Niseko Now: Friday 23rd December 2022
- Dec 23, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 279cm
Posted on Friday 23rd December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
While yesterday started off nice early on, sadly, that didn't last. We got rained on, which is always kind of annoying. It did turn to snow overnight and has left us with some wet cm of snow, though that delightfully fluffy look isn't a feature of this morning. Hopefully, we will be able to erase the memory of that fairly quickly with the snowfall that is due ahead of us.
It feels relatively mild this morning and cloudy, but we should be back to more like normal service pretty quickly. Don't want to disappoint Santa!
The gondola at Hanazono is not opening on time this morning. Not sure why. Very possibly, it's just a temporary delay.
In ski area news, the Konayuki run at Hirafu is now open.
And back on the subject of night skiing. From tomorrow the Ace Family Quad lift will join the Ace Number 2 Quad Center for night skiing at Niseko Grand Hirafu. Until 7:00pm, of course. ;)
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: +2℃, light winds , 10cm wet snow over last 12hrs. Moiwa 800m: -1℃, 10cm snowfall, light winds, heavy snow, thick fog, poor visibility. Annupuri 1000m: -3℃, 10cm snowfall, light wind, good visibility once above clouds. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -4℃, light winds, 10cm wet snowfall, minor snowdrift development. Coastal data: Benkei cape S2m/s, Kamui cape ENE5m/s, 985hPa, 0.9m waves.
Currently we are under a low pressure trough with light winds and calm seas on the western Sea of Japan. Above 1000m cold air is flowing in, however below 800m there is warm air and wet snow accumulating. It looks like Niigata out there. Above the treeline only a small amount of new snow has fallen and minor snowdrift development. Conditions are not as bad as expected but they are still a bit tricky. If the atmospheric pressure gradient steepens, wind and snow will pick up above 1000m and the avalanche risk will rapidly increase. Pay attention to weather changes. If we get a strong NE wind >20m/s a thin hard crust will form on Back bowl side wall, making shallow surface avalanches likely. Expect to slide a long way at high speed. Best to not enter these valleys from the Goshiki side. This information is provided for the safety of all skiers and boarders. Most accidents can be avoided with caution.
The 25th Niseko Avalanche Meeting is on at the Niseko Choumin Center 4pm today. See the Niseko Town website for details. Snow conditions are slowly getting better. Be careful not to fall into a creek. Have a good day.
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Ski area information for Friday 23rd December 2022
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.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 195cm (+15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 70cm (-10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* FROM TOMORROW open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
Courses:
- All courses are now open except Large, Miharashi and Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (+13cm since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (-10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 130cm (-15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open until 7:30pm for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 95cm (-15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Friday 23rd December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 279cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (17th December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 262cm reported on 21 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.