Where to climb in December

December is officially winter in the Northern hemisphere (and therefore summer in the Southern hemisphere), and the holiday season can make it both easier and harder to travel depending on your circumstances! Even if you can’t get away, there’s no harm in starting to think about next year’s plans.

Here are our suggestions for where the best mountaineering can be found this month, but as always, you’ll need to check up to date information regarding access and logistics, particularly for those areas subject to geo-political tensions (and volcanic activity!). Here’s a little inspiration for the month of December. And if not this year, why not next?

North America

In December the best mountaineering in North America is actually found in Mexico (yes, technically Mexico is in North America!) which is in dry season. Often overlooked, Mexico has a range of impressive volcanic summits including Pico de Orizaba which is the highest volcano in North America at 5636m.

You’ve probably heard of the second highest volcano (Popocatepetl) which is currently quite active and therefore not recommended – better to admire the view of it from Iztaccíhuat (5286m) instead. The name Iztaccíhuat translates as ‘white woman’ because the profile of the snow covered mountain apparently looks like a woman lying down. We’re not convinced, but maybe it’s a matter of perspective!

South America

In Columbia you can enjoy climbs that start in the jungle and take you up to around 5000m on snow and ice covered volcanoes such as Nevada Santa Isabel and Tolima. There are also alpine peaks of similar height in Venuzuela in the Sierra Nevada.

The volcanoes of Ecuador (e.g. Cayambe, Chimborazo and Cotopaxi) offer moderately technical routes over 5000m that are climbable during many months of the year, including December. Interestingly, if you stand on the 6310m summit of Chimborazo you’ll actually be at the furthest point from the centre of the earth, due to the fact it is not a perfect sphere and bulges out at the equator. Take that, Everest!

The Puna de Atacama area in Argentina actually has the highest concentration of peaks over 6000m in the whole of the Andes, but its remoteness has left it relatively under explored. The peaks are largely volcanic, so aren’t technically very difficult – there are even Inca ruins on the summits of some including Nevado de Chañi (5930m). There’s probably even some first ascents still to be made in the region.

Further south the Andean Lake District and Maule regions span the Argentina/Chile border, with an abundance of forests and (you guessed it) lakes surrounding a mixture of volcanic and snow-capped peaks, which are generally easy and done-in-a-day ascents of between 3000 and 4500m.

Then of course there’s Aconcagua; the highest peak in South America, and therefore one of the Seven Summits. While the normal route doesn’t involve any technical terrain, at 6962m the effect of altitude, and the mountain’s reputation for being extremely cold and windy makes this a serious undertaking. There are more interesting ways up such as the Polish Glacier or Traverse routes which have more technical snow and ice to navigate.

The south face of Aconcagua (Credit:  Dmitry A. Mottl)

Antarctica

If you’re after something more adventurous and remote, then South Georgia and Antarctica have got to be on your list (but start saving now, because getting there is not cheap!). South Georgia is steeped in polar history and teeming with wildlife if that’s your thing. Exploring this remote mountainous island on foot or by ski is bound to be a memorable experience.

The Antarctic peninsula is much milder than the rest of the continent, so is also a viable location for mountaineering and skiing in December. In both cases, it helps if you’re comfortable on a boat as these are used to access different locations on the coast and surrounding islands, and are much more cost effective (and environmentally friendly) than flying into the region.

 

The pristine isolation of Mount Vinson's basecamp in Antarctica (Credit: Christopher Michel).

Then of course there’s Antarctica itself. While there’s hundreds of thousands of square miles of unexplored wilderness, the logistical support is (unsurprisingly) limited to certain key areas and routes. Union Glacier camp serves as the jumping off point for most expeditions in Antarctica including climbing Mount Vinson (the highest on the continent and therefore one of the Seven Summits). December is also the start of the season for ski traverses to the pole and beyond (whilst not ‘technically’ mountaineering, there’s certainly some crossover). And if you thought that was the preserve of bearded men only, then you’d be wrong – there have been a number of notable female-only crossings made by the likes of Felicity Aston, Ann Bancroft and Preet Chandri to mention just a few.

So there you have it, there’s plenty of mountain adventures to be had around the world in December – particularly if you can go south for the winter!