Niseko Now: Saturday 24th December 2022
- Dec 24, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 285cm
Posted on Saturday 24th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It is snowing this Christmas Eve morning, but it hasn't got back to being as cold as we might have hoped, and there has been some more rain too. So as you might expect, the quality of the snow isn't back to being top-notch. (The Avalanche Report shows more snowfall than I have seen with my own eyes, so hopefully, there's a thicker layer out there on the ski runs).
It's also windy, and that wind is affecting a bunch of lifts at the start of the day. At 8:30am only lower lifts are opening, and none at Hanazono. That may change, depending on how the weather might change this morning.
We are expecting continued snowfall into early week and it remains to be seen just how pesky the wind will be...
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: +3℃, 15cm wet snow over last 12hrs. Moiwa 800m: -3℃, 20cm snowfall, poor visibility, blizzard conditions, snowdrift development. Annupuri 1000m: -4℃, 30cm snowfall, 1.5m snowdrift development, snow wind continues, poor visibility. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -4℃, 20cm snowfall, snow wind, poor visibility. Coastal data: Benkei cape E6m/s, Kamui cape ENE9m/s, 989hPa, 4.7m waves.
A low pressure is bringing stormy conditions to the seas and mountains. Due to multiple low pressure zones, the wind will temporarily calm this morning, but after noon the NE snow wind will intensify and snowdrift development will rapidly increase. The snow below 800m is reset and conditions are not too bad. Be careful riding though, the snow is heavy, due to the winds and wet snow. Many accidents occur during snowstorms. Stay off open steep slopes open above the forest treeline until the weather improves. Take it easy and make a smart plan based on the weather. Conditions will get better. From observation and data evaluation, the avalanche risk is very high at all elevations and on all aspects. Do not go into the valley bottoms. Watch out for snow sliding off roofs. If you have to shovel a roof make sure you wear a rope. Have a good day.
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Ski area information for Saturday 24th 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.
*** MANY LIFTS AREA AFFECTED BY WIND EARLY MORNING ***
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 195cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 80cm (+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: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (no change 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: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 130cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (no change 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 (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (no change 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 Saturday 24th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 285cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 27 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (17th December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 268cm reported on 22 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.