Niseko Now: Thursday 24th December 2020
- Dec 24, 2020
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 305cm
Posted on Thursday 24th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
A few cm of snow on the ground this morning from overnight and light snow now falling. Hopefully this will be the start of another run of days where we get a consistent delivery of fresh snow. While it will remain relatively mild today (low positive numbers at base), temperatures are due to drop quite a bit from tomorrow (remaining in minus number territory).
Some things from Niseko Annupuri:
They are saying that their special night skiing session on 31st December, from 8:00am until 11:00pm, will be free to use. Yey!
Their 'Annupuri First Run' special opening will be happening again this season - on 1st-3rd and 9th-11th January. On those dates the Gondola will be operating from 7:20am until 8:20am so you can get some runs on groomed slopes with no tracks. Yours for 1500 yen.
I'll try to mention the above type of news if and when I notice it as I check information each morning.
Time for some toast.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Coastal Data. Cape Benkei: SSW3m/s. Cape Kamui: S8m/s, 1006hPa, wave n/a. Hanazono 1000m: -4℃, S6.78m/s(max15m/s). Hanazono 720: -2.1℃, SSE2.8m/s. Moiwa 800m: -1.8℃, SSW2.6m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -4℃, wsw4.1m/s(max 15m/s). Kutchan Town: +1.3℃, E2.2m/s, 1017.5hPa.
10pm last night a low pressure front moved through dropping 2-5cm snow. From observation the 23rd Dec snow surface will become a weak layer in the future snowpack. Village Patrol reports t cracks forming around the Mizuno no Sawa Super Station due to the rapid increase in the amount of snow over the past week. Cracks form on steep slopes from tension in the snowpack releasing. Be aware that these can develop into full depth avalanches. And be careful falling into them because they cant be seen from above.
Following the low pressure system cold weather will come bringing savage conditions on the mountain. Large amounts of wind blow snow will accumulate in gullys. In blizzard conditions with winds over 25m/s, snow drifts(slabs) that have rapidly grown are structurally unstable and will easily collapse causing surface avalanches. It is a good idea to stay out of leeward valleys when the snow is drifting, even on the roads down in the valley. Most avalanche accidents happen during bad weather. Pay attention to how the snow is falling. If you focus only on the weak layers you lose sight of the big picture.
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Planned ski area operations: Thursday 24th December 2020
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: 195cm (-5cm)
- Base: 105cm (-15cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad [*]
- Ace Number 2 Center quad [*]
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
All courses open except:
- Large
- Miharashi
- Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (-5cm)
- Base: 95cm (-5cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (+0cm)
- Base: 110cm (+0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [*]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
Courses available:
- Utopia
- Silver
- Shirakaba
- Family
- Paradise
- Dynamic
- Junior
- Challenge
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 130cm (+0cm)
- Base: 100cm (+0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express [*]
- Community Chair [*]
- Banzai Chair [*]
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Night time operations are available in the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas until 7th March 2021.
Lifts marked [*] are scheduled to be operating during night skiing, until 8:00pm.
There is no night skiing in the Niseko HANAZONO area.
Niseko Now 2020-2021 season |
Data as of Thursday 24th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 305cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (10th November and 15th December) November 2020 snowfall 62cm reported on 6 days December 2020 snowfall 243cm 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.