Top 12 of 25 skiing destinations scored for December · ERA5 reanalysis 2015-2024 · updated monthly
Tignes, Val Thorens, St. Anton and 2 others come into the prime band in December after missing it in November. Of the 25 skiing destinations in the dataset, 15 score 68 or better in December and 6 reach the prime band above 80, which puts it mid-table for the year.
Whistler leads on 89 at 338 cm base. Across the top ten the spread is Europe (6), North America (3), Asia (1). The month belongs entirely to the northern hemisphere: every one of the ten best sits above the equator.
Ranked by score out of 100. Each strip shows all twelve months, so you can see whether December is the spot's peak or its shoulder.
1. Whistler British Columbia, Canada
89
Prime
Monthly score for Whistler, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
91
90
92
82
22
10
10
10
10
10
83
89
0%days with working wind
4 knmean daily max wind
195 cmsnowfall this month
-1.8 °Cair temperature
Nov-Aprbest run of months
December is effectively as good as it gets at Whistler: 89, within 3 points of its best month (March, 92). The melt-adjusted base reaches 338 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. It is also the wet end of the year: 308 mm against a monthly average of 182 mm. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Tignes, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
86
88
89
91
85
22
10
10
10
20
74
86
0%days with working wind
4 knmean daily max wind
129 cmsnowfall this month
-5.3 °Cair temperature
Nov-Maybest run of months
Tignes works in December — 86 against a peak of 91 in April — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 229 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Val Thorens, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
85
87
88
90
89
38
10
10
10
29
70
84
0%days with working wind
3 knmean daily max wind
121 cmsnowfall this month
-5.5 °Cair temperature
Nov-Maybest run of months
Val Thorens works in December — 84 against a peak of 90 in April — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 210 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for St. Anton, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
87
90
91
83
45
10
10
10
10
10
64
83
1%days with working wind
5 knmean daily max wind
100 cmsnowfall this month
-0.6 °Cair temperature
Dec-Aprbest run of months
St. Anton works in December — 83 against a peak of 91 in March — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 161 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Zermatt, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
87
88
90
90
61
10
10
10
10
14
73
83
0%days with working wind
4 knmean daily max wind
74 cmsnowfall this month
-1.6 °Cair temperature
Nov-Aprbest run of months
Zermatt works in December — 83 against a peak of 90 in March — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 166 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Verbier, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
87
89
90
84
42
10
10
10
10
10
62
80
0%days with working wind
3 knmean daily max wind
88 cmsnowfall this month
-2.1 °Cair temperature
Dec-Aprbest run of months
Verbier works in December — 80 against a peak of 90 in March — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 143 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Revelstoke, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
86
88
82
39
10
10
10
10
10
10
63
79
0%days with working wind
2 knmean daily max wind
82 cmsnowfall this month
-2.8 °Cair temperature
Dec-Marbest run of months
Revelstoke works in December — 79 against a peak of 88 in February — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 141 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Mammoth Mountain, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
85
86
87
89
91
68
10
10
10
22
59
79
23%days with working wind
9 knmean daily max wind
110 cmsnowfall this month
-8.3 °Cair temperature
Dec-Junbest run of months
Mammoth Mountain works in December — 79 against a peak of 91 in May — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 169 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. It is also the wet end of the year: 158 mm against a monthly average of 87 mm. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Livigno, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
79
84
87
89
68
10
10
10
10
29
66
77
1%days with working wind
5 knmean daily max wind
57 cmsnowfall this month
-5.3 °Cair temperature
Dec-Maybest run of months
Livigno works in December — 77 against a peak of 89 in April — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 132 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Hakuba, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
87
89
89
31
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
77
1%days with working wind
5 knmean daily max wind
122 cmsnowfall this month
0.5 °Cair temperature
Dec-Marbest run of months
Hakuba works in December — 77 against a peak of 89 in February — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 111 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Nozawa Onsen, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
88
90
89
20
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
76
1%days with working wind
7 knmean daily max wind
129 cmsnowfall this month
1.2 °Cair temperature
Dec-Marbest run of months
Nozawa Onsen works in December — 76 against a peak of 90 in February — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 106 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Monthly score for Chamonix, January to December. December is highlighted.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
86
89
79
44
10
10
10
10
10
10
33
74
0%days with working wind
3 knmean daily max wind
91 cmsnowfall this month
1.0 °Cair temperature
Dec-Marbest run of months
Chamonix works in December — 74 against a peak of 89 in February — so you are inside the season without being at the top of it. The melt-adjusted base reaches 100 cm, carried through from earlier snowfall rather than counted from this month's alone. Conditions are still building, so later in the season scores higher.
Whistler, Canada scores highest in December at 89/100, based on ten years of ERA5 climatology scored for skiing. Its best run of months is Nov-Apr.
Is December a good month to ski?
It is workable: 6 destinations reach the prime band in December, so the answer depends on how far you will travel.
These scores are climatology, not a forecast. They are computed from ten years of
ERA5 reanalysis (2015-2024) and answer which month and which spot to book — not
whether this Saturday is on. For live conditions, open the
interactive map.