Niseko Now: Wednesday 4th December 2019
- Dec 4, 2019
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 17cm
Snowfall at base this season 112cm
Posted on Wednesday 4th December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Good news!
Niseko Grand Hirafu has announced that it will be part open from 8:30am tomorrow. They plan to have the Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 Center 4 and Ace Number 3 pair lifts operating.
The Family Course and Center Course areas will be open.
Full details in my report tomorrow.
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ORIGINAL REPORT:
Hello and good morning to you all from Niseko.
Brrrr, it is really cold out there this morning! I see Niseko Annupuri are saying it's -17C up top, Niseko Village posting a less severe -10C.
It's windy too. And visibility has been limited at times early this morning.
Most importantly what I can see is a layer of lovely fresh snow on the ground.
With the wind blowing it all about I am guessing today will be one of those days when there's less/more snow in different places you look. So in the name of research I put all my warm gear on and had a bit of a walk outside just before. Yes, it is very cold. I noted a range of around 15cm-25cm of snow, with 17cm as my reading around my trusted spot.
There will be more than that on the mountain of course so with snow likely to continue over the next few days we can feel positive about more lifts soon being able to open. This storm will need to pass and then some thinking done (cue some very serious looks accompanied by stroking chins), preparations etc. It would be great if things could open up for the coming weekend wouldn't it. Let's see.
For now, the one lift at Niseko Annupuri and two lifts at Niseko Village remain open (weather permitting) with limited lower runs at both of those areas available for those brave enough to face the weather conditions head on. The available runs may not be gnarly but you sure need to have some of that gnarl thing going on to want to be outside this morning!
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Niseko Grand Hirafu 6-day snow and weather forecast
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Opening information:
Niseko Annupuri
- Dream quad lift
- Lower beginner course open; all other courses closed
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Not open yet - it will open as soon as there is enough snow.
Niseko Village
- Upper Village Gondola
- Village Express
- Parts of lower Ageimo and Next Stage areas open
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Saturday 7th December 2019
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Night time operations will be available at the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri resorts. That is planned daily between Wednesday 11th December 2019 and Sunday 22nd March 2020.
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Wednesday 4th December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 112cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (16th November) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 27cm 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.