Niseko Now: Wednesday 4th January 2023
- Jan 4, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 422cm
Posted on Wednesday 4th January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It is another very cold and snowy morning, and I have another 20cm or so of fresh snow to report since yesterday. Niseko Village are reporting a temperature of -17C again this morning, it's more like -10C at base.
Snowfall might be getting less over the coming days and there might even be some sun. We haven't seen much of that since the season started a month ago.
Temperatures look set to remain low, so conditions should be remain excellent.
I need to post earlier than usual today and so don't have any specific lift news. Hopefully they will be able to open as planned.
See you tomorrow.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -11C, 20cm snowfall, moderate visibility. Moiwa800m: -13C, W11.6m/s, windy snowfall, bad visibility, snowdrifts development. Annupur1100m: -16.1C, WNW10.1m/s, snowing, bad visibility, large snowdrifts difficult to groom. Mizuno no Sawa top: -14.8C, NNW5.2m/s. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -13.8C, NNE1.4m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW15m/s, Kamui cape NW6m/s, 1012hPa, 2.6m waves.
The winter pressure distribution has weakened and the weather is ameliorating. The snowdrifts kept developing until pre-dawn but slowed down after 6am. The avalanche risk in slopes under 900m elevation is lowering, however higher elevation slopes are still very unstable and the avalanche risk remains high. Stay away from the gully bottom, avalanche strikes from above you. All gates opening are yet to be determined. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Peak gates should open after the 6th Jan. Please be patient and do not cross ropes. The Niseko Rules respect the freedom to ride out of bounds, however is also concerned about the safety of all resort users. This is a ski resort and everybody using the resort’s facility must abide by the rules. Someone that didn’t follow the rules, crossed the rope, went out of bounds and got lost yesterday. He eventually got rescued, but overconfidence could kill you. It is best to leave the Backbowl, Annupuri bowl cornice slopes, Mikaeri bowl steep slopes and East ridge cornice slopes untouched for today, even if the weather gets better. Stay away from strictly off-limits areas such as Haru no Taki. Japan Meteorology Center says heavy loads of snow are inherently dangerous. We base our risk evaluation on the amount of snowfall as well as how the snowfall transitioned each day. The slopes have been mostly reset again. Have a nice day.
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Ski area information for Wednesday 4th January 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, weather permitting.
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: 30cm
- Base: 30cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 290cm (+15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (-5cm 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
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 32cm
- Base: 30cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 225cm (+15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 185cm (+7cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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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: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 120cm (no change 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 [* normally open on weekends and holidays]
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm (I don't think they are updating these numbers...)
- Base: 0cm (If this continues, I might take this out of the report)
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 125cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 130cm (+15cm 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]
- Morino Chair
- Wonderland Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Wednesday 4th January 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 422cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 36 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (2nd January) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 336cm reported on 27 days January 2023 snowfall 69cm reported on 4 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.