Where could I ski December 2008?

Dancing_Priest

Hey!
I'm looking to go on a ski holiday this November/December. Unfortunatly due to work January to April is totally out of the question for me.
So does anyone know where I could get reliable snow in Europe for these months?
I've only been once before and the gf has no experience at all, so I'd like to have a varity of easy going slopes. I've been to Lillehammer and I liked the slopes but they were 30 mins drive away from the town.
So to sum up I'd like easy slopes, accomadation close to the lifts and a lively atmosphere for apres ski, All in November or December, Is it possible?

belfastlad

i have been a lot of places skiing. theres a country very small between spain and france called andorra which is amazing for skiing. im sure the snow would be fine to. does it have to be europe? canada would be good as ive been aorund that time before to banff and whistler.

zagmund

Most of Europe will be rainy and not snowy in November, so you can forget about November. I'm not sure of Norway and places up that region, but certainly the slopes in Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France will be closed then and the lift operators still on the beach in Bermuda, the Canaries and other hot places gearing themselves up for the next 4 months or so of 7 day weeks.

There is some chance in December, but because the snow will not be 'guaranteed' until late December (if there is such a thing as a guarantee) most resorts won't open until the week before Christmas. There's no point having people manning the lifts if there's no snow on the slopes. Once you get towards the end of December the temp drops low enough that there is some chance they can get the snow makers fired up even in the absence of any significant volume of real snow. If it's not cold enough then they just produce expensive rain.

If there is a major dump of snow that won't disappear overnight in mid-December some of the resorts might open early, but since they know nobody has booked trips for that period it is a pretty slim chance. Even so, by the nature of the situation you can't book ahead. Unless you're god and know when it's going to snow. And where.

Some of the resorts with glaciers will probably be open, but since hotel owners don't like their hotels falling into crevasses they don't build on top of glaciers, so you are still going to end up staying a fair bit away. Not 30 mins, but not right by the slopes.

Looking at the way the weeks fall this year, I can't see the resorts opening until 20DEC. Maybe if the winter arrives early they might open 13DEC. There's no point in them opening mid-week since most of the European 'last minuters' aren't going to stop work on a Tuesday, get in the car and drive down to the slopes. They'll all wait till Friday. 20DEC could be your best bet, although there is a good chance of getting no snow this early in the season. The following week will see the slopes pretty full and the hotel prices up pretty high for the New Year celebrations.

z

zagmund

Hmm, looks like my information may be a little out of date . . . darned global warming or freezing or whatever it's called.

According to here - http://www.mayrhofner-bergbahnen.com/en/100383/100234/view/403/prices_opening_hours_ski_resort_mayrhofen.html - the lifts will be cranking up in Mayrhofen from 29NOV this year, while the larger area surrounding Mayrhofen will be open from 06DEC - http://www.mayrhofner-bergbahnen.com/en/100383/100234/view/98/prices_opening_times_ski_resort_mayrhofen.html

I still wouldn't be booking a ski trip where I really had to ski at this time of year. It's toooooo risky.

z

Imposter

zagmund wrote: »

Hmm, looks like my information may be a little out of date . . . darned global warming or freezing or whatever it's called.

According to here - http://www.mayrhofner-bergbahnen.com/en/100383/100234/view/403/prices_opening_hours_ski_resort_mayrhofen.html - the lifts will be cranking up in Mayrhofen from 29NOV this year, while the larger area surrounding Mayrhofen will be open from 06DEC - http://www.mayrhofner-bergbahnen.com/en/100383/100234/view/98/prices_opening_times_ski_resort_mayrhofen.html

I still wouldn't be booking a ski trip where I really had to ski at this time of year. It's toooooo risky.

z

Most resorts open officially around the 8th Dec in Austria but most years there is no snow.

You can find skiing early in the year on glaciers.
Solden has an early world cup race so it usually is ok.
Zell am See has a glacier nearby (with buses to it) if the lower pistes have no snow. There are others too.

olaola

Check out the trends for different resorts. Snow in December has been fairly good for the last few years - with most places in Austria getting a good dump before Christmas. Friends of mine were in Tigne the first weekend in Dec two years ago, and were stuck in a few white-outs. Check out the Ski Club for info.
Zell am See is a lovely spot - and Kaprun (the Glacier) is always there if you're not lucky with the snow.