J2Ski's Where to Ski in December 2024
J2Ski's Where to Ski in December 2024
Published : 01-Dec-2024 08:26
We start December with hundreds of ski areas open across the northern hemisphere, and expect thousands to be open by the end of the year. Read our guide to find the best spots.
The new Jandri Express lift, which opened at Les 2 Alpes, France, this weekend, picture (c) David Quinveros
Where to Ski in December 2024
December is the month when we go from a few hundred ski areas open in Europe, Asia and North America to, hopefully, towards 5,000 across the northern hemisphere.
They'll all be opening over the next three weekends, all being well.
So far, signs are fairly promising in most areas. There have been good snowfalls and low temperatures in the Alps in late November whilst La Nina has brought heavy snow to North America's Northwest and, across the Pacific, the slopes of Japan.
The regions where the jury is still out are really North America's easterly and southern areas which have had only marginal snow conditions so far and need consistent cold for their snow-making.
There's also the perennial question over lower-lying ski areas in Europe.
So far the snow and cold have been up high, mostly above 1500-2000m, where, fortunately, most of the bigger resorts operate. But we are yet to see how winter will play out for the smaller and lower-lying resorts. The Pyrenees are having a difficult time at present with warm weather preventing snowmaking and thawing what snow fell earlier this autumn. The next few weeks will be key.
Europe
Austria
Austria has had the most skiing available in Europe (and until mid-November when the US season took off, the entire world) so far.
Around 50 Austrian ski areas are open and the battleground has moved to who can offer the most terrain with Ischgl, Solden and Obergurgl starting the month in the top spots with approximately 95km, 85km and 70km open already respectively. They're actually the top three for all of Europe.
Most of the big Austrian regions like the Skiwelt and Saalbach are also open but with lower elevations the terrain open there is more limited so far. It's not been a bad autumn and the last weeks of November saw cold and snowy weather, but so far bases at lower levels are measured in the low 10s of centimetres, not the metres.
France
The French ski season got underway over the final week of November with Tignes and Val Thorens the first to open. Nerves were stretched through much of last month with warm, dry weather but thankfully there were big snowfalls in the week before opening and both centres opened on time with the snow lying a metre deep.
Cold weather after the snow has also allowed snow-making systems to fire up.
More centres including Alpe d'Huez, the Grands Montets at Chamonix, Avoriaz (preview weekend), Monrgenevre and Les 2 Alpes opened on the last day of November and the next three weekends should see just about all French areas open.
Italy
Italy has had a largely dry and sunny November, but there were some heavy snowfalls in the penultimate week of last month, especially in the west - and a little more since, plus the last 10 days were well below freezing allowing snow-making.
So it's a mixed picture but with room for optimism as most Italian ski areas open over the first three weekends of December joining the dozen or so already open, which include big names like Cervinia and Madonna di Campiglio as well as parts of the giant Dolomiti Superski region.
Switzerland
More than a dozen Swiss ski areas had opened by the final weekend of November and as everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, the rest of the country's centres are expected to open in the weekends running up to Christmas week.
It has not been a spectacularly snowy October or November but the final weeks of last month did see some good snowfalls and the temperature drop to -20C up high so there is snow and snowmakers have been operating.
Almost all the big names – Andermatt, Davos, Engelberg, Gstaad, Saas-Fee, St Moritz, Verbier and Zermatt already opened for the season in November.
Scandinavia
It's a mixed picture in Scandinavia as more northerly resorts up in Lapland come close to the period of 24-hour darkness.
There have been some periods of very cold weather in October and November for snowmaking and some natural snowfall too, but whilst we start the month with a dozen or so areas open, they're mostly the smaller centres up north with the big names pushing back their opening dates, so far to the first weekend of December.
It's looking more promising further north though with all of the main centres in Finland now open.
Scotland
There was excitement in Scotland in the final week of November with a good snowfall accumulation thanks to Storm Bert. Unfortunately, it was short-lived with Bert bringing warm temperatures, rain and gales at the end so a lot of what had fallen went again.
Four of the Scottish centres do have all-weather snowmaking machines and Glencoe, The Lecht, Cairngorm and Glenshee usually manage to open at least some terrain in December.
Nevis Range has said that unless there's spectacular snowfall it probably won't open until the February school holidays due to financial strains.
Pyrenees
Alas, it's not looking great for the season start in the Pyrenees.
As we start the month nowhere is open and that's particularly bad news for Spanish resorts which usually capitalise on a series of bank holidays in December. There were some October and November snowfalls but recent weeks have seen very warm weather melt cover and prevent snowmaking.
The current hope is to open on 6/7 December but the first week's forecast for the month isn't hugely promising, a little colder and a few centimetres of snow up high, perhaps.
Eastern Europe
There have been some good snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures for snowmaking reported in most eastern European ski nations.
One of the region's largest ski areas, Slovakia's Jasna, was one of the first to open on the final day of November.
Most of the rest of the centres in the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia will aim for the 7th, 14th or 21st of this month to get their seasons started. At this point, everything looks promising!
North America
Canada
Western Canada has got off to a great start to the season with La Nina bringing colder and snowier weather than average, so far delivering the goods.
Revelstoke was one of several British Columbia resorts to post more than 3 metres (10 feet) of pre-season snowfall, more than anywhere else in the world.
Various BC ski areas opened early for their 24-25 seasons last month including Big White and Silver Star (by a week) and the biggest, Whistler Blackcomb, by a day.
There is less brilliant news from the East Coast where ski areas start December still struggling against warm temperatures. The largest, Tremblant, has now managed top open a week later than planned with very limited terrain and thin machine-made snow cover initially. Others hope to join it over the coming weeks and the forecast is a little more promising.
USA
Most of the big-name US resorts have already opened in November in order to capitalise on the Thanksgiving Holiday business at the end of last month.
The start of the season is looking much better this year than this time last year, as it's a La Nina, rather than El Nino, winter, which has already started bringing more snowfall, heaviest in the Pacific Northwest region, which has seen more snowfall than anywhere else in the world so far this autumn/fall.
The East Coast, as last year, hasn't had such a good November though, but the final week did see temperatures dip and snowfall, so resorts have begun opening, the remainder aiming to go as soon as they can this month.
Asia
After a few small Japanese areas opened in early November, mostly using all-weather snowmaking to create small ski areas, the big names like Niseko and Nozawa Onsen began opening on the final weekend of last month and the rest are due to start their seasons over the next few weekends.
As with North America, Japan is hoping to be a beneficiary of the La Nina system in the Pacific this season. So far, it's too early to call but there have been a few decent dumps to whet the appetite late last month.
Hakuba opened on November 30th with the deepest reported snow in the country so far 1.25m. Niseko is due to open on December 1st.
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