Niseko Now: Friday 30th December 2022
- Dec 30, 2022
- 5 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 342cm
Posted on Friday 30th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
We have had another steady on-off delivery of snow since yesterday and I have just measured 19cm since my last report. At the moment there is still a lot of clouds around, but there is also some blue sky and it is quite bright in places. Then again, it is also snowing lightly in places. Generally some very fine conditions to be out there, I'd say.
There might not be much more in terms of new cm during the day today and tomorrow, with more due to be falling as we get into the New Year.
This morning the top lifts at Hirafu (King 4) and Village (Wonderland) and Annupuri (Jumbo Number 4) are all scheduled to be open. Hurray! (Though we might have to wait longer for gates...)
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This is not Niseko-related, but have you ever heard of a ski area called Windsor Snow Village? It's a small ski area about 50km south of here, near Lake Toya and part of the posh hotel resort that hosted the G8 Summit in 2008. They don't seem to publicise themselves (as a ski area), but apparently, anyone can use it, so you don't need to be a guest at the hotel.
I wasn't aware that their two ski lifts were once part of a larger ski area called Snow Park Toya. If you are interested in that story, there's more here.
While we're on that subject, I do recommend looking through the individual ski area pages in the cunningly named Ski Areas section of this site. I believe all introductions have been rewritten over the last six months, and a lot of new information has been added in 2022. There are certainly some interesting stories to discover.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -5℃, light winds, 20cm new snow in last 12hrs, calm. Moiwa 800m: -7.6℃, WSW10.0m/s, 20cm new snow, slow snowdrift development. Annupuri 1000m: -9.3℃, SSW4.6m/s, 30cm new snow, snowdrift development. Hanazono Hirafu 1000m: -10.5℃, W1.5m/s, 10cm new snow. Niseko Village 1000m: -9.9℃, NNW4.5m/s.
The isobar spacing is getting wider and the wind is starting to drop. Seas are still high though. From observations and tests, the avalanche risk is decreasing, however cornices above 800m will still easily collapse. Snow in the trees is good. Above 1000m, snow drift consolidation is delayed on the upper part of the steep open slopes and around knolls. The avalanche risk will continue in these areas. Stay out of Back Bowl and off Osawa side wall this morning. Top lifts are expected to operate, however gates above 1000m are not open yet. Do not duck ropes to ride outside the resort areas. Today is much better than yesterday. Watch your speed and hitting a tree. Have a good day.
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Ski area information for Friday 30th December 2022
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.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 25cm
- Base: 25cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 250cm (+20cm since yesterday)
- Base: 95cm (+10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
- 8 of 12 lifts operating (weather permitting)
Courses:
- All courses are now open except Large and Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 23cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 191cm (+21cm since yesterday)
- Base: 148cm (+8cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- 4 of 4 lifts operating (weather permitting)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 120cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open until 7:30pm for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
- 6 of 6 lifts operating (weather permitting)
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm (hmmm...)
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Wonderland Chair
- 5 of 7 lifts operating (weather permitting)
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
- 3 of 3 lifts operating (weather permitting)
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Friday 30th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 342cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 31 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (17th December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 325cm reported on 26 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.