Niseko Now: Friday 17th April 2015
- Apr 17, 2015
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 1144cm
Posted on Friday 17th April 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Strong southerly winds with visibility down to just 50m on upper areas of the resorts early this morning... the wind is affecting the top lifts at the start of the day with currently only the Ace Number 2 Center Four lift moving at Niseko Grand Hirafu (top two scheduled lifts on hold), and a similar situation with the top Jumbo lift at Niseko Annupuri.
So for now there are 3 lifts operating.
Maybe a bit of rain on and off today. Cold enough for a bit of snow higher perhaps?
Snow continues to disappear from base areas and a few patches on the lower mountain as well. Niseko Grand Hirafu is still showing an official snow depth on it's upper areas as 345cm though, so we're not struggling to keep open in terms of the amount of snow. Whether you like the late spring snow conditions here in Niseko is quite another matter of course. The rain that we have been having over the last few days has made things pretty heavy going. Perhaps that's all part of the fun! ;)
Just out of interest I took a look back at the corresponding number on the same date last year... it was 305cm.
Good chance of sun tomorrow as well as warmer conditions and the temps rising into double digits.
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Planned resort operations for the rest of the season - wind and snow conditions aside may mean changes on any given day, but these are the plans!
Niseko Grand Hirafu:
- Ace Quad Number 2 Center four - until May 6
- King Triple Lift Number 3 - until May 6
- King Number 4 - until May 6
- Hirafu Gondola (** ONLY ON SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS and HOLIDAYS) - until May 6
- Spring Park plans to be open until May 6
Niseko Annupuri:
- Annupuri Gondola - until May 6
- Jumbo Number 1 quad - until May 6
- Jumbo Number 4 pair - until May 6
Niseko Village:
Niseko Village is currently closed but plans to re-open for the Golden Week holidays - from April 29th until May 6th
Niseko Hanazono:
Niseko Hanazono is now closed for the season
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Official resort snow depths:
Grand Hirafu:
Top - 345cm
Base - 20cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 285cm
Base - 60cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Friday 17th April 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 1144cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 83 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th & 26th December and 11th February) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 519cm reported on 25 days January 2015 snowfall 257cm reported on 23 days February 2015 snowfall 196cm reported on 18 days March 2015 snowfall 139cm reported on 11 days April 2015 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day |
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.