Best Peaks to Climb in December
30 catalog summits list December in their published season window.
December is austral summer in the catalog: Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, New Zealand, Patagonia, and Ecuadorian volcanoes sit alongside Mexican high volcanoes.
Antarctica remains in season from the November open. USA peaks here are winter or year-round listings. Margherita and other equatorial African entries appear on their own windows.
Pair this month with the January page if you are choosing an Andes vs Kilimanjaro vs NZ trip over the holidays.
Countries in season
Day hike (6)
- Mauna Kea — USA · 13,796 ft · High-altitude drive / hike · Year-round; summit can be cold or snowy in winter
- Haleakalā — USA · 10,023 ft · Drive / Class 1–2 hike · Year-round (summit is cold; storms year-round)
- Guadalupe Peak — USA · 8,751 ft · Class 1 hike · Oct–Apr
- Mt. Kosciuszko — Australia · 7,310 ft · Class 1 hike · Dec–Mar
- Mt. Townsend — Australia · 7,242 ft · Class 1 hike · Dec–Mar
- Table Mountain — South Africa · 3,563 ft · Class 1 hike · Nov–Mar
Strenuous hike (8)
- Ojos del Salado — Chile/Argentina · 22,615 ft · High-altitude hike · Dec–Mar
- Popocatépetl — Mexico · 17,802 ft · Restricted / volcanic · Nov–Mar
- Ras Dashen — Ethiopia · 14,901 ft · Class 2 hike · Oct–Mar
- Mauna Loa — USA · 13,679 ft · High-altitude hike · Year-round (weather dependent)
- Mount Cameroon — Cameroon · 13,255 ft · Strenuous day / overnight · Nov–Feb
- Volcán Acatenango — Guatemala · 13,041 ft · Strenuous day / overnight · Nov–Apr
- Mount Roraima — Venezuela/Brazil/Guyana · 9,219 ft · Strenuous day / overnight · Dec–Mar
- Mount Taranaki — New Zealand · 8,255 ft · Strenuous day hike · Dec–Mar
Scramble (1)
- Mount Ruapehu — New Zealand · 9,156 ft · Snow / scramble · Dec–Apr
Snow / glacier (6)
- Chimborazo — Ecuador · 20,549 ft · Glacier climb · Dec–Jan or Jun–Jul
- Cotopaxi — Ecuador · 19,347 ft · Glacier climb · Dec–Apr
- Pico de Orizaba — Mexico · 18,491 ft · Snow / glacier climb · Nov–Mar
- Iztaccíhuatl — Mexico · 17,159 ft · Snow / glacier climb · Nov–Mar
- Margherita Peak — Uganda/DR Congo · 16,763 ft · Technical alpine / glacier · Dec–Feb, Jun–Aug
- Volcán Villarrica — Chile · 9,383 ft · Snow climb · Nov–Mar
Alpine technical (5)
- Aoraki / Mt. Cook — New Zealand · 12,218 ft · Alpine ice / rock · Nov–Mar
- Mt. Tasman — New Zealand · 11,475 ft · Alpine ice · Nov–Mar
- Cerro Fitz Roy — Argentina · 11,171 ft · Elite big-wall · Nov–Mar
- Mt. Aspiring — New Zealand · 9,947 ft · Alpine climb · Nov–Mar
- Cerro Paine Grande — Chile · 9,462 ft · Technical rock · Nov–Mar
Expedition (4)
- Aconcagua — Argentina · 22,838 ft · High-altitude trek · Dec–Feb
- Mount Vinson — Antarctica · 16,050 ft · Polar expedition · Nov–Jan
- Mt. Meru — Tanzania · 14,980 ft · Trekking peak · Jun–Feb
- Mt. Sidley — Antarctica · 13,717 ft · Polar expedition · Nov–Jan
Permits
All peaks · All months · Permit calendar · Open the 3D atlas