La Rosiere - introduction

La Rosière enjoys a spectacular location high above Bourg Saint-Maurice, on the northern side of the Tarentaise Valley. Clearly visible on the opposite side is Les Arcs, while further up the valley lie the ski resorts of Sainte-Foy Tarentaise, Tignes and finally Val d’Isère.

In the face of such stiff competition La Rosière obviously has something special going for it, the something in question being that only here can you ski both in the Tarentaise and across the nearby border in Italy’s Aosta Valley. The two areas are lift-linked and add up to around 160km of groomed downhill terrain, all of which you’re free to explore just as soon as you’ve armed yourself with an Espace San Bernardo lift-pass.

Having both sides of the mountain from which to choose allows you to ski wherever conditions are best, and being based here on the French side means that (unlike La Rosière’s Italian counterpart La Thuile) when the sun shines you’ll reap the uplifting benefits right up until the last rays of sunset.

It’s convenient, too. As well as short transfer times from high-speed rail services into Bourg Saint-Maurice, purpose-built La Rosière has planned its development in a coordinated way for the convenience of visitors, and once winter snows close the route over the Col du Petit-San Bernard mountain pass there’s a refreshing absence of through-traffic. We also found this to be one of the friendlier of the premium resorts we’ve visited, so it’s not surprising that La Rosière has a loyal following among skiers.
 

Highlights

• Cross-border skiing in France and Italy on the combined lift-pass
• Convenient ski-school areas
• New ski sector created at Mont Valaisan
• Terrain for all levels – including off-piste and heliskiing
• Developments (and redevelopments) here have a quality feel
• Friendly (and family-friendly) vibe, both on and off the mountain
   

Lowlights

• South-facing local slopes can become soft on sunny afternoons
• It can often be windy here
• The draglift-served cross-border link probably won’t endear itself to snowboarders (but the return is by chairlift)
• Little ski-in/ski-out accommodation – but high-speed lifts get you up the mountain fast