The winter ski season in the Alps opens in December. As the snow falls and resort authorities decide when to start cranking up the lifts, eagle-eyed skiers and snowboarders can keep up with the latest openings on social media. It’s an exciting time!
Early-season skiing on high-altitude slopes
Aside from Christmas and New Year, December in the Alps is also a great time to tuck in a little early-season skiing. At high altitude, the December snow can be amazing – and as ski resorts crank up the lifts, it’s a fine time to escape to the Alps before the festive crowds arrive.
There are plenty of great resorts to recommend for a quick December trip – and they all have one thing in common; high altitude. Staying at high altitude means you’ll enjoy better snow conditions in the opening weeks of the winter ski season, and therefor enjoy even better value for money on your escape to the slopes.
Val Thorens is Europe’s highest ski resort, and regularly ranks among the first Alpine destinations to fire up the ski lifts. Here, visitors enjoy hassle-free access to the slopes and lifts, alongside a lively après ski scene. There’s a good nursery slope, and easy access over to the neighbouring resorts of Meribel and Courchevel. Avoriaz and Tignes also sit very high, and make excellent December ski choices, as to the upper villages of Les Arcs and La Plagne.
Obergurgl in Austria boasts lifts running up to a dizzying 3,080 metres. The resort boasts an excellent snow record, and it’s got a great reputation for beginner-friendly skiing, too. The villages and slopes around Lech and Zurs offer some of the most snow-sure skiing in Austria. If you’re heading to the Alps in search of amazing scenery for your early-season trip, they’re well worth consideration.
In Italy, Cervinia sits at 2,050 metres and offers wonderful December skiing. It’s a particularly good resort for beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders, with plenty of learner- and improver-friendly terrain, swift lifts, top ski schools and gorgeous valley views.
Festive celebrations
Christmas and New Year are key dates in the Alpine skiing calendar, with eager skiers and snowboarders flocking to the mountains to celebrate beneath the snow-laden peaks and pines.
Christmas sees ski resorts across the Alps going all out to welcome visitors, with festive programmes, events and entertainments for children and adults alike. You can expect everything from ice-sculpting and torch-lit descents to live music performances, carols, nativity scenes and more. Christmas in the Alps is magic!
Over New Year, resorts deliver on the fireworks beautifully. Eager revellers flood out of the bars in ski resorts across the Alps, to join in the countdown to midnight together. Watching fireworks exploding over the snowy mountain peaks makes memories that friends and family can treasure forever.
Demand is high over Christmas and New Year, though, and we do recommend early booking for such popular peak dates. By booking ahead of time, you’ll pick from a wider range of accommodation, tuition and childcare places in your top resorts of choice, and potentially save on next season’s prices, too.