Niseko Now: Friday 16th December 2022
- Dec 16, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 7cm
Snowfall at base this season 205cm
Posted on Friday 16th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It sure feels cold this morning. I went outside to measure the snow for this report and decided to come back quickly. It's the wind making it feel biting cold.
The rather wild weather continues with a strong wind likely to cause some problems this morning. At 8:30am, the Annupuri gondola is on hold; other lifts appear to be moving.
Tomorrow will hopefully be a bit calmer all round, but the snow probably won't ease off for long, with more due as the new week starts.
Floodlit night skiing is due to start on our mountain tomorrow. As far as I am aware, that will happen as planned.
The top lifts are not yet open, but I don't expect it to be too long before we hear more about that. A few more runs at Hirafu have been added to the 'open' list this morning.
If you are here - be careful out there!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -9℃, light winds, 10cm snow in last 12hrs. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW20m/s, Kamui cape WNW14m/s, 1010hPa, 3.2m waves. Elevation 1000m: -15℃ , W18m/s, snowdrift development. No other on mountain data available.
The winter type weather pressure system continues with strong, cold westerly winds. Strong wind and snow persist on the seas and mountains. Although only a small amount of snow has fallen, snow drift growth has reached 2m. There is a high risk of avalanches on slopes above the 800m treeline where soft slabs have developed. From observation and data there is a possibility of over 60cm dry surface generated avalanches on West Ridge Back Bowl, Mikaeri Bowl, East Ridge cornice slope. These conditions will continue for some time still. Stay out of the valley bottoms today even if the lifts start running again. Avoid stimulating the leeward side of ridges, cornices or knolls all day tomorrow after the wind has dropped. The snow is good in the trees but a little heavy. Still low tide out there, be careful falling into creeks. The water is cold. Watch out for frostbite and hypothermia. Have a safe day.
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Individual ski area information for Friday 16th 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: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 175cm (+15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 80cm (+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:
- Family
- Sennoki
- Alpen
- Super (upper)
- Detour for beginners
- Green
- Furiko
- Shirakaba
- Center
- Kokutai
- Holiday
- Rinkan
- Jumbo
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 3cm
- Base: 14cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 124cm (+4cm change since yesterday)
- Base: 92cm (+2cm 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: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 125cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (+5cm 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
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 90cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 75cm (+15cm 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)
- Quad lift scheduled to open from tomorrow (Saturday)
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Friday 16th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 205cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (2nd December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 188cm reported on 15 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.