Niseko Now: Wednesday 6th December 2017
- Dec 6, 2017
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 17cm
Snowfall at base this season 261cm
Posted on Wednesday 6th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from my base here in Hirafu.
I went outside earlier on to measure the snow for the morning... and very quickly came back in! Very cold. Good job I had already had my toast.
I couldn't help smile though when I measured 17cm of fresh snowfall. Thank you very much, Nature.
So yes, the good news from Niseko continues, with that new 17cm bringing my observations for December up to 73cm. And it's good quality snow too.
And of course please remember that is at base. (I do not live at the top of the mountain). So you can expect a fair bit more than that on the slopes.
It's fair to say that conditions today should be excellent. It's not snowing just now and there is even a little blue sky to see in places. It's generally just cloudy though with a chance of more snow during the day. I am going to now go and check them for myself.
As I prepare to post the report it looks like the Annupuri Gondola is on hold as well as the Ace Number 3 lift at Hirafu. Not sure why, and hopefully just temporary.
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The mountain is not yet fully open just yet - I'm keeping my accusatory eye particularly on you, top lifts at Hirafu, Village and Annupuri; and gates of course - but with continued fresh snow coming in and more on the forecast I don't think we should be far off.
The official list of runs at Hirafu shows that only Large, Konayuki, Miharashi, Dynamic course areas still need to open. Really good show for early December.
Hurray, all round!
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Wednesday 6th December 2017
What's planned to be open today in Niseko (subject to change):
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Lifts operating:
- Ace Number 3 Pair lift
- Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift
- Ace Family quad lift
- King Number 3 quad lift
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair lift
- Swinging Monkey
* All courses are open apart from Large, Konayuki, Miharashi and Dynamic.
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Lifts operating:
- Hanazono Number 1 quad lift
- Hanazono Number 2 quad lift
- Hanazono Number 3 quad lift
* All lifts are operating
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Lifts operating:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Jumbo Number 1 quad lift
- Dream Number 1 quad lift
* Top of Gondola to base is skiable. And, indeed, snowboard-able (!?) too.
Niseko Village
Lifts operating:
- Niseko Gondola
- Banzai Chair
- Community Chair
* Utopia, Shirakaba, Silver, Paradise, Family, Dynamic and Junior courses are open.
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Official resort snow depths on Wednesday 6th December 2017:
Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono
Top - 210cm
Base - 85cm
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Top - 140cm
Base - 70cm
Niseko Village
Top - 135cm
Base - 70cm
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Floodlit 'nighta' skiing schedule:
Saturday 9th December 2017 until Sunday 18th March 2018
Niseko Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Wednesday 6th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 261cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 29cm (20th November) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 73cm reported on 6 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.