The mantra for early-season skiing is go high, go glacial and don't ride your own skis lest those delicately snow-covered rocks act as an angle grinder to their base. Bearing this in mind, it's worth taking a look at Sölden (soelden.com) in Austria. The resort opened its glacier on 3 September and is holding the first leg of the Ski World Cup this weekend. With three skiable peaks rising up to 3,370m, snow is a safe bet: last season saw 1.84m on the upper slopes by December. Ifyouski.com has a week's accommodation in catered chalet Eishaus, including flights departing Gatwick on 16 December, for £529pp based on two sharing.
Another famously glaciated resort is Saas-Fee (saas-fee.ch), which sits at 1,800m with high skiing up to 3,500m. Chocolate boxes were invented so Saas-Fee would have somewhere to put its picture – glittering nightlife is best left to neighbouring resort Zermatt while you tackle the T-bars from 17 December. Ski Total (skitotal.com) is offering £150 off per couple on a seven-night stay at Chalet Hotel Ambassador. Half-board accommodation, flights from Southampton and transfers costs £854pp based on two sharing, departing 23 December.
French resorts took a hammering last season with a paucity of snow across the board. But Tignes (tignes.net) in the Espace Killy frequently emerges as the place to kick off your season with the 3,455m Grande Motte glacier guaranteeing time on piste and Val Claret at 2,100m making "ski-in" a definite possibility. Inghams (inghams.co.uk) has seven nights at the four-star Hotel le Levanna in Tignes, departing on Friday 16 December, from £759pp on a half-board basis, including flights.
In 1999, Mount Baker (mtbaker.us) in the Northern Cascades held the world record for the most snowfall in one season – 29m – and it frequently enjoys deep powder as early as November. Located two hours from Seattle, it's not a large resort, with only nine chairlifts, but if you want rooster tails before Christmas this is the place. There are direct tour operators in Mount Baker, but BA (ba.com) has return flights to Seattle departing 3 December for £527, while lodging at Snowline Condo in Mount Baker for those dates costs £456 (mtbakerlodging.com).
Keystone (keystoneresort.com) in Colorado will be throwing open its doors from 4 November, with sophisticated snow-making, a fantastic snowpark and protective tree runs offering great early skiing. The resort lacks the buzz of Breckenridge and Vail (with which it shares the Epic ski pass), but it has a cosier feel and lots of expert terrain. A seven-night Keystone package with Ski Safari (skisafari.com), based on two people sharing and including flights with BA departing 6 December, room-only accommodation at The Inn and transfers comes in at £965pp if you book by 24 October.