Niseko Now: Thursday 18th December 2014
- Dec 18, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 25cm
Snowfall at base this season 311cm
Posted on Thursday 18th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
This particular region of Hokkaido missed the worst of the storm yesterday. Places in eastern regions got much wilder conditions by the looks of things, and more snow too.
Here I have 25cm or so of snow to report. Not bad of course, but much less than some places got. The official snow depth at Niseko Grand Hirafu resort is now up to 2m though.
It's snowing this morning still and rather windy and here's how the wind conditions are affecting lifts as of before 9am:
All of Annupuri on standby, though will open if weather conditions improve.
The Niseko Gondola at Niseko Village is not moving, but the three lower lifts are open.
The Hirafu Gondola, Ace Number 2 Center Four, Ace Number 3, King Number 3 Triple, Swinging Monkey lifts at Niseko Grand Hirafu are not moving.
All of the Hanazono lifts are not moving.
So choice for the morning boils down to basically the lower areas of Hirafu or Village.
Not crazy cold actually, with the temperature just under 0 right now.
Tomorrow should see calmer conditions and the snowfall easing off. Back to snow at the weekend though. It's never far off!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -4C, light wind and 30cm of small broken crystal snow in 12 hours. Moiwa 600m: -4C, ENE10m/s, 40cm of new snow and light development of snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: NW15m/s, -7C and developing snowdrifts. Benkei cape: NNE15m/s. Kamui cape: ENE9m/s, 997hPa and 2.2m waves.
The wind and snowfall is moderate under 800m as the low-pressure system moves east and the atmospheric pressure gradient is relatively small. The snow in the trees is pretty good. The storm is forecasted to pick up, strong northerly wind will make the cornices and snowdrifts develop drastically. The avalanche hazard level will rise considerably as the storm picks up during the day. The visibility is very bad. Riding slopes near/under cornices are to be avoided in all areas in and around Niseko. Avalanches are also likely to happen under chairlift lines and steep faces within the resorts.
This information is released for the safety of all Niseko resorts’ guests. Do not duck boundary ropes.
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Lifts planned to be operating (* subject to change due to weather conditions).
Any news at time of writing is noted in the main report above:
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Lifts:
Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift, Holiday Number 1 Pair lift, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Triple lift, Swinging Monkey.
Night skiing lifts:
Ace Family Pair lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Hirafu Gondola, Holiday Number 1 Pair lift
Niseko Hanazono
Lifts: Hanazono Number 1, Hanazono Number 2, Hanazono Number 3
Night skiing lifts: No night skiing at Hanazono
Niseko Village
Lifts:
Niseko Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair, Morino Chair.
Night skiing lifts:
Community Chair and Banzai Chair
Niseko Annupuri
Lifts:
Annupuri Gondola, Jumbo Number 1 Quad, Jumbo Number 2 Pair, Jumbo Number 3 Pair
Night skiing lift:
Jumbo Number 1 Quad
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Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 200cm
Base - 90cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 140cm
Base - 105cm
Annupuri:
Top - 130cm
Base - 110cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Thursday 18th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 311cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 281cm 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.