Yuzawa Now: Tuesday 31st December 2019
- Dec 31, 2019
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 39cm
Posted on Tuesday 31st December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
Updated at 9:30am
Good morning from Yuzawa.
It is a mix of cloud and clearer skies this morning.
Forecast winds caused GALA Yuzawa and Yuzawa Kogen to be closed yesterday - both of those resorts are open again this morning, but sadly Maiko Snow Resort have said that they will not be opening today due to wind.
And unfortunately NASPA Ski Garden has also announced that it will not be able to open today; the southerly winds yesterday were not kind to the snow there. More snow needed.
I believe all the information below is correct but with quickly changing weather conditions, things might change during the day. Stronger winds might affect some lifts.
The forecast is still looking promising a run of days of snowfall - if correct, starting from this afternoon (with maybe a bit of rain before it starts).
Fingers crossed everyone.
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I do not want to dwell on how this season has been very slow to get going; I can't remember us having so little snow at New Year.
The numbers are pretty stark. This season in these reports we have observed just 39cm of snowfall in town since the beginning of the season. At the same point of the season in previous seasons, that number was 255cm, 291cm, 146cm, 92cm, 559cm, 136cm and 225cm. All of these numbers and archive reports can be found at the bottom of this report if you want to look back at any time.
We can only hope that January will see things change and we'll get the large amounts of snowfall that we expect here. For example, last January we observed an impressive 523cm of snowfall. We are used to lots of heavy snowfall in this area. It just doesn't feel right that it isn't happening yet. But as I have said before, things can and often do change quickly. We need some of that.
Coming this week? Let's hope so!
So I really do hope to be able to bring much better news tomorrow. Have a fine last day of the year and see you in 2020.
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Currently open:
GALA Yuzawa
- Part open
- The Gondola is operating
- Phaeton pair, Coach pair Sociable quad, Barouche quad, Victoria quad lifts are operating
- Most of the Central Area (Melody, Entertainment, Gigi, Grenoble courses) and three courses in the Northern Area (Swan, Broadway, Roman Holiday courses) are open
- Take the Gondola back down at the end of the day (Falcon downhill course not yet available)
Iwappara
- Part open
- Number 2 and 3 pair lifts, Number 1 romance lift and summit quad are operating
- 7 courses open
Joetsu Kokusai
- Part open
- 6 lifts operating
- 4 courses open (1 in front of hotel and 3 in the Panorama area)
Kagura
- All areas are open with most courses now available
- Both the Mitsumata Ropeway and Tashiro Ropeway bases ropeways are operating
- The lift/course connection between Tashiro Area and Kagura Area is available
- The Dragondola from Naeba is operating
Kandatsu Snow Resort
- Part open
- A, B and C lifts are operating and 5 courses open
Maiko Snow Resort
- Closed today due to forecast wind
Muica Snow Resort
- Part open
- Number 1 and 2 pair lifts operating
Muikamachi Hakkaisan
- Part open
- Ropeway and Number 3 lifts operating
- Part of upper area open
Naeba
- Part open
- You can now ride down from top to base
- The Dragondola now operating
- Details on Naeba Now report here
NASPA Ski Garden
- Closed today due to snow conditions
Yuzawa Kogen
- Park open
- Yuzawa Ropeway operating
- Cosmos lift, Summit Panorama lifts also operating
Yuzawa Nakazato
- Part open
- Number 2, 3, 4 and 5 Romance pair lifts operating
Yuzawa Park
- Part open
- Number 7 lift operating
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Other resorts
As soon as there is enough snow - still checking
- Chateau Shiozawa
- Hakkai Sanroku
- Ishiuchi Hanaoka
- Ishiuchi Maruyama
- Itsukamachi
- Mt Granview
- Nakazato Snow Wood
Yuzawa Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Tuesday 31st December 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 39cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 12cm (30th November and 28th December) November 2019 snowfall 12cm reported on 1 day December 2019 snowfall 27cm reported on 7 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.