Niseko Now: Saturday 18th December 2021
- Dec 18, 2021
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 32cm
Snowfall at base this season 172cm
Posted on Saturday 18th December 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
There's lots of fresh snow to report to you this morning. No faffing about on this Saturday morning! Ski areas are reporting up to 50cm on the slopes and I can report just over 30cm down at base. It is very cold too and wind does not seem to be much of an issue.
This morning conditions will surely be the best they have been so far this season.
From this morning there are a bunch of lifts and courses that are opening for the first time this season, including the Hirafu Gondola and the Village Express lifts. I have updated the below list as best I can so, please check that. We're still not fully open but it's good to see more terrain available and that good new fresh layer across the mountain.
Night skiing starts at Annupuri and Village from today. And on that subject...
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I had previously mentioned in the reports that there is no night skiing at Niseko HANAZONO. That was of course true... until this season. For whatever reason the change this season had slipped through and the old information had remained on my report. Sorry, totally my mistake.
So, yes, this season Niseko HANAZONO does plan to be open for night skiing. The official times for the night skiing being 4:30pm until 7:00pm. Apparently, it's the gondola that will be open for night skiing.
Just to make things a bit more complicated: they have delayed the opening for today, so the planned opening for night skiing will not be tonight.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -11℃, 40cm snowfall in 12h, light snowstorm. Moiwa700m: -9℃, 40cm new snow on the slopes with 50cm snowdrifts. Coastal data Benkei cape: N18m/s, Kamui cape NNW14m/s, 1004hPa, 2.5m waves. Annupuri 800m: -11℃, 70cm new snow on the course with random 100+cm snowdirfts.
The wintery pressure distribution has brought heavy snowfall, however the snowpack is still thin and off-piste riding is still not suitable. There’s a 40cm thick corn snow layer above the ground, and today’s snowdrift layer on top hasn’t stabilized yet. 60cm surface slab avalanches are likely to occur in open steep slopes and knolls. Better make conservative decisions today. The wind is expected to calm down tomorrow and the snowdrifts should stabilize by then. Most accidents occur during stormy conditions. A long season await ahead, stay prudent and make conservative decisions. The winter seems to have finally started. Have a nice day.
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Planned ski area operations: Saturday 18th December 2021
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 the ski area):
- Peak: 170cm (+35cm)
- Base: 85cm (+30cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 50cm
- Base: 50cm
Planned lift operations:
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
Planned open courses:
- Family
- Sennoki
- Alpen
- Detour for Beginners
- Green
- Center
- Shirakaba
- Kogen
- Boyo
- Kokutai
- Holiday
- Jumbo
- Rinkan
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 145cm (+40cm)
- Base: 87cm (+25cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 45cm
- Base: 50cm
Planned lift operations:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 90cm (+20cm)
- Base: 85cm (+25cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 35cm
- Base: 35cm
Planned lift operations:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
Planned open courses:
- Utopia
- Silver
- Shirakaba
- Junior
- Paradise
- Family
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 100cm (+45cm)
- Base: 55cm (+30cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 15cm
Planned lift operations:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Saturday 18th December 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 172cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (18th December) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 87cm reported on 10 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.