Niseko Now: Saturday 21st December 2024
- Dec 21, 2024
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 250cm
Posted on Saturday 21st December 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
A quick early report this morning as I need to get myself over to Sapporo this morning.
It is a largely overcast kind of start to the day, with some light blue sky to be seen in places.
We are still expecting snowfall tomorrow and Monday.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -9℃, no snowfall, clear sky and radiative cooling. Moiwa 800m: -9.7℃, ENE1.0m/s, slight snowfall and slab development. Mikaeri 750m: -11℃, SE1.0m/s, thick fog due to airmass displacement. Hanazono 1000m: -10.9℃, SW1.9m/s, slight snowfall. Coastal data: Benkei cape calm wind, Kamui capeSE2m/s, 1015hPa, 1.0m waves. Surface hoar development due to radiative cooling cannot be observed around 800m elevation.
The atmospheric pressure gradient is flat. The Sea and the mountains are in a calm condition. 5am observations shows no notable snowfall or slab development. Looking at weather data and snowfall transition, the overall avalanche risk is low. Some slopes have been reset with yesterday afternoon’s light wind & snow, however the total snowpack is still low. The weather is forecasted to degrade tonight as the low pressure passes east and windload slabs are likely to start growing again, raising the avalanche risk. If everyone was paying attention to the snowfall transition, most accidents could be avoided. Avalanche accidents mostly happen during stormy weather. Stay away from the gully bottoms (avalanche paths). Avoid stressing steep slopes with heavily wind-loaded snow slabs. Understanding the cause of the accident after it happened is too late for the victim. Winter mountains are inherently dangerous, however most accidents can be avoided by being precautious. Good condition continues. Beware of frostbites.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 21st December 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing.
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 12cm
Base: 12cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 175cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 141cm (-4cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All four lifts scheduled to be operating
Courses:
All courses scheduled to be open
Gondola open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 10cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 215cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Ace Family quad (open until 7:00pm)
Ace Gondola (open until 7:00pm)
Ace Number 3 pair
King Gondola (open until 7:00pm)
King Holiday pair (open until 7:00pm)
King Number 3 quad
Swinging Monkey
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 160cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 120cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Niseko Gondola
Upper Village Gondola (open until 7:00pm)
Village Express (open until 7:30pm)
Community Chair
Banzai Chair (open for night skiing until 7:30pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
Annupuri Gondola
Dream Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 1 quad (open until 7:30pm)
Jumbo Number 2 pair
Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
Number 1 pair lift
Number 2 pair lift
Quad lift
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Night skiing
Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 23rd March 2025.
Niseko Now 2024-2025 season |
Data as of Saturday 21st December 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 250cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (16th December) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 212cm reported on 18 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.