Niseko Now: Tuesday 31st December 2019
- Dec 31, 2019
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 292cm
Posted on Tuesday 31st December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Gosh, I so wish I didn't have to end the decade (!) with this, but we got rained on last night. Quite heavily at times.
With that annoying news out of the way, looking forward...
And indeed, just a little earlier light snow started falling and there is a dusting of snow already on the ground. It is going to get colder as the day progresses. I am confident that I will be bringing you some numbers tomorrow morning to start the new year off in a good way.
In the meantime there may well be disruptions today to lift operations due to the weather conditions we are expecting.
It also sounds like some New Year events may be called off due to the stormy conditions that we have expected. So if you were planning on taking part or going to any events, I would be sure to check up on them before heading out.
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OK, so it's 2020 from tomorrow. A new year. A refreshed outlook. And hopefully the start of an onslaught of consistent heavy snowfall. That is what I want; I'm pretty sure it's what you will be wanting to. Make it so!
I hope that you all have a fun and safe last day of the year - wherever you are in the world - and see you tomorrow morning.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6.00am: +2°. Moiwa 800m: -1.4°, NW3.95m/s. Hirafu 1000m: -3.3°. Hanazono 720m: -1.5°, E4.4m/s. Annupuri 1000m: snow depth 105cm. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: N7m/s. Kamui Cape WNW8m/s, 1004hPa, wave 1.2m.
Heavy rain fell overnight and at 5am positive temperatures were recorded up to 700m. Expect the temperature to drop and blizzard conditions as a typical winter type barometric system sets up. Very high NW winds and blizzard conditions will continue above 800m through tomorrow. Do not ride in strictly off limits areas like Haru no Taki looking for fresh snow. There is a high probability of large scale avalanches due to slab formation by the rapid temperature changes.
There is still not enough snow to ride off the ski runs yet. If an accident occurs during this bad weather the helicopter cant fly. If you are not confident with a self rescue think long and hard about going out. It would be a shame to get injured on such a small mountain. The Niseko community respects your freedom but places great importance on safety too. Be cautious. The snow will be good soon.
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Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 180cm
- Base: 50cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad (until 8:30pm)
- Ace Number 1 pair
- Ace Number 2 Center quad (until 8:20pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola (until 8:10pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair (until 8:30pm)
- King Number 1 pair
- King Number 2 quad
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
All courses now open EXCEPT the following:
- Onsenzawa
- Large
- Konayuki
- Miharashi
- Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 115cm
- Base: 55cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 105cm
- Base: 70cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 8:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 105cm
- Base: 70cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola (until 8:00pm)
- Village Express (until 8:00pm)
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair (until 8:00pm)
- Morino Chair
- Country Road
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Tuesday 31st December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 292cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 31 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (6th December) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 207cm reported on 21 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.