Niseko Now: Sunday 26th December 2021
- Dec 26, 2021
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 25cm
Snowfall at base this season 329cm
Posted on Sunday 26th December 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It is a very cold morning. I also have another fine amount of fresh snow to report to you. 25cm of it measured by myself. It's interesting to see all the different amounts being reported by the ski areas and the Avalanche Report; lots of variation there! But anyway, it is top quality and there's a decent amount of it so that's all that really matters, I think.
The snow has eased off for the moment but probably won't ever be far away. It doesn't feel too windy this morning so lifts should be doing their thing without any interruption.
The snow clouds should be with us giving us some excellent consistency through into New Year.
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Annupuri will be doing their 'Annupuri First Run' thingy on 1st-3rd and 8th-10th January. This is where they open the Gondola early from 7:20am until 8:20pm and if you pay 1500 yen you can get on it. Subject to weather conditions.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: -15℃, 30cm snow. Moiwa 800m: -15℃, 40cm new snow, slow snowdrift development. Annupuri 1000m: -16℃, 50cm new snow, NW7-10m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: SW5m/s, Kamui Cape: WSW9m/s, 1002 hPa, 2.1m waves.
The wind has temporarily dropped on the seas and mountains due to a small low pressure system on the Oshima Peninsula, however lots of snow has fallen. There has been major cornice development at 1000m on West ridge and Osawa center ridge. Although the fresh snow has had only minor slab development, and the general avalanche risk is low, the risk of avalanches from temperature gradients(weak layers) deeper in the snowpack continues. If the amount of surface snow increases with further slab formation, there is a danger of large surface avalanches with deep fracture faces. Do not go into the valley bottoms in Osawa and Kozan no Sawa. Be cautious on steep open slopes. Avalanches are a natural phenomenon, accidents only occur because there are people there.
Preparations on the top lifts at Hirafu and Annupuri continue, however peak gates are not able to be opened yet. Please be patient. Beware of a sudden change in weather. The snow is good but it's cold.
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Planned ski area operations: Sunday 26th December 2021
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: 235cm (no change)
- Base: 125cm (no change)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 20cm
Planned lift operations:
- Ace Family quad
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
All courses open apart from the following:
- Large
- Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 185cm (-15cm)
- Base: 130cm (-10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 8cm
Planned lift operations:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 180cm (+10cm)
- Base: 120cm (+10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 35cm
- Base: 35cm
Planned lift operations:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open for night skiing until 7:30pm]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
Planned open courses:
- Utopia
- Silver
- Shirakaba
- Junior
- Paradise
- Family
- Dynamic
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (+10cm)
- Base: 110cm (+10cm)
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Planned lift operations:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open for night skiing until 7:00pm]
- Banzai Chair
Niseko Now 2021-2022 season |
Data as of Sunday 26th December 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 329cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (23rd December) November 2021 snowfall 85cm reported on 6 days December 2021 snowfall 244cm 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.