1
La Plagne
Savoie, France · 1250m to 3250m
100
match score
La Plagne in December: 45% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 45% beginner
- Snow depth
- 101cm average base
- Rain days
- 1.4 in the month
Best ski resorts in December for first-timers
Ranked on what actually fell, not on marketing copy. La Plagne comes out on top for learning to ski or board in December: 45% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- 2
Les Arcs
Savoie, France · 1200m to 3226m
85match scoreLes Arcs in December: 35% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 35% beginner
- Snow depth
- 110cm average base
- Rain days
- 1.9 in the month
- 3
Alpe d'Huez
Isère, France · 1100m to 3330m
82match scoreAlpe d'Huez in December: 35% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 35% beginner
- Snow depth
- 85cm average base
- Rain days
- 1.5 in the month
- 4
Zermatt
Valais, Switzerland · 1620m to 3899m
82match scoreZermatt in December: 20% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 20% beginner
- Snow cover
- Never melts out at mid-mountain
- Rain days
- 0.1 in the month
- 5
Val Gardena
South Tyrol, Italy · 1236m to 2518m
80match scoreVal Gardena in December: 35% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 35% beginner
- Snow depth
- 41cm average base
- Rain days
- 0.2 in the month
- 6
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Veneto, Italy · 1224m to 2935m
75match scoreCortina d'Ampezzo in December: 30% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 30% beginner
- Snow depth
- 63cm average base
- Rain days
- 0.4 in the month
- 7
Tignes
Savoie, France · 1550m to 3456m
74match scoreTignes in December: 25% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 25% beginner
- Snow depth
- 111cm average base
- Rain days
- 0.6 in the month
- 8
Val d'Isère
Savoie, France · 1850m to 3456m
74match scoreVal d'Isère in December: 25% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 25% beginner
- Snow depth
- 111cm average base
- Rain days
- 0.6 in the month
- 9
Les Deux Alpes
Isère, France · 1300m to 3600m
74match scoreLes Deux Alpes in December: 30% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 30% beginner
- Snow depth
- 80cm average base
- Rain days
- 1.5 in the month
- 10
Whistler Blackcomb
British Columbia, Canada · 675m to 2284m
72match scoreWhistler Blackcomb in December: 20% of the terrain is beginner-friendly.
- Easy terrain
- 20% beginner
- Snow depth
- 193cm average base
- Rain days
- 3 in the month
Other months and trip styles
First-timers in another month
A different kind of trip in December
How this ranking is built
Share of beginner terrain, snow depth in your month, and low rain.
Snow figures come from the same ten-year ERA5 record shown on each resort's snow history page, measured at mid-mountain height. Terrain splits come from each resort's own piste breakdown. Scores are relative to the other resorts searched, not absolute quality marks.
We ranked 48 resorts with a full climate record, out of 253 on the site, against a benchmark of 40 resorts across 18 countries. A resort without a record is left out rather than guessed at. Search it yourself.