Yuzawa Now: Monday 18th December 2023
- Dec 18, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 22cm
Snowfall at base this seas 40cm
Posted on Monday 18th December 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Yuzawa.
Kagura was so busy yesterday that they actually had to turn people away from mid-morning! As it opened, they were reporting a wait of up to two and a half hours to get on the Mitsumata Ropeway. Wow. I can't remember hearing such a thing before. Of course, Kagura being the only ski area in the Yuzawa region open added to the number of folks turning up. It being a weekday things should be less manic this morning.
It took a while for the snow to start yesterday, but once it got going we got a fair bit overnight. Our Yuzawa town measurement is 21cm with snow continuing to fall as this is being written. It seems there was more snowfall just to the north of Yuzawa. For example, just north of Ishiuchi, we have measured 32cm. (That is perhaps confirmed with Naeba, south of the main town area, saying it only got 3cm of snowfall).
There is no specific news to report early morning, including from Kagura. People are probably very busy this morning.
We will be checking around the ski areas today and will update this report later on today with any news.
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5:30pm update
We have enjoyed more snowfall during the day here in Yuzawa, 20cm and more. It's great to see it. (A measurement will be made and that snowfall will be added to the next report tomorrow morning).
Here's the ski area news as we have it:
Kandatsu Snow Resort has said that it will be open from 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday) with the A and C lifts are scheduled to be available. (They are calling tomorrow a 'pre-open', with most other facilities - restaurants, baths, shuttle bus etc, not available).
GALA Yuzawa has said that it will open on Wednesday (20th December). The Melody and Entertainment runs should be open.
Ishiuchi Maruyama is reporting 50-60cm of snowfall and says that it will be closed tomorrow but, depending on conditions, might open on Wednesday.
Maiko Snow Resort and Joetsu Kokusai have announced they now plan to open on Friday 22nd December.
Naeba is still just saying that they will open when they can. It hasn't been snowing as much down there...
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Ski area information for Monday 18th December 2023
The information below is manually checked with official sources and updated for every report.
Please note that details can change quickly, especially at the beginning of the season, and official information may take a bit longer to update.
All information is subject to change.
Kagura (via Mitsumata)
Part open
Lifts open:
- Mitsumata Ropeway (from 8:00am on weekends; 7:30am on weekends)
- Mitsumata Number 1 quad
- Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair lift
- Kagura Gondola
- Kagura Number 1 quad
Courses available:
- Kagura main slope (1,512m length)
- Perhaps more
Official snow depth:
- Top: 35cm
- Base: 5cm (seems low, perhaps not updated?)
Notes:
The Mitsumata lifts are used to get over to the main run that is open at Kagura.
Some walking is involved to get to and from the Kagura area.
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Planned opening dates for other ski areas
Wednesday 20th December 2023:
GALA Yuzawa
Opening as soon as there is enough snow:
Ishiuchi Maruyama
Joetsu Kokusai
Kagura (via Tashiro)
Kandatsu Snow Resort
Maiko Snow Resort
Naeba
Yuzawa Kogen
Thursday 21st December 2023:
Yuzawa Nakazato Snow Resort
Friday 22nd December 2023:
NASPA Ski Garden
Saturday 23rd December 2023:
Iwappara
Muikamachi Hakkaisan
Yuzawa Park
Closed for the 2023-2024 season:
Ishiuchi Hanaoka
Itsukamachi
Mt Granview
Nakasato Kiyotsu
Yuzawa Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Monday 18th December 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 40cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (18th December) November 2023 snowfall 14cm reported on 2 days December 2023 snowfall 26cm 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 Yuzawa. 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.