Niseko Now: Thursday 15th December 2022
- Dec 15, 2022
- 5 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 198cm
Posted on Thursday 15th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Snow and wind. The wind has been blowing the snow around and generally being rather pesky. So it's one of those days when the amount of snow might vary more than usual in different areas. But in my trusted measuring point (and backup place), I have measured 12cm of fresh snow since yesterday. There will be more than that on the mountain.
The wind is still an issue this morning. Hopefully, it might calm down, but at the start of the day the Annupuri Gondola is on hold. They are opening their Jumbo Number 2 pair in place of the gondola. A few other lifts are running at reduced speed.
Forecasts are looking good for the snowfall to continue. There's no sign of any kind of prolonged let-up, bringing clear and sunny skies. It would seem like the snow is just going to keep on piling up.
I'm sure we can cope. We'll find a way to put up with it.
Early season cheaper tickets are available until tomorrow. From Saturday, it's 'regular season'. (I'd expect the ski areas to feel the need to be as open as possible for that).
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Yesterday, I was talking to the SnowJapan guys about various stuff. One thing I found interesting. Apparently, here we are in the middle of December, but about 80 ski areas have still not updated their information since March or April. There are even a handful of ski areas that have already opened, but their official website is still stuck in 2021-2022 mode. How mad is that?
Here in Kutchan, we have a small town-operated ski area behind the station called Asahigaoka. It probably plans to open around Christmas, as usual. However, the information page online still says 'thank you for visiting', with the last update in March. I know how things can get a bit hectic in the run-up to a season. Still, I often wonder, doesn't anyone think it might be an idea for a ski area to update its message and information, perhaps sometime in the autumn. Even if it's simply to say they plan to open this year.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -8℃ at 6am, strong wind, 20cm snowfall in 12h. Moiwa 800m: -13℃, strong west wind, 100cm snowdrift, 30cm snowfall in12h. Annupuri 1000m: -15℃, W15m/s, significant snowdrift development. Coastal data: Benkei cape WNW15m/s, Kamui cape NW17m/s, 1006hPa, 3.4m waves.
The winter type weather pressure system continues and the strong wind and snow are blowing over both mountain and ocean. Wave heights over 3.5m at sea and over 20m/s westerly wind at 1000m causing rapid snowdrift development. Wind slabs (snowdrift) on the leeward side continue to grow, over 150cm in 12h. The developing snowdrifts are prone to avalanches as they can collapse easily within themselves regardless of the presence of a weak layer. Do not stimulate the cornices and knolls generated on the leeward side. Avalanche risk is extremely high today. This condition will continue till Saturday as the heavy snow and winds calm down. There are large amounts of good somewhat heavy snow in the treeruns. Beware of hitting trees. The snow in the treeruns is a little tricky to handle. You can’t beat the tree. Shirakaba course at Moiwa is expected to open this Saturday. Gates are not open yet. Have a good day.
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Individual ski area information for Thursday 15th 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: 25cm
- Base: 25cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 160cm (+20cm since yesterday)
- Base: 70cm (+10cm 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
- Rinkan
- Center
- Shirakaba
- Beginners access
- Holiday
- Kokutai
- Green
- Alpen
- Sennoki
- Family
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 120cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (+17cm 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) * on hold at the start of the day
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (8:30am-4:00pm)
Courses:
- All main courses are now available
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm * perhaps not updated by the ski area?
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 115cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 85cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola (8:30am-3:15pm) * on hold at the start of the day
- 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
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm * perhaps not updated by the ski area?
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 90cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 60cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola (8:30am-3:00pm) * on hold at the start of the day
- Village Express (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Community Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Banzai Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
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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 Thursday 15th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 198cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 19 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (2nd December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 181cm reported on 14 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.