Niseko Now: Thursday 25th December 2014
- Dec 25, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 439cm
Posted on Thursday 25th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Top lifts open for Christmas!
More fresh snow. 20+cm outside my place, resort areas reporting 30cm.
Yes, it's very good morning from Niseko and... Merry Christmas!
A cold Christmas morning - no wonder Santa has that big bushy beard - and not so much wind this morning. It's still snowing though only lightly, with more due during the day today and tomorrow.
So, top lifts open at Niseko Grand Hirafu (well, the Ace Number 4), Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri. All should be moving this morning with Gate 4 also scheduled to be open today as well.
Looking ahead, from Saturday we can expect the snow clouds to clear and maybe we'll have some sunny conditions to enjoy. Looks like a milder spell from the weekend too, hopefully it won't warm up too much.
Have a great day everyone and all the best for the holidays wherever you are reading this from in the world.
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Resort specific news at time of writing - subject to change during the day
Niseko Grand Hirafu:
From today, the Ace Number 4 Pair lift will be open. Original plan was for King Number 4 lift to open but due to the 'discouraging' (!?) condition of the Dynamic Course, they've changed that plan. Curious to know more on that! Anyway, the Large Course and Miharashi Courses are now open. Dynamic Course aside, not 'fully open', I do believe.
Niseko Hanazono:
All Niseko Hanazono lifts will be open as normal.
Niseko Village:
Top Wonderland Chair now open - opened yesterday from around 10am actually.
Niseko Annupuri:
Top Jumbo Number 4 lift now open.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -8C, 30cm of snowfall in 12 hours, calm morning. Moiwa 800m: -12C, 20cm of fresh snow and development of snowdrifts. Annupuri 1150m: -13C, 30cm and development of snowdrifts. Hirafu 1000m: -13C, 20cm of fresh snow and development of snowdrifts. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW12m/s, Kamui cape WSW10m/s, 1008hPa, 1.2m waves.
A mild winter weather pattern with a moderate westerly wind is prevailing, making snowdrifts develop in areas above 800m. The snow under treeline is in good shape, but 40cm slides from 23rd depth hoar layer are to be expected in steep slopes along the valley. Gate 4 is scheduled to open today at a lower elevation, however avalanche hazard still remains high in NE areas of 1000m altitude. High-traversing all the way to the slopes under Higashi-One (east ridge) cornices is strongly discouraged. Listen to the ski patrol’s instructions and always use gates to step out of bounds. Carrying and knowing how to use avalanche gears (beacon, probe & shovel) is strongly advised. The visibility is fluctuating.
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Official snow depth numbers and any notes at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 280cm
Base - 130cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 170cm
Base - 120cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 150cm
Base - 120cm
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Lifts open for night skiing (planned):
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Ace Family Pair lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Hirafu Gondola, Holiday Number 1 Pair lift
(There is no night skiing at the Hanazono area)
Niseko Village
Community Chair and Banzai Chair
Niseko Annupuri
Jumbo Number 1 Quad
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Thursday 25th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 439cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 27 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 409cm 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.