the lifts that are planned to be operating for nighta.
Niseko Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Tuesday 13th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 185cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (25th November) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 75cm reported on 10 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.