Happy Christmas from Niseko.

There may well be a few sore heads out there early on this morning, but the cold conditions might help snap some people out of it and the the ski lifts will be going about their job as normal. We have just a slight dusting of snow overnight after that lovely day that we had yesterday with clear blue skies all day. Overnight it was very cold indeed with temperatures closing in on -20C.

There's a few more clouds around this morning but lots of blue sky again as well, so it should be another fine morning here at least.

Snow is never going to be far away though and the forecast is telling us to expect it to be falling before the day is over with no let up in the cold temperatures as well. If anything it is going to dip further before getting milder once again around the weekend.

Strong winds likely tomorrow but for today it's a calm start and lifts at the resorts should be operating as normal.

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Lifts Operating (at time of writing)

Niseko Grand Hirafu
All lifts due to be operating

Niseko Annupuri
All lifts due to be operating

Niseko Village
All lifts apart from Country Road due to be operating on mountain

Niseko Hanazono
All lifts due to be operating

Official Resort Snow Depths

Grand Hirafu
Top - 270cm
Bottom - 140cm

Niseko Annupuri
Top - 200cm
Bottom - 190cm

Niseko Village
Top - 225cm
Bottom - 155cm

Niseko Hanazono
Top - 280cm
Bottom - 145cm

Avalanche Information:

Niseko base 6am: -8C, very light snowfall, no wind and no development of snowdrifts. Coastal wind: SSW3m/s. No notable development of snowdrifts can be observed above treeline. Annupuri 1000m: 210cm snowpack, -15C.

The atmospheric pressure gradient is shelving and the mountain is in a calm condition. There are no noteworthy developments of snowdrifts and the overall avalanche risk is low this morning. The tracks aren’t recovered; beware of loosing control and hitting trees. Keep the traverse line high enough at gate 2 and make a habit to avoid riding valley bottoms of Osawa & Kozan no sawa (Annupuri 1st & 2nd bowl). The avalanche risk in Higashi-One cornice slopes is high at all time. Always keep in mind the possibilities of avalanche striking you from the sidewalls or from behind. According to data evaluations and observations, all layers are mostly stable and today's surface (Dec 25th) will form a notable layer in the future snowpack.

Peak gates are scheduled to open at 10am and close at 1:30pm. Seek for the ski patrol advice before stepping out the gates. Beware of sudden weather changes, the wind is forecasted to shift NW and pick up from noon. Many accidents occur in leeward slopes with heavy snowdrift load and during storms.

Do not seek fresh tracks in Harunotaki/Yunosawa strictly prohibited area. One track left on a slope leads many others to follow it and increase the chances of accidents to happen. Think safety first.