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.
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!
The Christmas gift that keeps on giving! Niseko expecting another 45 cm over the next 7 days. Image: Mountainwatch.
