Niseko Now: Thursday 23rd December 2021
- Dec 23, 2021
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 40cm
Snowfall at base this season 278cm
Posted on Thursday 23rd December 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
And what a fine morning it is! I have just been out and measured a clean 40cm of fresh snowfall. That has been incoming both during the day yesterday and overnight. Snowing lightly just at the moment.
All courses are available at Niseko HANAZONO and they have all their four lifts operating. The other areas are still not at that 'fully open' status, though we are getting there. I would expect things to be developing further in the coming few days, especially with all the incoming snow that is forecast.
It looks like the snowfall across the coming week is going to be consistent and at times heavy. (But light and fluffy). That is certainly good way to end the year and the best we can ask for. Let's hope wind doesn't create problems for us.
If you are lucky enough to be here to enjoy this, take care out there. And indeed, take care wherever you may be!
The last I heard, Santa comes out of his 14 days quarantine tomorrow. Presumably his status is something other than 'tourist'. So he should be out on the slopes at the weekend doing all his Santa stuff. Question is, will he be skiing or snowboarding?
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -7℃, 45cm snow in 24h, snowing. Moiwa700m: -9℃, N8m/s, 50cm new snow in 24h. Annupuri1000m: -10℃, 60cm snowdrift in 24h. Coastal data Benkei cape: NNW15m/s, Kamui cape: NNW10m/s, 1017 hPa, 2.4m waves.
A northerly snowstorm has continued under the wintery pressure distribution and made snowdrifts grow gradually. Large unstable snowdrifts and cornices are present in the SE aspects above 800m elevation and the general avalanche risk remains high today.
80cm thick surface slab avalanches could occur in large gully terrains. Better avoid riding all the way down to the bottom. Beware of suffocation falling in deep snow. Gate7 is scheduled to open today. Riding underneath the chairlift is prohibited due to risk of collision with the chairs. Please abide by the rules and the ski patrol’s instructions.
The 24th annual Niseko Avalanche Meeting will be held at the Niseko Chomin Center at 6pm Dec 29th. Yuji Ishikawa, chairman of Hokkaido Mountain Guide Association, will be our guest this year. Mr. Ishikawa achieved the first ascent of the Batura 2 peak (8848m) in the Karakoram range and also climbed Mt. Dolje-Lakpa in the Nepalese Himalaya. He is one of the most renowned climbers of Hokkaido.
The snow and weather is not bad today. Please respect the Niseko Rules.
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Planned ski area operations: Thursday 23rd December 2021
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: 230cm (+15cm)
- Base: 125cm (+15cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 45cm
- Base: 45cm
Planned lift operations:
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
All courses open apart from the following:
- Large
- Miharashi
- Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 190cm (+20cm)
- Base: 126cm (+11cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 31cm
- Base: 25cm
Planned lift operations:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- 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: 140cm (no change)
- Base: 95cm (+5ch)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Planned lift operations:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
Planned open courses:
- Utopia
- Silver
- Shirakaba
- Junior
- Paradise
- Family
- Dynamic
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 130cm (+30cm)
- Base: 85cm (+30cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Planned lift operations:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Thursday 23rd December 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 278cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 193cm reported on 15 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.