Niseko Now: Saturday 28th December 2024
- Dec 28, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 319cm
Posted on Saturday 28th December 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Early on it is cloudy with some blue sky and the sun peeking through at times. Nice and cold and all scheduled lifts are starting the day as planned.
All lifts are now moving apart from the (lazy) Country Road at Niseko Village and the top Ace Number 4 pair lift at Niseko Hirafu. Access to the top of the mountain is available, but not all gates as yet.
Weekly forecasts show snow never been that far away, though I'd say it looks more 'gradual and steady', rather than 'full-on and crazy'.
Regular top-ups of fresh snow are important everywhere; more so in places that attract many people!
Niseko Annupuri and Niseko Village are once again reporting '0cm' of new snowfall on the official Niseko United website this morning. I'm almost tempted to keep a closer eye on that data and see how often they actually report any snowfall. I remain curious why they almost never seen to report snowfall though. You'd think it might be an exciting thing to report! But anyway, that is the reason why I do not include that information on my reports (below). It is just too unreliable (in my opinion).
On the other hand, I observe that Hanazono seems to be going big with the snowfall numbers that it reports in recent days. I trust they are not porkies, but 35cm at base since yesterday? Hmmm.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -9℃, 15cm snowfall in 12h, calm. Moiwa 800m: -11.6℃, NNW6.4m/s (20m/s @ 0am, wind dropped after 5am). Annupuri 1100m: -14.2℃, WNW8.1m/s, strong wind and good visibility. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -13.9℃, SSW2.4m/s. Mikaeri 750m: -10℃, WNW3.0m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW11m/s (peaked 11pm), Kamui cape W7m/s, 1005kPa, 2.0m waves, wind peaked 5pm yesterday.
The NW wind remains strong above 1000m elevation, making windload slabs develop. Surface slab avalanche risk remains high in high elevation SE aspects of Annupuri O-sawa (cornice slopes) and Kozan no Sawa (Backbowl). Those areas are still closed, refrain from crossing ropes to enter O-sawa (Annupuri bowl). Backbowl’s high sidewalls should also be left untouched at least during the morning. If it lets go, it could be a large one. Gate 2 & 3 should be ready the day after tomorrow. Please respect the ski patrol and do not duck ropes to go out of bounds. The snow below 900m is a little heavy, wind-affected and forming soft slabs, but is amazing to ski. Niseko respects your freedom to ride powder, so please respect back the Niseko Rules. There’s no guaranteed safety in winter mountains. Guides and group leaders have a big responsibility. Make sure to choose the right course for the team’s skill level. Is your beacon switched on? Have a great day.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 28th 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: 30cm
Base: 35cm (sounds great!)
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 210cm (+20cm change since yesterday)
Base: 175cm (+20cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All lifts are 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: 20cm
Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 225cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 110cm (no 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 (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All lifts apart from Country Road are scheduled to be 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 (no change since yesterday)
Base: 120cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
All lifts are scheduled to be 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 scheduled to be 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 Saturday 28th December 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 319cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 33 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (16th December) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 281cm reported on 25 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.