Niseko Now: Monday 25th December 2023
- Dec 25, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 323cm
Posted on Monday 25th December 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Merry Christmas!
Just a little (but particularly lovely) snowfall since yesterday.
The sun is out as well this morning. Beautiful.
The Free Ride Park at Hirafu opens from today. Little by little, things are gradually becoming available.
By the way, if you are not in Niseko and your presents are late today, it is because Santa is probably staying on here in Niseko for some more gnarly turns. Can't blame him, of course.
It should be a very fine morning!
By the way. As I write this, Hanazono still has 25-30cm on their (apparently updated) United new snowfall data this morning. As that is the same as yesterday, I'm guessing it was overlooked. (Let's just say that it is extremely unlikely they got 30cm since yesterday). Sorry to mention this again, but I really wish that the ski areas put more care into those updates. SnowJapan even gets people writing in about the official ski area website and its sluggish updates - even though it's got nothing to do with us.
And please do check out this next message...
------------------
Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -9℃, 5cm snowfall in 12h, calm and good visibility. Moiwa Mikaeri 764m: -14℃, WSW54m/s, 180cm snowpack. Hirafu Hanazono: -9-9℃, NNE2.6m/s, Hanazono#3: -7℃, NW2.2m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape SW3m/s, Kamui cape WSW8m/s, 1022hPa, 0.9m waves.
The atmospheric pressure gradient is flat and the mountain and the sea is calm. There are no notable snowfall or snowdrifts developments. The general avalanche risk is low. The phrase 'Do not duck the ropes' mentioned in the Niseko Rules, was created by vice-mayor of Niseko, Keita Yamamoto. This phrase is based on Niseko's experience that if one person goes through a rope, others will imitate it and accidents will eventually occur, and it has been used on awareness posters since 2010. Out of bounds skiing is not open yet, however there were two rescue missions yesterday, one in Yu no Sawa and one in O-sawa. The normalisation of entering strictly off-limits areas led to the tragic loss of a young Russian man in March last season. Is it really fun to ski behind the back of the ski patrols? Avalanche control using explosives will start in Mizuno no Sawa from today. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. This place is a ski area and the users are required to follow its rules. Have a nice day.
------------------
Individual ski area information for Monday 25th December 2023
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 and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 210cm (-20cm since yesterday)
- Base: 80cm (-10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad (until 7:00pm)
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (until 7:00pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola (until 7:00pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair (until 7:00pm)
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
------------------
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 30cm (I think this has just not been updated)
- Base: 25cm (This too)
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 142cm (-8cm since yesterday)
- Base: 102cm (-13cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (until 7:00pm)
------------------
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: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 7:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
------------------
Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 150cm
- Base: 96cm
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola (until 7:00pm)
- Village Express (until 7:00pm)
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair (until 7:00pm)
- Morino Chair
------------------
Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair
- Number 2 pair
- Quad
------------------
Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Night skiing is usually until 7:00pm at Hirafu, Hanazono, Village and until 7:30pm at Annupuri.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Monday 25th December 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 323cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 29 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 31cm (18th December) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 203cm 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.