Niseko Now: Saturday 14th December 2024
- Dec 14, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 22cm
Snowfall at base this season 173cm
Posted on Saturday 14th December 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It is obviously really great to be able to keep on reporting incoming snowfall, and today I have measured another 22cm to add to the totals (taking my observed total from base to 173cm for the season so far). Lovely. Obviously, conditions should be yummy out there and continuing to get better.
As that snow keeps on coming, more runs are gradually opening up but important to note that the top lifts at Hirafu, Village and Annupuri are yet to get going.
Niseko Moiwa seem to be starting up their quad lift this morning.
Night skiing starts from today at the four Niseko United ski areas. Annupuri is partying all night until, er, 7:30pm, with the other three closing up at 7:00pm. That's more like 'evening skiing' rather than 'night skiing', isn't it?! Still, Hirafu plans to have both gondolas operating for 'evening skiing', as well as the Ace Family quad and King Holiday pair lifts.
I have discussed this before in these reports, but long-timers will recall that night skiing used to be until much later into the actual night, hence the cunning name! I am pretty sure my memory is correct in recalling that Hirafu, for example, was open until 9:30pm in the 1990s. A close to hand guidebook from 2016 shows night skiing until 8:30pm, and a guidebook from 2021 shows night skiing until 8:00pm. So it seems to have gradually been cut back in recent years.
I do find it curious that they are still closing so (relatively) early here in Niseko, though right now the people who make decisions clearly don't feel the need. Perhaps sometime in the future the night skiing thing might be extended again back to how it used to be. I would like that.
(Side note: I don't think the cutting back on night skiing is a phenomenon unique to Niseko).
Anyway, good times! :)
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -8℃, 25cm snowfall in 12h, and going up 5cm/h. Moiwa800m: -10.6℃, NNW5.4m/s, 150cm snowpack and growing. Hanazono 1000m: -12.2℃, NNE5.6m/s, snowpack growing. Coastal data: Kamui cape NNW9m/s, Kamui cape N6m/s, 1010hPa, 1.5m waves.
The isobars have spread out, however the winter pressure distribution continues and cold air is flowing in. The snowdrifts development around 1000m elevation is mild and the overall avalanche risk is low. Bushes are mostly buried around 750m elevation and lines are open, but still thick in lower elevation and not suitable for skiing yet. The snow is fast today, flakes are crystalline without much wind influence. Avalanches can happen when the conditions align and do not depend on the amount of snow. It only becomes an accident if a person is caught in one. Highly wind-affected snow is dense, heavy and sticky, and is likely to form slabs. It is strongly recommended not to stimulate leeward slopes with heavy windload in a high-wind day (18+m/s) when cornices develop drastically. Whether there are notable weak layers or not, these quickly growing windloaded snowdrift slabs are extremely unstable and can slide into an avalanche.
Weak sunlight today and the slopes undulations are hard to see. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 14th 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: 30cm
Base: 25cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 150cm (+20cm change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (+15cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All four lifts scheduled to be operating
Courses:
All courses scheduled to be open
Gondola open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 40cm
Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 190cm (+30cm change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (+15cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Ace Family quad (open until 7:00pm)
Ace Gondola (open until 7:00pm)
Ace Number 3 pair
King Gondola (open until 7:00pm)
King Holiday pair (open until 7:00pm)
King Number 3 quad
Swinging Monkey
Courses:
All courses now open apart from:
Onsenzawa
Large
Konayuki
Miharashi
Dynamic
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 130cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Niseko Gondola
Upper Village Gondola (open until 7:00pm)
Village Express (open until 7:30pm)
Community Chair
Banzai Chair (open for night skiing until 7:30pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 115cm (+20cm change since yesterday)
Base: 80cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Annupuri Gondola
Dream Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 1 quad (open until 7:30pm)
Courses:
Utopia
Shirakaba
Paradise
Family
Junior
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
Number 1 pair lift
Number 2 pair lift
Quad 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 Saturday 14th December 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 173cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 19 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (14th December) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 135cm reported on 11 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.