Niseko Now: Saturday 1st January 2022
- Jan 1, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 14cm
Snowfall at base this season 406cm
Posted on Saturday 1st January 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning to you from Niseko and Happy New Year. May it be a good one for you, yours and.... everyone. (Well, maybe not the really naughty, bad people).
2022 starts with some sunshine! I do have some fresh snow to report this morning, but it's not snowing now. Those snow clouds won't be too far away though and might well be back within hours. Rather, for the moment the sun is out, there's a nice amount of sun and some blue sky. Mt Yotei is wearing a celebratory cloud hat thingy. It looks like a big massive mochi. Mmmmmm.
At the start of the day the top lifts at Hirafu and Hanazono are on hold due to windy conditions up there. The other two top lifts appear to be open. Looks like the (forecast) strong wind made Annupuri cancel their early gondola operations that were planned for this morning.
Well, I will now have my traditional New Years toast and then I plan to spend a few hours out on the mountain.
Have a good day.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base: -13℃, 20cm new snow, mild blizzard. Moiwa 800m: -15℃, W15m/s, cornice and snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100m: -17℃, NW20m/s, 100cm snowdrift development, snowstorm. Hirafu Ridgeline: -20℃. Coastal data, Benkei cape: NNW16m/s, Kamui cape: N11m/s, 1009hPa, 2.7m waves.
Blizzard conditions and the inflow of cold air continue under a winter weather pattern. Cornices and snow drift development is rapid. Leeward slopes above 800m are strongly wind effected, with heavy deposits of wind blown snow on steep cornice slopes. Below 800m in the forests, avalanches are likely to occur on creek sidewalls and the upper sections of knolls. Even if the gates are open today, best not to go out. The avalanche risk on Osawa cornice slope around 1000m is very high. If Gate 8 opens, do not cross the creek to the other side of the valley. Also, the creek is the avalanche path. Do not ride in the avalanche path/creek. Beware frostbite and hypothermia. Conditions are the same on all the surrounding mountains. Good day to finish early and hit the onsen. Happy New Year.
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Planned ski area operations: Saturday 1st January 2022
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: 260cm (+5cm)
- Base: 145cm (+10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Planned lift operations:
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
- King Number 4 (* on hold at start of day)
Planned open courses:
- All courses open
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (+13cm)
- Base: 160cm (+10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 25cm
- Base: 25cm
Planned lift operations:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (* on hold at start of day)
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 190cm (no change)
- Base: 130cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Planned lift operations:
- All lifts operating
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
Planned open courses:
- All but one course are now open
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 190cm no change
- Base: 130cm no change
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Planned lift operations:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
- Wonderland Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Saturday 1st January 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 406cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 30 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 307cm reported on 23 days January 2022 snowfall 14cm 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.