Niseko Now: Saturday 2nd December 2023
- Dec 2, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 4cm
Snowfall at base this season 149cm
Posted on Saturday 2nd December 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning to you on this Saturday morning.
And this morning all of the main ski areas will be open (the little Asahigaoka near Kutchan station has still to announce when it might open later this month). The biggies are all open though.
It is a partial opening at all of the ski areas as there is not enough snow out there yet. The snow depth numbers being reported are up to 80-90cm on upper areas (Hirafu and Hanazono).
I have laid out the details - as much as I can find them - in the list below. That information will be checked and updated in every report I post. If I feel anything is clearly not being updated, I will not include it (in an effort to try and avoid any misunderstandings).
As a few people have noted in comments sent in to SnowJapan in the last few days, sometimes information and updates from ski areas can be... lacking. It is a curious phenomena. It might be explained by everyone being so busy (which is true) and perhaps a shortage of staff. I'll discuss that latter issue in a future report.
It is a cold morning, calm and generally overcast. I have measured 4cm of fresh snow to report from base, mostly from yesterday. We are forecast some generally clearer skies over the coming several days. Hopefully temps won't rise much... doesn't look like they will.
Today sees the first Niseko Avalanche Report of the season too. Many thanks to those good people for putting those together every year and helping us all with good information.
Season in! Excite!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -7C, 5cm snowfall in 12h, 70cm snowpack, calm morning. Moiwa 650m: -8C, 5cm new snowfall, 100cm snowpack, good visibility. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW9m/s, Kamui cape SW9m/s, 1016hPa, 1.0m waves. Hanazono 1000m: -9.4C, ESE2.2m/s, 100cm snowpack.
Isobars are spread out under a high pressure system and the weather is calm this morning. According to observations, the snowpack is stable and the avalanche risk is low. The snowpack is still low. Take it easy as the terrain features are not fully buried yet. Be careful not to ruin the season with an early injury.
The avalanche risk assessment in this information is based on the past 24 hours weather data and on-snow observations. Accidents only happen when a person is involved. We strongly hope for an accident-free winter.
This report will be released irregularly during the early season.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 2nd December 2023
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 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: 80cm
- Base: 50cm
Lifts:
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (8:30am-3:10pm)
- Ace Family quad (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair (8:40am-3:20pm)
Courses:
- Family
- Center
- Sennoki
- Alpen
- Beginners
- Green
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 7cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 90cm
- Base: 67cm
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1 (9:00am-2:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (9:00am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (9:00am-3:00pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 60cm
- Base: 40cm
Lifts:
- Dream Number 1 quad (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (8:30am-4:00pm)
Courses:
- Paradise
- Junior
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 30cm
- Base: ?cm
Lifts:
- Community Chair (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Banzai Chair (8:30am-3:30pm)
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift (8:00am-4:00pm)
- Number 2 pair lift (8:00am-3:30pm)
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Saturday 2nd December 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 149cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (1st December) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 29cm 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.