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Zao Now: Saturday 2nd December 2017

  • Dec 2, 2017
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 5, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 68cm

Posted on Saturday 2nd December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


First Saturday in December and expectations rise.


It is snowing lightly at the moment and 2cm of fresh snow on the ground. We're not expecting it to last the day with things likely to clear up to some degree and be followed by clearer skies tomorrow as well as sunshine. Should be a very nice Sunday.


With those expectations rising though, we all want more snow and lots of it to get things kicking off proper. Looks like snow is on the forecast for the first part of next week, so let's see how that develops.


You can keep up to date with the forecast using that big blue tab at the top of this page.


Operating lifts:

- Chuo Number 1 pair lift

- Chuo Number 2 pair lift

- Zao Ropeway

- Zao Chuo Ropeway

- Sky Cable


Open course areas:

- Summit

- Chuo

- Utopia


Official snow depths:


- Summit area: 35cm

- Paradise area: 40cm

- Chuo area: 40cm

- Utopia area: 35cm

- Uwanodai area: 10cm

- Oomori area: 5cm



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Saturday 2nd December 2017 Total snowfall at base 68cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (on 25th November) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 2cm observed on 1 day




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.


SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for.



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