La Rosiere
Why La Rosiere Ski Resort?
- It’s an attractive and friendly resort
- Franco-Italian ski area
- It’s in a sunny setting with fantastic views
- 'Famille Plus' resort - good children’s facilities and great for families
- There are good nursery slopes for beginners and excellent ski kindergartens
La Rosiere (Espace San Bernardo) Information
Ever since the installation (carried on the backs of workers) of the first ski lift (the Poletta) on 23rd December 1960 (celebrating 60 years in 2020), La Rosière has been evolving with one clear goal: to offer the best experience to its holidaymakers. The San Bernardo ski area has linked La Rosière with La Thuile (Italy) since 1984 - it’s the only Franco-Italian ski area in the Northern Alps.
La Rosiere is a friendly south-facing resort built in an attractive chalet-style in keeping with local architecture. On the snow fronts or from your accommodation, you will find yourself on the balcony of the Tarentaise, with a fully south-facing view spanning more than 180°. Enjoy the sunsets and the resourcing light.
La Rosiere is linked with La Thuile in Italy - it’s the only Savoyard resort to offer an international ski area of 160km of marked pisted runs (Espace San Bernardo). La Rosiere is a very family-oriented purpose-designed resort with new additions being made every year.
During the winter of 2018, La Rosière-Espace San Bernardo area accumulated more than 11m of snow. Only a few kilometers as the crow flies from the Mont Blanc and the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, the resort benefits from favourable weather conditions which guarantee an excellent snowfall from mid-December until mid-April and makes it one of the resorts with the highest snowfall in the Northern Alps.
La Rosiere sits high above Bourg St Maurice, facing Les Arcs across the Tarentaise Valley. La Rosiere is part of the commune of Montvalezan, comprising around 40 hamlets. The commune’s 14 chapels are the jewels in the crown of its rich heritage. Today the resort revolves around two autonomous hubs: the centre of the resort and Les Eucherts village, each with its own shops, high-speed chairlift and ski-lesson meeting points, linked via a pathway through the forest.
In December 2018, La Rosiere opened the new Mont Valaisan sector. As well as its gentle pistes on the La Rosière side, since 2019 you can enjoy 5 new red pistes in the Mont Valaisan sector, which you can enjoy whilst gaining access to the ski area’s new highest peak of 2800m, giving views of the Mont Blanc and the Mont Pourri. This new expansion completes the choice on offer for the more athletic skiers, on the north-facing Aoste Valley side.
Located on the French side of the ski area, to the right of the Redoute Ruinée Fort, this investment of 15 million euros created 5 new red pistes with 2 new person chairlifts: The Moulins and the Mont Valaisan. You can now discover a more technical ski area with more freeride possibilities.
La Rosiere vs Les Eucherts
The original village of La Rosiere turned 50 in 2011 but the most recent development has been in Les Eucherts, highlighted by high-calibre slope-side accommodation. Les Eucherts is a newly developed area of La Rosiere which sits to the East of the main village. The development of Les Eucherts incorporates some excellent shops and restaurants, the tourist office, an ice rink and bowling complex and a state-of-the-art nursery as well as ski-school facilities, all only a few metres apart. It’s all extremely family-friendly so it’s no surprise that the village has the highest official ‘Famille Plus Montagne’ award.
There is no need to take the car if you want to get from the centre of La Rosiere to Les Eucherts. Just take a short walk through the forest! The forest footpath is around one kilometre long and floodlit at night. It’s the perfect place for a stroll, whatever time of the day or night.
Peak Retreats offers a range of La Rosiere accommodation options. All of La Rosiere's ski apartments have been hand-picked and are of a very high standard (3 & 4*), providing the ideal base for a La Rosiere ski holiday.
History
An important trans-Alpine route linking Savoie to the Aosta Valley, the Roman road through the Petit Saint Bernard Pass was built in the late 1800s. Because of its strategic cross-border position, the Petit Saint Bernard Pass and the mountains surrounding it have been the setting for many events and battles, including the annexation of Savoy by France in 1860, and the attacks by the Italian army in 1940. The Espace San Bernardo still shows the scars of its past battles, and to this day symbolically links France, Italy and Europe via its slopes.
