Niseko Now: Monday 21st December 2015
- Dec 21, 2015
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 181cm
Posted on Monday 21st December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Hello and good morning from Niseko.
It's milder this morning and unfortunately it's also... raining. I am hearing that wet snow is falling higher up, but it's a bit wet down here for the moment. Still, a thin layer of snow to add to the total before it gets washed away.
Temperatures here at base might rise to about 4C later on this afternoon but it should get colder as it gets dark this evening and we should (hopefully) get some snow down to base overnight that I can report to you tomorrow morning.
There's lots of cloud and mist around early this morning too so visibility is probably rather limited up there on the slopes.
Still looking good for decent snowfall at Christmas along with very cold temperatures. Just what we want.
Niseko is getting busy... we need everywhere to be open.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: +1℃, 3cm of wet snow. 600m altitude: 10cm of wet snow, mild wind and no development of snowdrifts. 1000m altitude: W15m/s and snowing. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW15m/s, Kamui cape W8m/s, 1020hPa, 1.3m waves.
Warm air is flowing in as the next low pressure system approaches. Wet snow is falling and unstable slabs in leeward slopes are likely to slide during the day. Caution required under chairlift lines and sidebanks. The pre-low pressure snowfall has the characteristic to transform into a weak layer under the next cold storm snowdrifts slabs. Avalanches occur when the conditions allow and are not dependant on the amount of snowfall. They are natural occurrences and only become an accident if someone is involved in it. Carefully follow the snowfall transition of the next few days.
Sleet at the base, but snow in higher altitude. Sticky snow, so softer wax is recommended. Access gates are yet to be set up, please respect the Niseko Rules and refrain from stepping out of bounds.
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Planned resort operations (subject to change due to weather conditions during the day)
The lifts market with an asterix (*) below are planned to be open for night skiing
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Lifts planned to be running:
- Ace Family pair*
- Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four* (for transport)
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola*
- King Number 3 triple
- Holiday Number 1 pair*
- Swinging Monkey
Courses planned to be open:
- Family
- Beginners access
- Center
- Shirakaba
- Green
- Kokutai
- Ni-kabe
- Alpen
- Sennoki
- Kogen
- Boyo
- Holiday
- Rinkan
- Jumbo
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts planned to be running:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
Courses planned to be open:
- Connecting
- Parallel
- Silver Dream
- Stairway to Heaven
- Setsuzoku course
- Crystal Garden
- Yotei Sunset (ungroomed)
Niseko Village
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Community Chair*
- Banzai Chair*
- Morino Chair
Niseko Annupuri
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Jumbo Number 1 quad*
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
Courses planned to be open:
- Utopia
- Shirakaba
- Paradise
- Junior
- Family
- Dynamic
- Silver
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Official resort snow depths as of Monday 21st December 2015:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 165cm
Base - 60cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 80cm
Base - 50cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 70cm
Base - 60cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Monday 21st December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 181cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 120cm 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.