Niseko Now: Wednesday 14th December 2022
- Dec 14, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 13cm
Snowfall at base this season 186cm
Posted on Wednesday 14th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Thankfully, yesterday does seem to have been a blip. It's never good to have rain in the winter months; hopefully, if we are lucky, we won't get much more (or any). I was meeting some friends at Hirafu, and the conditions weren't great. It was not the best of introductions to Niseko for them, but things should be improving again quickly.
We have had another 10+cm or so of fresh snow overnight at base, and it is definitely colder this morning. As I write this, it is snowing quite heavily, and visibility is low.
Consistent snowfall is forecast for the coming few days at least. Wind will also probably be an issue later on today. In fact, at the start of the day, the Hanazono gondola is on hold (though it is unclear if that is wind-related). Other lifts all seem to be opening as planned for the moment.
There are some interesting numbers coming in from the ski areas this morning (below). Some of them seem somewhat contradictory. But they are what they are, and even when they seem odd, they are always interesting information. Well, I think so, anyway. Remember, pinches of salt!
---------------
Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -5℃, light wind, 20cm snowfall in 12h. Moiwa600m: -6℃, light wind, good visibility, 20cm snowfall with some snowdrift development. Annupuri1000m: -6℃, N9m/s, 20cm snowfall in 12h with 1m snowdrifts in some spots. Coastal data: Benkei cape N9m/s, Kamui cape NW9m/s, 1011hPa, 2.0m waves.
The atmospheric pressure gradient got steeper during the night and a 18-20m/s snowstorm picked up. The isobars then spread out early in the morning and the wind calmed down. The storm is forecasted to pick up again after 10am. A notable layer will form due to the large temperature difference from yesterday’s rain layer and will likely become a surface slab avalanche trigger layer in the future snowpack. Snowdrifts forming around knolls at 800m elevation could potentially reach 150cm thickness as the storm picks up and the weather forecast looks promising for the avalanche risk to rise dramatically in the next 24h.
Heavy wind-affected snowdrift slabs that develop under 20+m/s winds are structurally unstable. They collapse within themselves and can easily trigger an avalanche. Riding leeward gullies’ sidewalls during a storm is very dangerous as wind-slabs can slide widely and instantly, and run very fast for long distances. The snow might be good, but the gates aren’t ready to open yet. Please respect the Niseko Rules.
---------------
Individual ski area information for Wednesday 14th December 2022
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.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (+20cm since yesterday)
- Base: 60cm (-15cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (8:30am-3:10pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair (8:40am-3:30pm)
- King Number 3 quad (8:40am-3:15pm)
Courses:
- Jumbo (lower area ungroomed)
- Rinkan (lower area)
- Center
- Shirakaba
- Beginners access
- Holiday
- Kokutai
- Green
- Alpen (lower area ungroomed)
- Sennoki
- Family
-------
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 28cm
- Base: 13cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 125cm (+23cm change since yesterday)
- Base: 73cm (-4cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1 (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (8:30am-4:00pm) * on hold at the start of the day
Courses:
- All main courses are now available
-------
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 115cm (+6cm since yesterday)
- Base: 85cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola (8:30am-3:15pm)
- Dream Number 1 quad (9:00am-4:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (8:30am-4:00pm)
Courses:
- Utopia
- Silver
- Shirakaba
- Paradise
- Family
- Dynamic
- Junior
- Beginner course by the Dream lift
-------
Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 90cm (-20cm since yesterday)
- Base: 60cm (-25cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Village Express (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Community Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Banzai Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
-------
Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Number 2 pair lift (8:30am-3:30pm)
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Wednesday 14th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 186cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (2nd December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 169cm reported on 13 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.