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Where to ski in mid December?

TrueNorth

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I'll have a week off in mid December. This doesn't happen very often with kids and a job, so I'd like to make the most of it. Where should I go for reliable early season snow? My local hills (Western Quebec) will probably have some groomers with snowmaking by then, but I'd prefer to ski off-piste in natural snow if possible.
 

Philpug

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Colorado is always the safe bet. Loveland and A-Basin will surely be open and with their elevation they will have some of the better snow. Plus a lot of Pug's to ski with.
 

Tricia

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Are you taking the kids and wife, or is this a solo trip?
 

Posaune

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Mid December is often good in the coastal areas of B.C. and WA. Wait till the last minute to settle your plans since there are no guarantees anywhere. Since you're already in CA, Whistler is a good target which saves you border hassle.
 

SBrown

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Steamboat is usually a good bet for December, but there are of course no guarantees.
 
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TrueNorth

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Thanks for the suggestions everybody!

This trip will likely be without the family. Lake Louise/Sunshine and Whistler were already on my list, although I recall from living in Vancouver for a few years that early season in Whistler involves a pretty good chance of rain in the village and whiteout higher up.

Anybody been to Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, or other interior BC resorts in the early season?

I've never been to Colorado, but this might be an opportunity to try it.
 

Monique

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It's not uncommon for Breck to have some challenging terrain open in mid December, and it's not that crowded because vacationers haven't started flooding in yet. But of course ... it all depends on mother nature ... not just snow, but cold weather to build the base ....
 

pete

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Colorado is always the safe bet. Loveland and A-Basin will surely be open and with their elevation they will have some of the better snow. Plus a lot of Pug's to ski with.

Steamboat is usually a good bet for December, but there are of course no guarantees.


not disagreeing, just not certain. Thought Co for off Piste in mid December was a bit more iffy? Wolf I seem to recall a good bet by folks like Crocker I thought noted this, as well as others.

I've hit Steamboat multiple times in Dec but thought less this last season, which may repeat, tree or off Piste was not recommended till a good base built up?

anyhow, Think Co would still be a good bet but would follow the snow as late as possible.

pete
 

DanoT

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Going off piste in mid December is a bad idea as there often is no compacted base, just loose snow on top of debris.
Places like Kicking Horse and Revelstoke have little or no snow making and normally don't open until after the first week of December so by mid December they will most likely only have been open for about a week.

No matter where the OP goes, in mid December some of the black runs will be closed or boney, double black runs even less likely to have good conditions. Therefore a place with snow making and lots of low angle runs will offer the best conditions.

In western Canada, Panorama and Lake Louise have lots of low angle runs, typically don't get tons of snow but do have lots of snow making. Sun Peaks has less snow making but gets more natural snow and has lots of low angle runs. They have also done way more summer grooming than other western mountain and can often be reporting a settled base that is 40 or 50 cms less than other resorts, but with better coverage. SP is usually the first mountain to open in the BC interior, a few days before US Thanksgiving. Whistler also might be a good bet but can get tripped up by mild weather.

Since there is no need to book accommodation in advance in mid December but there might be a need to book flights in advance, if it were me I would book a flight to Vancouver and then have the option of driving to Whistler or Sun Peaks depending on conditions.
 

Jerez

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+1 to Wait as long as you can and then consider the suggestions given above. Sometimes Whistler can be amazing that time of year and sometimes it can be awful (remember the Olympics?)

Grand Targhee and Wolf Creek can sometimes have great early season snow with 100% terrain open before Christmas. Those two areas will have natural snow.
 

Monique

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Going off piste in mid December is a bad idea as there often is no compacted base, just loose snow on top of debris.
Grand Targhee and Wolf Creek can sometimes have great early season snow with 100% terrain open before Christmas. Those two areas will have natural snow.

It's all about your comfort level with risk to body and to ski. The last few seasons, since I've gained a taste for off-piste, I've always sampled the early season snow. After a couple of months of groomers, it's just too tempting. BUT that's on terrain I'm very familiar with - I can tell by what rocks and trees are visible how many inches deep it is, and of course I've been following the local weather reports, so I have a good idea of how much snow they got. (I won't be able to ski early season next season, though, and who knows what I'll be comfortable with once I get out there. I hope "Once bitten, twice shy" will apply to skiing stupid fast in variable conditions, not to skiing terrain at all.)
 

Monique

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Meant to add - but I also always have scratches on my bases. It's a tradeoff.
 

spackler

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I will echo DanoT on the Sun Peaks recommendation, they usually have good early snow. The last couple of years the race camps there in the first two weeks of December have been amazing. Lake Louise works hard to get things going with the World Cup downhills in late November. Whistler is also a good bet.
 

DanoT

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Sun Peaks has had a summer grooming program for the past 20 years +. They have pulled almost every stump on the mountain, picked rocks, planted grass, and cut weeds. It pays huge dividends every year, especially early season.
 

dean_spirito

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Wolf Creek on November 30th and December 1st of 2015.......



I also agree that Loveland and Arapahoe Basin are somewhat safe bets for mid-December. Though you may be better off sticking to lower angle mountains, such as Wolf Creek, if you are planning on skiing primarily off-piste.

All that being said, Mother Nature is fickle. Book your trip as late as possible.
 

David Chaus

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FWIW the PNW is usually a pretty good bet for early season snow, pretty similar to Whistler, except the base elevation at Stevens, Crystal, Baker, Mt Hood and Bachelor is higher, so if there's enough snow on top, there's also enough snow at the base. The maritime snowfall is great for covering up rocks and brush, and sticks to steeper terrain than CO or UT resorts, so most single blacks and often double blacks are open within a week or two of the rest of the place opening. I have had some fine off-piste skiing in early and mid-December.

That said, the resorts are more locals ski resorts than vacation resorts. And with the CAN/US exchange rates, you might be better sticking to Sun Peaks or elsewhere in BC that has snow at that time.
 

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