Niseko Now: Sunday 22nd December 2013
- Dec 22, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 286cm
Posted on Sunday 22nd December 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Around 5cm of new snow to report this morning, so better than the last few.
Intermittent snow earlier on this morning but now the sun is out and we have increasingly blue skies over Niseko.
All but 4 lifts (see below) are now operating at the four resort areas of the mountain, though a few are running at reduced speed early on due to wind - but it doesn't seem to be affecting things as a whole. Down here in the village area there hasn't been much of a wind to report at all actually, though it has picked up in the last hour or so - and the Niseko Village resort is reporting winds of up to 16m/s on upper elevations.
Noticeably more people around this weekend as you would expect. Lots of overseas visitors arriving for the Christmas and New Year period. There will be lots of parties over the next week, that's for sure.
It would be nice if Mr Santa brought us huge dumps of Niseko-branded powder snow, though some pesky forecasts seem to have his significant delivery scheduled more for later in the week. Other less pesky ones with more on Christmas Eve. I'll let you decide what to believe looking at the different forecasts!
---
Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am:-5C, 8cm of fresh crystal snow since 4am. 800m data: -6C, 15cm of crystal snow, no snowdrift development. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNE11m/s, Kamui cape ENE5m/s, 3m waves and 1014hPa.
Intermittent snowfall with northerly wind is continuing above 800m. Snowdrifts and cornices are developing and the avalanche risk is rising in leeward ridges, knolls and cornice slopes. Potential sliding layer: Dec 20th.
Top chairs are scheduled to operate but gates will be closed due to lack of snow. Please respect the Rules and remain inbounds. Do not duck ropes, as it will make people follow your tracks and unnecessarily increase the chances of accidents to happen.
The fresh snow in the trees is good but shallow. Beware of trees, crust lying under the fresh snow and icy wind-ripples. Accidents often occur during storms. Better stay prudent and not overestimate your knowledge and skills.
---
Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 180cm
Base - 70cm
All lifts operating apart from Ace Number 4 pair and King Number 2 quad.
Niseko Village:
Top - 120cm
Base - 80cm
All lifts operating apart from Country Road.
Annupuri:
Top - 110cm
Base - 80cm
All lifts operating apart from Family pair.
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Sunday 22nd December 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 286cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 35cm (14th and 15th December) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 163cm reported on 13 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.