Niseko Now: Saturday 28th December 2019
- Dec 28, 2019
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 280cm
Posted on Saturday 28th December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It was snowing in the afternoon yesterday when I went out and I thought I'd have more than the slightly over 6cm that I am measuring at my point this morning. Expect more than that on those higher elevations.
The last day of the month and the first run of days in January is still looking exciting for the chance of heavy snowfall.
I'm not actually feeling 100% this morning, so forgive my on-the-short-side report.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -8℃, calm and 10cm snowfall in 12h. Moiwa 800m: -9.8℃, SSW1.47m/s, light development of snowdrifts. Hirafu 1000m: -9.8℃. Hanazono 720m: -10.4℃, N4.2m/s. Benkei cape: N8m/s. Kamui cape: NE3m/s, 1020hPa, 1.4m waves.
The isobars are spread out and the development of cornices and snowdrifts above 800m elevation has come to an end. The avalanche hazard is lowering in alpine area. Snowfall amount is still small. The “Sasa” bamboo and “Taranbo” spiky bush are yet to be buried. You may rip your outerwear or scratch your goggles/face by pushing too far in the bushes under 700m elevation.
Out of bounds access from the ski resort is still not possible. Do not cross boundary ropes. We strongly demand everyone to respect the Niseko Rules.
Wearing a helmet is strongly recommended to avoid fatal collisions.
Please have a great day. The groomers condition is fantastic during the morning.
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Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 175cm
- Base: 65cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad (until 8:30pm)
- Ace Number 2 Center quad (until 8:20pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola (until 8:10pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair (until 8:30pm)
- King Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
All courses now open EXCEPT the following:
- Onsenzawa
- Large
- Konayuki
- Miharashi
- Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 120cm
- Base: 75cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 100cm
- Base: 70cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 8:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 100cm
- Base: 70cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola (until 8:00pm)
- Village Express (until 8:00pm)
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair (until 8:00pm)
- Morino Chair
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Saturday 28th December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 280cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 30 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (6th December) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 195cm reported on 20 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.