Niseko Now: Tuesday 29th December 2015
- Dec 29, 2015
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 21cm
Snowfall at base this season 277cm
Posted on Tuesday 29th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
A very good morning to you from Hirafu.
Back at base here and the snow keeps on coming. The tap has truly been turned on over the last five days. I have another 21cm to report this morning which to my reckoning makes that 96cm. A refresh of about 20cm a day sounds somewhere near perfect to me.
Just quickly let's take a look back at last December. For the whole of December 2014, I observed 519cm of snowfall here at my Hirafu base location. Up until today for this month I have observed a total of 216cm. So we are a fair way behind in that respect. (In December 2013, the same number was 275cm for the whole month).
But it's the here and now that is most important of course; and here and now the conditions are really great. Those of you who know me - and the way SnowJapan generally does things* - will know that I never go on about amazing conditions when they aren't amazing. Substitute the word amazing with any other overly-dramatic adjectives or made up cheesy words! Doing that just takes away from when things really are amazing doesn't it? (Quite apart from the fact that it's misleading).
Those lucky enough to be able to get out there today will be able to tell just how the good conditions are. I think I might have to get out and do some exploring myself once I post this report...
As you can see from the Avalanche Report below, Moiwa Gate 6 is being considered for opening for today.
We must be fairly close now to all of the resort areas being fully open - and not too far away for more talk of gates and backcountry. The forecast for the coming week has a fair amount of snow on it so we should be good for further build up and regular refills. I do like the sound of that!
Hope you can enjoy the day wherever you are.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -8℃, 30cm of crystal snow in 12 hours, calm. Moiwa 800m: -11℃, 50cm of fresh snow, snowdrifts developing in Mikaeri area. Annupuri 1000m: -13℃, WSW10m/s, 70+cm of new snow and snowdrifts developing. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW19m/s, Kamui cape W9m/s, 1015hPa, 2.1m waves.
The wind is calming down but momentarily gusts are still blowing as the isobars tightens. Snowdrifts in 800m leeside slopes are stabilizing while slowly growing.
The avalanche risk remains high. 80cm surface slab avalanches are likely to occur in 800m south-facing knolls and cornice slopes. Avoid dropping into steep slopes without evaluating the risk. The snow condition in the trees is fantastic. Gates will start to open as they’re getting ready. Moiwa gate 6 opening is being considered today, please follow the patrol’s instructions.
A single track under the rope would lead many others to follow it and increase the chances of accidents to happen.
Have a nice day.
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Planned resort operations (subject to change due to weather conditions during the day)
The lifts market with an asterix (*) below are planned to be open for night skiing
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Lifts planned to be running:
- All lifts except Ace Number 4 and King Number 2
- Night lifts: Ace Family Pair, Ace Number 2 Quad, Hirafu Gondola, Holiday Number 1
Courses planned to be open:
- Family
- Beginners access
- Center
- Shirakaba
- Green
- Kokutai
- Furiko
- Ni-kabe
- Alpen
- Sen-no-ki
- Kogen
- Boyo
- Rinkan
- Jumbo
- Dynamic
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts planned to be running:
- All lifts
- No night skiing in the Hanazono area
Courses planned to be open:
- Connecting
- Parallel
- Silver Dream
- Stairway to Heaven
- Setsuzoku course
- Crystal Garden
- Yotei Sunset (ungroomed)
- Legend of Shinya
Niseko Village
Lifts planned to be operating:
- All lifts planned to be operating (apart from Country Road Chair)
- Night lifts: Community Chair, Banzai Chair
Niseko Annupuri
Lifts planned to be operating:
- All lifts planned to be operating
- Night lift: Jumbo Number 1 quad
Courses planned to be open:
- Champion
- Utopia
- Shirakaba
- Paradise
- Junior
- Family
- Dynamic
- Silver
- Merchen
- Challenge
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Official resort snow depths as of Tuesday 29th December 2015:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 260cm
Base - 100cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 180cm
Base - 100cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 115cm
Base - 100cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Tuesday 29th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 277cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 19 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (26th and 28th December) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 216cm reported on 15 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.