New Year's day

The weather has come in - and apparently on the world ski field listing - Niseko is ranked number one for the most snow fall this season. We aren't surprised. It is completely white out there at the moment.
New Year's eve started with dinner at Raku for Paddy, Tom  and me - and then Tom got the call to go partying with cam. They seemed to go to a lot of very crowded bars - and came back here to see the fireworks and the torch bearers.

Torch bearers making the 14! and then skiing down the mountain

we missed out on being part of the torch parade - we could have been but i imagine hat would have been one long cold night

The fireworks were great - took these right out our window 

 I had then read something that you could go up the gondola at 6.30am to see the sun come up - a very Japanese tradition. I got up in pitch black and walked up the mountain - only to discover that it wasn't the Hirauf Gondola it was the Niseko Gondola - and i had no way of getting there. It was lovely anyway and I got some nice photos of morning arriving in Niseko ...

tom had a sleep in. Paddy and i did a few runs - but it was a bit windy - and it was cold - i skied til lunch and did a run or two afterwards. paddy took a shorter day. An early night i assume for all tonight.