Niseko Now: Sunday 31st December 2023
- Dec 31, 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 367cm
Posted on Sunday 31st December 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I have another 4cm of snowfall to add to the total for 2023. That means that so far this season I have observed a total of 367cm of snowfall close to Hirafu base. (I'll be posting my thoughts on that and a summary of the season so far in the report on 2nd January).
It is still snowing and quite nicely at the moment too, so we might get more cm during the day. Because of the snow coming down visibility is generally quite limited as I am putting the report together. It doesn't seem too windy, though, which is good.
There will be various events going on this evening. Take care out there (both on the slopes and in the bars!) and I'll be back with you tomorrow morning after my first toast of 2024.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6am : -2°, 2cm wet snow over last 12hrs, light winds, good visibility. Moiwa 800m: -4.8°, SE2.4m/s. Mikaeri 764m: -6°, SE5m/s, poor visibility slight increase in snow depth. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -4.6°, SSW5.3m/s, trace new snow. Hanazono 3 : -2.9°, SSW1.5m/s (max15m/s@4am). Coastal data: Benkei Cape: SSE4m/s. Kamui Cape: ENE4m/s, 1014hPa, wave 0.5m.
Low-pressure snowfall began in the early morning and the mountain is reset with 2-3cm of snow top to bottom. Winds are light and the overall avalanche risk will stay low until the next wave of wind and snow arrives. The current snow surface will become a notable avalanche generating surface in the future snowpack. During and immediately after the development of snowdrifts, wind generated snow slabs are susceptible to rider induced weak line fractures and avalanches are likely to occur. Be aware of the snowfall trends.
We cannot ignore that so many people have been flagrantly ducking the ropes lately. This is a ski resort and if you want to ride the lifts you must follow the rules. Gate opening/closing is undecided due to lack of snow and impassable conditions in many out of bounds areas, please respect these decisions. Don't ignore the rules. Everyone has better things to do than rescuing someone where from a place where they shouldn't have been anyway. Do you really know what you are doing? Maybe its just overconfidence? Its really easy to get hooked in the bamboo and go cartwheeling into a tree. Follow the rules. Have a nice new year's eve.
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Individual ski area information for Sunday 31st 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 and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 0cm never seems to get updated, so usually I won't show it
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 210cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 80cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad (until 7:00pm)
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (until 7:00pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola (until 7:00pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair (until 7:00pm)
- King Number 3 quad
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 148cm (+3cm since yesterday)
- Base: 105cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (until 7:00pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: ?cm does not seem to have been updated
- Base: ?cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 7:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 155cm
- Base: 105cm
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola (until 7:00pm)
- Village Express (until 7:00pm)
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair (until 7:00pm)
- Morino Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair
- Number 2 pair
- Quad
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Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Night skiing is usually until 7:00pm at Hirafu, Hanazono, Village and until 7:30pm at Annupuri.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Sunday 31st December 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 367cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 35 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 31cm (18th December) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 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.