Niseko Now: Sunday 15th December 2024
- Dec 15, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 179cm
Posted on Sunday 15th December 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I have measured another 5cm to add to the ongoing reports this morning.
It is snowing lightly at the start of the day and while visibility is ok down around base areas it looks like things are much less clear higher up.
In ski lift news, the Jumbo Number 2 pair at Annupuri is now go!
If I may, a quick note about the runs that are open/available at Hirafu. This season, on the official website, Hirafu is showing the 'live' status about what ski runs are open and which are closed. That's great in theory, but until 8:30am each morning they are all showing as being 'closed'. And they are closed before 8:30am, of course, so it is not actually incorrect. But that totally live thing kind of makes it difficult to know which runs are actually expected to open each morning. I think it would be helpful if they flagged such information. Anyway, the bottom line is that most runs at Hirafu are now open, except those top runs that are serviced by the top lifts (Ace Number 4 and King Number 4). Hope that all makes sense!
I suppose such information is most relevant in the early and late season. Soon we will be at the stage where 'everywhere' is open.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6am: -5°, 3cm new snow in last 12hrs, good visibility. Moiwa 800m:-7.7°,NW6.4m/s, light snowfall, wind ripples. Annupuri: groomers report good visibility. Hanazono 1000m: -9.5°, ESE3.1m/s. Hanazono 3 : -2.1°, NNW0.0m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NW13m/s. Kamui Cape: SW13m/s, 1005hPa, wave1.8m.
A winter pressure pattern continues, slightly wide isobar spacing and relatively calm at sea and on the mountain with good visibility. Winds below 15m/s have left wind ripples, but snowfall has been only light. From observations and data, the overall avalanche risk is low. Gates are still closed because the bamboo is still thick out of bounds, not ski-able and making rescue difficult from the ski resort in the event of an accident. Locals should follow the rules. If an experienced skier leaves a trail, many people will follow. The snow around the groomers is excellent. Snowdrifts at 800m are stable, but the avalanche risk is still high on 1500m leeward slopes where +20m/s winds continue. Please choose your route carefully in the surrounding mountains. Avalanches occur when the conditions are right and if there are people there, it can cause an accident. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Sunday 15th 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: 15cm
Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 140cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (no 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: 15cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 190cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (no 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:
Most courses apart from the top runs are now open
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 150cm (+20cm change since yesterday)
Base: 100cm (+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: 125cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Annupuri Gondola
Dream Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 1 quad (open until 7:30pm)
Jumbo Number 2 pair
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 Sunday 15th December 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 179cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (14th December) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 141cm reported on 12 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.