Niseko Now: Saturday 2nd December 2017
- Dec 2, 2017
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 216cm
Posted on Saturday 2nd December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning everyone.
And since my report yesterday, nature has been very kind and served us another 12cm of lovely fresh snowfall at base. I am keen to find out how much more there has been on the mountain.
Light snow is falling at the moment. It's cold too.
With all this snow early in the season, we're seeing more terrain open up from today. From today, all four of the main resort areas of Niseko United at are (at least part) - largely? - open, and hopefully we'll be able to ski from one to the other. There's a bunch more lifts doing their thing from this morning and more terrain opening up. It's not entirely clear right now just how much but I'm going out myself and hopefully I'll be able to make the situation clearer tomorrow. Definitely enough to have a fantastic day if you are lucky enough to be here at the moment! See below for an updated list of the planned lift operations.
I believe nearby Niseko Moiwa is also open from today.
Night skiing 'nighta' is scheduled to start for the season from next Saturday at Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri. (Note that there is no nighta at the Hanazono area).
I will post my 'November recap' in my report on Monday. Now that all of the resort areas are open, I'll also do a bit of re-organising with the report.
Oh yes... Forecast: regular snowfall over the coming days. :)
Happy days! I hope that you have a very good Saturday, wherever you are.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am -8℃, 15cm snowfall, Moiwa800m WNW10m/s, -12℃, 30cm snowfall, gradual development of snowdrifts and cornices, light storm, poor visibility. Annupuri1000m W15m/s, 40cm snowfall, developing snowdrifts and cornices. Coastal data Benkei cape NW15m/s, Kamui cape WSW11m/s, 1020hPa, 2.0m waves.
The isobars are spread out and the weather is relatively calm, however snowfall and wind persists above 800m. Snowdrifts and cornices are still slowly developing. No notable fractures in the snowpack were observed during the pressure test in the morning. The snow is generally stable. Many of the avalanche accidents occur during and just after storms. Leeward steep slopes and knoll terrain have slabs of wind-affected unstable snow. These types of slopes are dangerous at all time and can slide with the slightest stimulation.
The snow in the trees is in good shape, however bushes are still thick and out of bounds access from the resort is still restricted. Please be patient and refrain from ducking ropes. The light is weak and bumps are hard to notice, always be cautious, make conservative judgment and come back safe.
A mistake was found in yesterday’s information. Sincere apologies to Doctor Oshiro for misspelling her name.
Have a nice day.
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Saturday 2nd December 2017
What's planned to be open today in Niseko (subject to change):
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Lifts operating:
- Ace Number 3 Pair lift (8:40am until 3:30pm)
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift (8:30am until 3:10pm)
- Ace Family quad lift (8:30am until 3:30pm)
- King Number 3 quad lift (8:40am until 3:30pm)
- Hirafu Gondola (8:30am until 3:10pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair lift (8:30am until 3:30pm)
- Swinging Monkey (8:40am until 3:00pm)
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad lift (8:30am until 3:30pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad lift (8:40am until 3:30pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad lift (8:50am until 3:00pm)
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola (8:30am until 3:15pm)
- Jumbo Number 1 quad lift (8:30am until 4:00pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair lift (9:00am until 3:15pm)
- Dream Number 1 quad lift (9:00am until 4:00pm)
Courses open:
- Utopia
- Shirakaba
- Silver
- Paradise
- Family
- Junior
Niseko Village
Lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola (8:30am until 3:00pm)
- Banzai Chair (8:30am until 4:00pm)
- Community Chair (8:30am until 4:00pm)
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Official resort snow depths on Saturday 2nd December 2017:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 190cm
Base - 70cm
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Top - 130cm
Base - 60cm
Niseko Village
Top - 135cm
Base - 60cm
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Floodlit 'nighta' skiing schedule:
Saturday 9th December 2017 until Sunday 18th March 2018
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Saturday 2nd December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 216cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 29cm (20th November) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 28cm reported on 2 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.