Niseko Now: Thursday 5th December 2019
- Dec 5, 2019
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 131cm
Posted on Thursday 5th December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It's a morning of good news. Just under 19cm of snowfall at base aside....
As I updated in the reports from yesterday in the afternoon, this morning Niseko Grand Hirafu is opening for the first time this season.
They are opening the lower Family Course as well as the higher Center Course (which can be reached via the Ace Number 2 Center quad, which is used for transport up and down from that upper area). The Ace Family quad and Ace Number 3 pair lifts are also operating.
Hurray!
It is still limited but as regular snow falls we should be seeing things get going properly soon.
In this early season period, the ski resorts are going to be pushing to get fully open as soon as they can. That means that things might change quickly. I am going to be checking as much information as I can before I post my report each morning. I'll do what I can to bring you as much good information as I can. Do note though that there is a chance that the situation might change during the day - not only due to weather conditions, but also sudden changes to lift operations and course openings.
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I have done a bit of re-organising for this report and you might notice a few more photos too.
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Ski resort operation information: Thursday 15th December 2019
The below information is manually checked each morning and believed to be correct at time of report.
Subject to change!
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 80cm
- Base: 35cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Ace Family quad (8:30am - 3:30pm)
- Ace Number 2 Center quad (8:30am - 3:10pm) [for transport to Ace 3 lift]
- Ace Number 3 pair (8:40am - 3:30pm)
Courses available:
- Family Course
- Center Course (experts only)
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Closed - plans to open from Saturday
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 50cm
- Base: 20cm
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Niseko Annupuri
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 50cm
- Base: 35cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Dream Number 1 quad (8:30am - 4:30pm)
Courses available:
- Base beginners area
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Niseko Village
Part open
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 50cm
- Base: 35cm
Ski lifts operating:
- Upper Village Gondola (8:30am - 4:00pm)
- Village Express (8:00am - 4:00pm)
- Community Chair (11:00am - 4:00pm)
- Banzai Chair
Niseko Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Thursday 5th December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 131cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 19cm (5th December) November 2019 snowfall 85cm reported on 10 days December 2019 snowfall 46cm reported on 3 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.