Niseko Now: Tuesday 9th December 2014
- Dec 9, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 14cm
Snowfall at base this season 149cm
Posted on Tuesday 9th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another 10-15cm of fresh snow here at base in Hirafu since my last report as the snow steadily comes down. Just spoken with a patrol guy from Hirafu who said there is at least 20cm of fresh up on the upper slopes there.
Still, while certainly there's plenty to play in for now, all of resort areas are still mentioning that the snow isn't that deep just yet with sasa and other things popping up through in places and in some cases narrow courses. The other thing to be careful of is the fact that the snow that we have pretty much came without snow base. Care needed whilst having fun. Always the case of course but early season considerations need to be taken into account.
There's still not that many people around at the moment, but things will change quite dramatically over the next few weeks. Once we get into Christmas week that's when Niseko will really come to life in a big way. It will be interesting to see how things might have changed once again this season. One thing's for sure - it will be lively! Let's hope the nature does it's bit with the snow in terms of quality and quantity.
Niseko Grand Hirafu and Hanazono are connected and skiable; however the top lifts aren't moving yet and so the connection between Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village and Niseko Village and Annupuri are not open yet... shuttle bus required.
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Here's what's open this morning:
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Courses: Family Course, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Center, Kokutai, Kogen, Ni-Kabe, Jumbo, Parallel, Rinkan (lowe), Setsuzoku.
Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Triple lift, Swinging Monkey.
Niseko Hanazono
Courses: Stairway to Heaven, Silver Dream, Legend of Shinya, Yotei Sunset, Crystal Garden
Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating
Niseko Village
Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai, Cruiser, Don't Blink, beginners course from Gondola, Junkyard, Namara (part ungroomed), Jagaimo (ungroomed), Misoshiru (ungroomed)
Lifts: Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair
Niseko Annupuri
Courses: Paradise Course, Junior Course
Lifts: Jumbo Number 1 Quad
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Nighta is scheduled to open from Saturday 13th December.
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Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 145cm
Base - 85cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 80cm
Base - 50cm
Annupuri:
Top - 120cm
Base - 80cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Tuesday 9th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 149cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 119cm reported on 8 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.