Niseko Now: Friday 20th December 2019
- Dec 20, 2019
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 9cm
Snowfall at base this season 221cm
Posted on Friday 20th December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I have another layer of snow to report to you this morning, almost 10cm.
Nice.
It is a bit dark this morning with light snow falling early on this morning. Mostly just cloudy conditions forecast for the day today.
What we really need, of course, is a great big whopping significant delivery of large amounts of snow for things to really get going. We still aren't there yet but the forecasts are still looking promising. So come on now, bring it to us!
Taking a look at the other reports from other regions, it looks like all of Japan is suffering from a relative lack of snow this December. It's not good to hear. And it's hard to think that it can continue for much longer. I believe.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -6℃, light snowfall. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW10m/s, Kamui cape WNW8m/s, 1017hPa, 1.2m waves. Moiwa 700m: 40cm snowpack, WNW5m/s, good visibility. Annupuri 1000m: 80cm snowpack.
Relatively calm weather under a moderate wintery pressure distribution. Bushes are yet to be covered in the out of bounds area and conditions are not suitable for riding. Getting better in alpine area above 1000m elevation, however far from enough to open the gates. Sasa Bamboo and rocks are still present inbounds too. The light is weak and slopes’ undulations are hard to see. Ride carefully.
The annual Niseko Avalanche Meeting will be held at the Niseko Chomin Center at 6pm on Dec 26th. Topics about the Niseko Rules and out of bounds riding, reports on present avalanche safety in Switzerland, Austria and USA will be discussed and compared with Niseko. Keynote speech by Dr. Yamaguchi of National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Be careful not to injure yourself now, the season has just started.
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Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 145cm
- Base: 50cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center quad
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
Courses available:
- Family
- Detour for beginners
- Shirakaba
- Center
- Kogen
- Boyo
- Holiday
- Rinkan (lower area)
- Jumbo
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 90cm
- Base: 35cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 80cm
- Base: 45cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
Courses available:
- Utopia Course
- Silver Course
- Shirakaba Course
- Paradise Course
- Family Course
- Junior Course
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 80cm
- Base: 45cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola ON HOLD
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair
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Night time operations are normally available in the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri resort areas. Subject to weather conditions. There is no nighta at the Niseko HANAZONO resort area.
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Friday 20th December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 221cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (6th December) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 136cm reported on 12 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.