Niseko Now: Monday 5th December 2022
- Dec 5, 2022
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 14cm
Snowfall at base this season 95cm
Posted on Monday 5th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
And it is indeed. With just under 15cm of new snow since my last report and more on the way, people are feeling positive (and positively excite). Who said Mondays were rubbish?
As the snow continues to be delivered, there are some changes to ski area operations this morning, so I'll try to cover them:
Hanazono is planning on opening in style this morning with all four lifts scheduled to be open. (Some blowy winds might slightly spoil the party there, so keep an eye on that).
Hirafu is making some changes with the higher Center course now open, and the Ace Number 2 center quad and Ace Number 3 pair lifts moving. The former is a connecting lift to get to the Center course. They say that the lower Family course is still skiable, but the ski lift by the course is not open. Good exercise, perhaps.
Annupuri, Village and Hanazono are all now open until 4:00pm too. (The base Dream lift at Annupuri is open until 4:30pm).
And Moiwa plan to have their quad lift opening from this coming Saturday.
Oh, and there's this too...
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 7am: -8℃, snowing and bad visibility. 15cm snowfall in 12h. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW20m/s, Kamui cape W14m/s, 1020hPa, 2.9m waves.
The wintery pressure distribution continues. Cornices and snowdrifts are developing above 600m elevation. Intermittent heavy snowfall at the base. The snowdrifts developments are uneven due to inconsistent wind, delaying the stabilization of the snowpack. The leeward cornices’ thickness at 800m elevation have reached 40-60cm and are likely to collapse. The avalanche risk is high today. People headed out to the backcountry beware. Many of the avalanche accidents occur during snowstorms.
The snowpack is still shallow, the courses’ pitch is uneven and the light is weak. Please be careful riding. One injury could ruin your season. Have a safe day, the snow is good.
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Individual ski area operations: Monday 5th December 2022
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.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm (not updated perhaps?)
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 70cm (+10cm)
- Base: 50cm (+10cm)
Planned lift operations:
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (8:30am-3:10pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair (8:40am-3:30pm)
Planned courses available:
- Center Course
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 90cm (+10cm)
- Base: 70cm (+15cm)
Planned lift operations:
- Hanazono Number 1 (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (8:30am-4:00pm)
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Niseko Annupuri
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 60cm (+10cm)
- Base: 50cm (+10cm)
Planned lift operations:
- Dream Number 1 quad (9:00am-4:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (8:30am-4:00pm)
Planned courses available:
- Paradise
- Junior
- Beginner course by the Dream lift
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Niseko Village
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 3cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 75cm (+5cm)
- Base: 63cm (+3cm)
Planned lift operations:
- Village Express (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Community Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Banzai Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
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Niseko Moiwa
Planned lift operations:
- Number 1 pair lift (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Number 2 pair lift (8:30am-3:30pm)
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Night skiing:
Floodlit night skiing is planned from Saturday 17th December 2022 until Sunday 19th March 2023.
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Monday 5th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 95cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (2nd December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 78cm reported on 5 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.