The Best Places To Ski In December

A December ski trip is a great way to get a good start on your ski season.

The slopes are quieter, you can easily get a table in a great restaurant that's booked up much of the season, and you might even find your lift pass comes at an early low-season special price if you arrive before Christmas week.

That's on top of other great December ski holiday benefits like normally lower prices for your travel and accommodations and quieter airports for a hassle-free trip.  

But the one thing to be careful of when you plan to go skiing in December is that the resort you choose is going to be snow sure right from the get-go. You don't want to head to a ski resort in December and find little snow on the slopes.

So here are seven top ski areas that should be a safe bet for skiing in December, right from the start of the month and why.   

Val Thorens

Val Thorens is Europe’s highest ski area with a six-month season that has a big winter launch ("La Grande Première") to 20,000 excited skiers in mid-November, so the resort makes a huge effort to be in good shape ahead of the December ski period. This would be our pick of the best place to ski in December.

Verbier

Verbier not only has a reputation as one of the world's best resorts but also for its snow quality and reliability, particularly on its higher slopes. The resort has offered summer skiing in the past, thanks to its Mont Fort glacier which is snow-covered year round.  The slopes here climb up to a very snow sure 3,000 metres and the ski season normally starts in late November, perfect timing for those heading skiing in December! 

Avoriaz

Located at an altitude of 1800 metres, Avoriaz is one of the highest resorts in France so if you're looking for resort-level snow, it's one of the stronger bets. Opening for skiing in December on the second or third weekend of the month. North facing sectors like Les Hauts Forts, Arare and La Chavanette have particularly strong reputations for snow cover from the season start and Avoriaz's annual average snowfall of 7.5 metres is top in France.

Sölden

One of Austria's best ski areas, Sölden is also one of its most snow sure, opening in September most years for an eight-month ski season through to the following spring. It has multiple mountain peaks above 3,000 metres and twin glaciers for added security. The annual World cup ski racing tour begins here in late October each year, so the focus is to get the slopes prepped months before the main winter season kicks off. By the time we’re skiing in December and most other ski areas are opening, it’s usually been open for 2-3 months already!

Courchevel      

Courchevel opens for skiing in December at the start of the month, although if there's a big snowfall earlier in the autumn it often opens in November. Its higher, north-facing slopes are especially snow sure and the resort has one of Europe's largest and best snowmaking systems with more than 700 snow cannons trained on its slopes to build an extensive base as soon as the temperatures fall low enough, even if the natural stuff turns out to be slow arriving. 

Tignes

Tignes has one of the longest ski seasons in France and the world, open for more than seven months from early autumn, through to the following May, then re-opening in summer for yet more snow sports. It’s all thanks to its Grande Motte glacier which has some of the highest ski slopes in France (and all of Europe). So, it will already have been open for two months when you arrive for skiing in December.       

Val d'Isère

Val d'Isère is not only one of the highest ski resorts in the Alps but its lifts and slopes extend thousands of metres higher above, giving the possibility of big skiable verticals from early in the season. The resort usually opens around the last week of November and makes an effort to have one of the biggest areas open in France (and Europe) for skiing in December. It usually has its ski connection to neighbouring Tignes open from the start of December. The resort is one of the first in Europe to host World Cup downhill ski races by mid-December, meaning it needs to ensure good snow cover over a big vertical very early in the season.