116 cm in 5 Days! Niseko Ends Year on a High

30 December, 2015 Rupert Orchard

Niseko has had a late December to remember, with 116 cm in 5 days treating riders to some all-time powder.

Niseko has put any questions of a weak season to bed, with a post-Christmas snowstorm that has seen 116 cm of cold, dry powder deposited over the resort in just 5 days. Niseko holidaymakers woke this morning to 30 cm of fresh snow and perfect blue skies – the first break in the storm since it began on Christmas Eve.

The late snowfall brings the season's cumulative total (lower village level) to 327 cm, with a depth of 340 cm at the base of the resort and an impressive 445 cm up top. By comparison, Hakuba is reporting lower and top depths of 30 cm and 160 cm respectively, making do with one of their worst starts to the winter in recent memory.

Niseko Lawson convenience store
Ki Niseko
Niseko trees
Mt. Youtei

The best news for all involved is that there's no end to the powder in sight (barring today's brief hiatus)! Mountainwatch has Niseko sitting pretty at the top of the global forecast, with 45 cm expected over the next week, while snow-forecast.com is tipping light snow for the remainder of the week and heavier snowfall over the weekend. Take your pick, it all sounds pretty good to us!

Niseko snow report

Source: MountainWatch

Rupert Orchard
Rupert Orchard

Rupert works for HT Holidays and returned to Niseko full-time in 2014, seven years after first discovering the resort's famous powder as a ski instructor. In between, he has worked in the ski industry in China and Canada, but in the end, couldn't resist a return to the resort that made him fall in love with the sport and the industry.