Niseko Now: Monday 17th December 2018
- Dec 17, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 260cm
Posted on Monday 17th December 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I get no pleasure from having to report it, but report it I do - we had to endure some rain in the evening yesterday, down at base anyway.
Booooo!
Conditions remain relatively mild this morning but happily I can report 3cm of snow. It's very much on the wet side, but we'll take it!
And not to fear, as the forecast is looking rather promising for the coming few days. Fingers crossed for lots of snow coming in.
Here is a question often asked:
Why, when pretty much all the other areas are open, are the top lifts not moving yet?
Well, the official answer seems to be that there's not enough snow yet. That might seem understandably odd considering that more snow usually falls higher up on the mountain than base, and those base areas are already open. You'll notice the Avalanche Report below is also saying that there isn't enough snow yet to safely ride out of bounds. You need more snow to safely do that than on the groomed prepared courses. Once the good folk making those decisions decided that there is enough snow to safely get it all going, it most certainly will do and the gate system will kick into action.
Hopefully that day will be quite soon. Perhaps after this storm that's due over the next few days.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6.00am: 0°, light winds, 5cm of wet snow in the last 12hrs. Moiwa 800m: -2°, W8m/s, 10cm wet snowfall, no snowdrift development. Hirafu 1000m -3°, 20cm new snow in last 12 hrs, foggy. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: NNW7m/s. Kamui Cape: NNW4m/s, 1007hPa, wave 0.7m.
Wet snow has fallen with the passing of a low pressure system. The east side (Hirafu) has received more snow. Wet snow has started to cover the bamboo in forested areas. Surface avalanches can occur easily on 40 deg slopes when this type of low pressure snowfall reaches 30cm depth. Although the speed of these avalanches is slow, they carry significant destructive force. Expect 15-16 Dec layer in snowpack.
Snow is good however visibility is poor. Take care riding. The snow blanketing the mountain is beautiful today.
There still isn't enough snow to safely ride out of bounds. Accidents can easily happen in bad weather. Make cautious decisions.
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Ski resort operation information: Sunday 16th December 2018
The below information is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 180cm
- Base: 90cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad (until 8:30pm)
- Ace Number 2 Center Four (until 8:20pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair (until 3:30pm)
- Hirafu Gondola (until 8:10pm)
- Holiday Number 1 Pair (until 8:30pm)
- King Number 3 quad (until 3:30pm)
- Swinging Monkey (until 3:00pm)
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 140cm
- Base: 88cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad (until 3:30pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (until 3:30pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (until 3:00pm)
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Courses:
- All courses apart from the below courses are now open
- Onsenzawa
- Large
- Miharashi
- Dynamic
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 150cm
- Base: 90cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola (until 3:15pm)
- Dream Number 1 quad (until 5:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 8:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair (until 3:15pm)
- Jumbo Number 3 pair (until 3:15pm)
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 150cm
- Base: 90cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola (until 3:00pm)
- Upper Village Gondola (until 8:00pm)
- Village Express (until 8:00pm)
- Community Chair (until 4:30pm)
- Banzai Chair (until 8:00pm)
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Monday 17th December 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 260cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (23rd November and 14th December) November 2018 snowfall 84cm reported on 8 days December 2018 snowfall 176cm 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.