-- Worldwide Ski Resorts - France - La Rosiere --

The resort of La Rosiere is situated in the French Alps, close to the Italian border. It is a pretty village of traditional chalet style buildings that line the road to the Petit St Bernard Pass into Italy. It is a quiet friendly village beneath sunny slopes with a fair smattering of medium class, comfortable hotels, although there is a distinct lack of decent restaurants and bars. Further accommodation is available in the near neighbouring villages of Le Gollet, Les Eucherts and Vieux. While it has its own distinct ski area, it also shares the slopes of the nearby larger Italian resort of La Thuile which are connected by a series of lifts from the village. This combined area is known as Espace San Bernado.

La Rosiere stands at 1850 m and has a very good record for reliable snow cover. While the south facing, sunny slopes are pleasant to ski on, the unusual warmth does however tend to make for somewhat slushy conditions later in the season. The resort gives access to 150 km of pisted runs that are served by 37 lifts, many of which are quite old and rather slow. The resort has little to offer expert skiers, although there are excellent heli-skiing opportunities across the Italian border.

Intermediates will also find the home slopes a little limiting but will find plenty to do if they venture further towards La Thuile. Beginners however, will discover that it is an excellent place to cut their teeth with a variety of nursery slopes to choose from and plenty of slopes that are ideal for progression. There are three ski schools at the resort and an equally good choice of children's facilities available. Snowboarders will find that whilst there is a terrain park that stands just above the village, conditions are best suited to beginners and that the presence of some old drag lifts linking the major areas is not ideal. Cross country skiers have 12 km of trails to explore. Queues are not common, but the La Rosiere side gets much busier than the Italian slopes.

The highest point of the ski area is Chaz Dura at 2580 m. Experts will discover that the most difficult terrain is on the Marcassin run that finishes at Le Vaz on the lower slopes. Confident intermediates will enjoy the runs around below Le Roc Noir and at the Col de la Traversette, while the less advanced will find that the lower slopes around the village are more suitable for their level of skill. Nursery slopes are located at the edge of the village and at nearby Les Eucherts. There are some excellent mountain restaurants and bars all over the ski area.

La Rosiere has only a couple of small bars and après ski is to say the least, limited. It is certainly not the place to go if you are looking for a wild time.