Niseko Now: Saturday 3rd December 2016
- Dec 3, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 117cm
Posted on Saturday 3rd December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
A very good morning to you from here in sunny Hirafu.
Yesterday was something of a ride with the weather. It was calming down by the end of the day and making way for what is a beautiful morning here in Niseko. Apart from a few small clouds hanging around here and there, it's lovely blue skies all around and the sun is out. Very nice.
Winds were blowing the snow around yesterday, but I am going with 3cm as the snowfall since my last report and surely quite a bit more on places on the mountain. While it may be far from peak season conditions yet, of course, it should be fun out there this morning. As we approach 8:30am it looks like there are a fair few people lining up for the first lift at Grand Hirafu.
It is a fairly mild morning here and currently about 0C here at base and it should be a generally calm weekend. Once we get into next week though things are looking quite exciting from late Monday with some decent snowfall lined up. That's what we like.
Today is of course the first Saturday of December and more lifts and courses are scheduled to open from this morning - especially in the Hirafu area. This is where things start to get somewhat complicated regarding 'what's open', but I have tried my best to get the latest information pre-opening this morning from official sources and added it below. Remember, things can change and may well do so - and also that the snow is not particularly deep yet (surely no-one told you that?!), and so there are bushes and rocks and the like still showing through in places. I'll try to keep a track on it all each morning in the hope that sooner than later everywhere will be able to open!
Today marks the first day of operation for the new King Number 3 triple lift at Niseko Grand Hirafu and there will be a small ceremony there before it starts its never-ending journey. The new lift is mentioned in the resort introduction here, but basically the original triple lift has been changed into a new hooded quad and is a bit longer. Let's hope it is a worthy improvement.
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What is planned to be open today?
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Ace Number 2 Center Four
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- King Number 3 triple
- Swinging Monkey
- Hanazono 1 quad
- Hanazono 2 quad
- Hanazono 3 quad
Courses planned to be open:
- Beginners access course
- Shirakaba course
- Center course
- Jumbo course
- Rinkan course (upper area closed)
- Parallel course
- Silver Dream
- Stairway to Heaven
- Setsuzoku course
- Crystal Garden
- Renraku course
- Yotei Sunset
Niseko Annupuri
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
- Annupuri Gondola
Courses planned to be operating:
- Utopia
Niseko Village
Lifts planned to be operating:
- Community Chair
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express (used as a connection)
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Official resort snow depths as of Saturday 3rd December 2016:
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Top - 105cm
Base - 40cm
Niseko Village
Top - 30cm
Base - 10cm
Niseko Annupuri
Top - 55cm
Base - 30cm
Niseko Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Saturday 3rd December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 117cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (25th November) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 14 days December 2016 snowfall 7cm 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.