 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, I know this has been asked a few times but I’m struggling to narrow down and need a bit of help! We are looking to go skiing for a week 12th-20th December as the kids get an extra week off school so hoping to take advantage of the cheaper flights and accommodation…. We are a family of 5 - hubby boards, I ski (could do a red but quite happy on a blue) two teens who can do blacks, off piste (we usually get a guide for a few afternoons to take them out) and a 7 year old who has skied for a few years but still in between snowplough and parallel (confident on blues and some not so steep reds)…
We have just returned from Les Arcs and last year went to La Plagne…
The resorts we keep coming across are Cervinia, Tignes and Val T in terms of better chance of snow…
We practically covered the whole of Les Arcs the week just gone…. any suggestions with these resorts? Or are there any others? Courchevel and 3 valleys - a bit iffy for mid December? I know nobody can predict as the weather is unpredictable.. we 100% want ski in and out so this is a big thing in terms of resort - loved Les Arc 1950 for this exact reason…
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well Tignes is the home of the PSB and PiPAU bashes, which happen the first 2 weeks of the season (so 30-Nov to 14-Dec this season) and you can check the old threads in the snowEvents section to see what conditions have been like in Tignes over the few years. The short version is: there's always been enough snow to slide on, with some years the odd piste a little thin but other years so much fresh snow the resort's been closed for a day.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Cervinia pretty much guaranteed plenty of skiing those weeks.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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All of these have worked for me first week of December, in no particular order;
Val d'isere
Tignes
Cervinia/Zermatt
LDA
Ischgl
Obergurgl
Val Thornes
Obertauern
Banff/Lake Louise/sunshine
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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All three mentioned in the OP are good recommendations. VT is good to find something ski in out or pretty close to it, Cervinia does have some hotels up the hill that would tick that box and Tignes has a number hotels and apartments particularly in Val Claret (just bear in mind that Arc 1950 is the absolute gold standard for a ski in-out resort).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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That mid December week, we've done the same many times in recent years, I'd add:
Rohrmoos-Untertal (all 4 Schladming mountains fully open), just an hour from Salzburg, lovely slope side hotels.
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Japan 
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| jodieg2025 wrote: |
| Courchevel and 3 valleys - a bit iffy for mid December? |
Not at all, at least on piste. I've skied there pre-Xmas numerous times and it's a great time to go with quiet pistes and zero queues. There are copious snow making facilities so the only restrictor is freezing level as it has to be cold enough to run the cannons if it's a low snow year. But that's more of an early Dec issue and only really affects the lower runs, it's less so the week before Xmas. If you're concerned, stay high in Mottaret, Les Menuires, VT or C1550/1850 for ski-in/out.
VT opens in November, the links open early December so there's plenty of +1,800m skiing available. Courchevel early season snow is often superb and very quiet compared to VT where all the lemmings go. Bear in mind that not all lifts and pistes will be open as they save full opening for Xmas week but it's not a big deal; it's the peripheral areas and duplicate lifts that are closed. Pre-Xmas is usually around 70% open and the lift pass price is reduced as compensation.
For off-piste at that time of year, you definitely need a guide as most of the stuff that can be seen from a lift will have rocks underneath a shallow base.
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+1 three valleys.
Stayed in les menuires ski in ski out 21st December. Not an issue this year.
I’d probably head to VT to make sure though
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I’ve been to Three Valleys several times pre Christmas and it’s been amazing.
We did cervinia one year and it was amazing for 2.5 days… the other 3.5 days were zero/no skiing due to high winds!! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| mishmash83 wrote: |
| the other 3.5 days were zero/no skiing due to high winds!! |
And that's also the issue if you stay in Val Thorens. It's very exposed in high winds and I've been there in early season blizzard conditions when only the magic carpets were open.
Honestly, you're better off staying in Meribel or Courchevel where you have the choice to easily go high or low on an hourly basis according to the weather. There's tree skiing on both lower sides of Meribel and down to Village, Le Praz, C1550 and La Tania, the Belleville valley has got pretty much nothing.
You can have a very pleasant day just doing laps off the LT gondola, Foret, Praz and Grangettes lifts when everything higher up is shut or in cloud. The Bouc Blanc chair above LT often runs in high winds and I suspect the new Chenus gondola from 1850 for next season will be pretty wind proof so that will open up a load more easily accessible tree skiing above C1850.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Virtually the whole of the Zillertal is open at that time of the year, and with the access to the glacier at Hintertux, it could be a good potential location.
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We've been to Val D'Isere/Tignes two years in a row with Le Ski on one of their super cheap start-of-season deals (first week of December). Snow was great in both cases. As others have said, not all the lifts were open (and in our case in the first week of December some whole areas were closed), but the lift pass prices were reduced to compensate and there was more than enough skiing to be had.
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You know it makes sense.
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@gendal, same, albeit a long time ago, we did Val Di'isere in the first week with YSE when the staff were getting to grips with things. Had insane snowfall, Le Fornet area was incredible through the trees and the links over to Tignes we are all good. Really quiet as well, felt like we had the place to ourselves at times. We revisited Tignes a few more times off the back of that holiday it was so memorable.
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