Zao Now: Friday 18th December 2020
- Dec 18, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 7, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 11cm
Snowfall at base this season 73cm
Posted on Friday 18th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
It is a glorious day out there with blue skies and people are making the most of it since snow is still forecasted during the day, turning heavy tonight.
My first day out this season and it was great to be riding again after 7 months of walking the green slopes.
Please do fully wear your mask inside the gondolas and queues (i.e. also covering your nose) where distancing is not really an option. There were quite a few who did not - we do not want a cluster occurring and the decision being taken to stop operating the ropeways. Yes, it's irritating but it would be good if everyone does their bit for that short duration. Gambatte ne!
The Astraea no.3 opened today (the one on the Hyakumannin slope) making it 10 lifts operating although the Utopia no.2 and Astraea no.1 are off to a slow start as they de-ice the seats. Most are scheduled to open for the weekend - interestingly the lower slopes of Kurohime and Omori gained the most yesterday.
Zao Now 2020-2021 season |
Data as of Friday 18th December 2020 Total snowfall at base 73cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (on 17th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 73cm observed 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 Zao Onsen. 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.