December 15th

Hi guys

I asked this question a little while back about skiing in December, was thinking about Austria as I loved it (Seefeld). Thinking about Morzine or La Plagne as I can fly locally from Exeter then.

I realise I should possibly wait but are they reasonalby safe for snow? Does say they are high altitude, guaranteed snow etc - though I expect that doesn't mean too much.

I'm intending on chipping up from beginner to . . . . not beginner :-)

Whatever that level is called!

Thanks for any help :D

Looks like December the 15th will be the first day of the season for many resorts.
Morzine is very low and unlikely to have any skiing but up at the linked resort of Avoriaz slopes will be open.
La Plagne resorts are much higher and far more likely to have skiing at resort level.
If it were me at that time I would also see if Tignes/Val D'Isere or Val Thorens were possible.
How good the snow is likely to be is in the lap of the snow dancers :mrgreen:
Very early season skiing is always a gamble but getting to one of the high resorts, especially if glacier skiing is available increases the chance of good snow.

I can certainly recommend Val D'Isere or Tignes in mid-December been going there at that time for several years.
You need to be reasonably high and check how much gets opened at the beginning of the season, because while some resorts will be open the amount open might be limited.

Thanks both Andy's I'll have a look at those resorts. I realise I'm taking a bit of a risk but I'm going with experienced skiers in Feb so would like to catch up a bit.

December Lo~Hi snow record for Morzine, past 4 seasons:
41cm/137cm 9cm/60cm 11cm/74cm 29cm/94cm

December Lo~Hi snow record for La Plagne, past 4 seasons:
66cm/116cm 37cm/93cm 38cm/85cm 88cm/170cm

December Lo~Hi snow record for Seefeld, past 4 seasons:
28cm/72cm 16cm/37cm 27cm/62cm 39cm/56cm

However, since all of Europe operates with Machine made snow, it is usual, that you can pretty well ski anywhere, assuming average ground temperatures.

I wouldn't want to rely on machine made show though, while it's great for getting down a base on the resort runs, variable temperatures can mean it's horrible to ski on.
December is the month of the big snow storms, go somewhere that you can make the most of it.

Oh, I agree, Andy, but my point is, most times you have no choice. The base is often machine made. It does depend on the prevailing weather and ground temp in a particular year, of course.

I guess a key point is that for December 15th, you can wait until quite late before booking, and chck where he best falls lie.

Yes, there are usually some mega deals if you wait Neil the last moment, especially if the snow turns up at the last moment.