Yesterday saw snow continue for much of the day adding another 5-10cm since last report. Overnight it mostly cleared up and today has fined up to a bluebird day after a few early morning flurries. Definitely a day to have the camera with you with even Yotei mostly free of cloud.
The next few days are likely to only to see a few snow showers from time to time but nothing substantial. At this stage it's not until Monday that we should see a return of some good snowfalls to the region.
The snow on the mountain today is still good quality but it will get sun affected and there is likely to be crust tomorrow on sun facing slopes.
Both Annupuri and Niseko Village have opened their top lifts for the first time this season allowing access to some previously inaccessible terrain. So all lifts now throughout the resort are operational.


Current Official Snow Depths:

Grand Hirafu:
Top - 210
Bottom - 80

Niseko Village:
Top - 125
Bottom - 85

Annupuri:
Top - 140
Bottom - 90

Avalanche Information:

ountain base 6am: -3℃, 5cm of crystal snow and no development of snowdrifts. Coastal data: WSW 5m/s at Benkei cape, WSW 6m/s, 1008hPa and 1.4m waves at Kamui cape. Predicted wind at the peak at noon: ESE 10m/s. Frequent passing of Low-pressure systems, blocking the inflow of the cold air mass and intermittent snowfall has been repetitively continuing. The general avalanche risk is low at the moment. However, the current surface layer (snowfall from 12/28) will possibly become a potential trigger layer under future snowfalls. Beware of the future snowfall transition. The out of bounds areas are still not suitable for skiing, snowdrifts are not developing and bushes are yet to be covered. All gates are kept closed for the sake of all resort users. Please respect the ski patrol’s decisions and refrain from going out of bounds. Do not duck ropes to seek fresh lines.