Niseko Now: Thursday 26th December 2024
- Dec 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 4cm
Snowfall at base this season 291cm
Posted on Thursday 26th December 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It is a fine morning with some cloud, blue sky and some atmospheric views of the sun by Mt Yotei.
There has been some new cm of snowfall, though with the relatively warmer temps, it's a bit... on the wet side.
So not the highest quality snow, but it is a lovely morning to be out and about. It should be starting to get colder and from tomorrow we should see a return more mid-winter like temperatures. Snowfall is forecast too, so a nice new fluffy layer seems likely.
I look forward to reporting that to you tomorrow morning.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: +1℃, light wind and 10cm of humid snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -4.1℃, WNW5.7m/s (15m/s @ 2am). Annupuri 1100m: -6.0℃, WNW7.1m/s. Hanazono 1000m: -3.8℃, ESE4.2m/s (25m/s, @ 2am). Coastal data: Benkei cape NW14m/s, Kamui cape W11m/s, 1008hPa, 1.5m waves. No data from Mikaeri station.
Warm air is being pushed northward with the upcoming low pressure system, bringing 10-15cm of wet snowfall in the past 6 hours. Gusts of southerly 25m/s were recorded at Hirafu 1000m elevation around 2am. 50cm thick surface slab avalanches are highly likely to occur in 30-40° slopes above 1000m, where new slabs have formed. Temperature has remained below freezing above 700m elevation and the wind shifted westerly after 2am. A humid snow with good rebound has blanketed the tree-runs. The winter pressure distribution will strengthen from now on and the avalanche risk will rise as the windload slabs start to develop above 1000m Annupuri O-sawa and Koan-no-sawa. The snow today is completely different from yesterday’s. The forest trees are frozen with wet snow. Gate 11 Mizuno-no-sawa is scheduled to open today. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Do not enter the Haru-no-taki area. Niseko is working on preventing accidents in the off-piste area, while keeping the freedom to ski powder a priority. There is no such thing as a safe winter mountain. Precautions and a scientific attitude are key to prevent accidents. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Thursday 26th December 2024
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.
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 5cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 140cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All four lifts scheduled to be operating
The gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 10cm
Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 210cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 100cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All scheduled lifts are operating apart from Ace Number 4 pair
The Ace Gondola, Ace Family quad, King Gondola and King Holiday pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 160cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All lifts apart from Country Road are operating
The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 170cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All lifts are operating
The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
All lifts are operating
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Night skiing
Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 23rd March 2025.
Niseko Now 2024-2025 season |
Data as of Thursday 26th December 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 291cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 31 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (16th December) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 253cm reported on 23 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.