Interested in buying an apartment in La Rosiere? See our Buying in the Alps section.
La Rosiere ski area
La Rosière is the only resort in Savoie to boast an international ski area, thanks to its liaison with the Italian ski resort of La Thuile in the Aosta Valley. Thrill-seekers can try their hand at various different disciplines in the “Snowzone” (snowpark, snowcross, and boardercross), in the officially-recognized snowkite area on the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass, or even off the beaten track on a heli-skiing trip. Those looking for a more sedate outing can glide down the long slopes that wind down through the forest into La Thuile, overlooked by the magnificent Mont Blanc massif.
The south-facing resort has a high sunshine record and an excellent snow record (with north-facing slopes in Italy). If you have your own transport, you can ski in Les Arcs across the valley and its linked neighbour, La Plagne. You can also reach Sainte Foy by heading up the valley, and a little further still lie Tignes les Brevieres, Tignes 1800 and Val d’Isère.
La Rosiere skiing info
LA ROSIERE BEGINNERS
La Rosière is a good choice for beginners, thanks to its well-suited terrain and well-designed village base which means that your equipment rentals, the ski school and the nursery slopes are just a few steps from your apartment. Great if you have children!
La Rosière’s ski area has two free ski lifts open every day for beginners: Manessier drag lift, plus the Lutins magic carpet. The Lutins covered magic carpet, with its adjoining green slope at the bottom of the slopes in Les Eucherts, is the ideal place for youngsters wanting make their first tentative turns in a safe environment. Both the lift and nursery slope are easily visible from the bottom of the slopes, which means parents can keep an eye on their children’s progress on foot or on skis. Once they have mastered the green slope, they can progress on Dahu and Cabri green slopes.
Petit Saint Bernard adventure slope - with fun and educational features to tackle, the green slope through the forest has been transformed into a fun and educational playground for young (and not-so-young) skiers! Head up the Lièvre Blanc drag lift then follow the resort mascot, the Petit St Bernard dog, back down the slopes!
LA ROSIERE INTERMEDIATES
Intermediates have a huge choice of blue and red pistes on both sides of the border that run out to the peaks of Le Belvedere and Chaz Dura. You get a real sense of travel as you enter Italy, perhaps stopping for a lunchtime pizza!
In December 2018, La Rosiere opened the new Mont Valaisan sector. As well as its gentle pistes on the La Rosière side, since 2019 you can enjoy 5 new red pistes in the Mont Valaisan sector, which you can enjoy whilst gaining access to the ski area’s new highest peak of 2800m, giving views of the Mont Blanc and the Mont Pourri. This new expansion completes the choice on offer for the more athletic skiers, on the north-facing Aoste Valley side.
Located on the French side of the ski area, to the right of the Redoute Ruinée Fort, this investment of 15 million euros created 5 new red pistes with 2 new person chairlifts: The Moulins and the Mont Valaisan. You can now discover a more technical ski area with more freeride possibilities.
If you have a pint-sized freestyler in your clan, take them to the mini-snowpark which is specially designed for kids. Here, they can hone their tricks in safety on age-appropriate features.
LA ROSIERE EXPERTS
Despite being primarily a family ski destination, advanced skiers can still find plenty to entertain themselves here if they use a little creative thinking. Around 15% of the terrain is rated black with 14 runs to choose from in the Espace San Bernardo - the most challenging arguably the 3.6km long Franco Berthod piste.
LA ROSIERE OFF-PISTE
Off-piste areas can be found between the pistes and in the designated freeride area around the top of the Educets chairlift. More serious off-piste can be accessed just outside the lift network. There is also freeride opportunities in the new Mont Valasian sector.
LA ROSIERE SNOWBOARDERS
For snowboarders, most of the lifts are chairs, so for those just beginning, this is a good resort. Sunny slopes make the snow a little softer - ideal for gentle freeriding!
