Skiing over Xmas

See reply to your other post.

If you want sure thing (almost guaranteed) early skiing, head for Mt. Bachelor (Bend, Oregon USA). I have been going to (late) fall ski camp at Mt. Bachelor, typically first and second week in December for the last decade and had snow each year, some years better than others.

Christmas can be chancy at best in Europe, but higher elevation resorts with snow making are the better bets. For what it's worth, check the "onthesnow.com" article:

http://www.onthesnow.com/news/a/580245/best-resorts-for-early-season-skiing-in-europe

Best resorts for early-season skiing in Europe 23rd June 2016 |
PATRICK THORNE RESORTS IN THIS ARTICLE: ARAPAHOE BASIN SKI AREA,
BRECKENRIDGE, CERVINIA - BREUIL, COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT, DACHSTEIN
GLACIER, DIAVOLEZZA - PONTRESINA, ENGELBERG, FONNA GLACIER,
GALDHOPIGGEN GLACIER SKI, GSTAAD - GLACIER 3000, HINTERTUXER
GLETSCHER, KAUNERTALER GLETSCHER, KEYSTONE, KITZSTEINHORN - KAPRUN,
LAAX, LAKE LOUISE, LES 2 ALPES, LES DIABLERETS, LOVELAND, MÖLLTALER
GLETSCHER, MT. NORQUAY, OBERGURGL-HOCHGURGL, PITZTALER GLACIER, RUKA,
SAAS FEE, SCHLADMING DACHSTEIN - STODERZINKEN, SÖLDEN, ST. MORITZ -
CORVIGLIA, STUBAIER GLETSCHER, SUNSHINE VILLAGE, TIGNES, TIMBERLINE
LODGE, VAL SENALES / SCHNALSTAL, ZERMATT

Where to ski in September?
At the start of autumn just six ski areas are almost guaranteed to be
open for early season skiing.

Zermatt in Switzerland, which operates Europe’s highest lifts (two T
bars that only open summer and autumn) reaching 3,899m, and the
Hintertux glacier in Austria’s Ziller Valley are both open year round.
Zermatt’s neighbour Saas Fee opens mid-July each year so by the start
of autumn is already two months in to its 10-month-long snowsports
season!

The fourth option is Pitztal, with Austria’s highest lifts, which
closes in mid-May but re-opens in mid-September each year for an
eight-month season, and its sister resort, Kaunertal, operates to a
similar schedule. The sixth choice is Italy’s Val Senales that
normally opens at the start of September (subject to weather
conditions) where the cable car will lift you up to the station at
Hochjochferner in just six minutes from where a five-mile-long (8km)
downhill run is possible with additional trails available from linked
chairlifts.

Where to ski in October and November?

Austria

Austria normally has more places to ski or board operational in the
autumn than any other single country with up to eight areas open by
mid-October. The precise date each winter depends on snow conditions
but in any case many tie in the traditional autumnal beer festivals of
the region with the first skiing of the season to create one big party
atmosphere.

Along with Hintertux, Kaunertal and Pitztal, Austrian autumn glacier
ski or board options include the Kitzsteinhorn glacier at Kaprun; the
Mölltal glacier ski area, the twin glaciers of Solden; the Stubai
glacier close to Innsbruck and the Dachstein, not far from Schladming.

http://www.onthesnow.co.uk/tyrol/hintertuxer-glacier/ski-resort.html

Skiing is usually possible throughout the year in the glacier ski area Hintertuxer Gletscher.... The highest elevation of the ski area reaches up to an altitude of 3250 m to the saddle between the summits of the Gefrorene-Wand.

Note that 3250 masl is more than 10600 feet above sea level. Even lift assisted skiing can be aerobically demanding at that elevation.

Yikes don't want to go that high, haha!!

Looking for a cute place to stay that looks really "Alps-y" :). Would love to find a small hotel that serves food and would be kind of homey...

So many places, hard to figure it out!!

Kim

Very "Alps-y" with skiing up high means either the Berner Oberland in SW or the Val Gardena in the Italian Dolomites. The village of Ortisei is adorable with a Christmas market, and they make snow in the Alpe di Siusi. We spent a Christmas at Hotel Albion and loved it. They will shuttle you to the ski lifts.

Forgot to add: the resorts all function fully on the 24th-26th. Stores may close for the afternoon of the 24th and all day the 25th, but that is about it.

It's really good advice to look for a resort with abundant snow making equipment. The ski season can start late. I had a friend who scheduled a Austrian ski trip in December, came home two weeks later and wasn't able to ski once because the runs weren't open. That was in the 90's, snow making has come a long way since then.

You may already be thinking this but if you only plan a couple days of skiing on your trip, renting equipment there is much better than packing yours. You can also check reports and have a backup plan if ski conditions aren't worth the time and money (I always worry about ski reports because the ones here consistently overrate conditions).