La Rosiere Ski Resort France
La Rosiere ski resort is a high elevation ski area beautifully situated on a sunny mountainside with a village base at 1,850m. La Rosiere's recent(ish) addition of new chairlifts are game-changing, simultaneously expanding & improving the resort's skiable terrain exponentially. The resort now has wide appeal for all abilities and proclivities but is still at its heart one of the more family friendly ski resorts in the Alps. The international link with La Thuile in Italy is a feature of the area.
Overlooking the Tarentaise valley in the Savoie region of south-eastern France, La Rosiere is the valley's snowiest ski resort, and also one of the sunniest. Views across the valley to Les Arcs & La Plagne give a hint as to what is on offer in this incredible part of the French Alps.
Pros & Cons for La Rosiere Ski Resort
Pros
- High elevation terrain and long skiable vertical.
- Family friendly ski resort.
- Wide open piste trails for beginners & intermediates.
- Fun off-piste adventure opportunities.
- Beautiful views across the Tarentaise valley.
- One of the region’s most reliable snowpacks.
- Uncrowded, very short lift lines.
- Excellent value for money lift pass.
- Numerous high standard ski-in ski-out lodging options in a high-altitude, snow sure village.
- Multiple, wonderful eateries in the village and on-mountain
- Linked with La Thuile in Italy.
- Good public transport access from Bourg St Maurice, and convenient day-parking right at the lifts.
Cons
- Limited piste terrain for advanced skiers.
- Limited visibility throughout the resort in poor weather.
- Exposed to the elements in a winter storm.
- Accommodation on the mountain can be difficult to get at short notice.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- South-facing terrain is very sunny (& can get sun affected!).
- The lowest terrain in the resort is becoming marginal due to impacts of climate change.
- Long, narrow, winding road to reach the village will test some drivers!
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
A visit to La Rosiere ski resort is particularly worthwhile for beginners, intermediates & families, but now has a whole lot for advanced riders as well. The terrain is vastly improved with the addition of two new (ish) chairlifts up to 2,800m on Mont Valaisan.
Terrain
At the two main village base areas, some sheltered novice & children's areas are provided, but most of the terrain is long, open pistes and relatively gentle off-piste meadows perfect for intermediate skiers & snowboarders. Toward the Italian border, the steep descent off the top of Chardonnet is juxtaposed by the adjacent long, flat terrain to the border. With the exception of terrain below the village, most of the intermediate & advanced runs on the mountain are quite exposed in poor weather.
Whilst the resort has a whopping ‘on paper’ skiable vertical of 1,630m, it cannot be skied in full. With the newer zone up to 2,800m altitude, it is possible for intermediates to ski nearly 1,300m in one run all the way down to the bottom of the Petit Bois triple chair at 1,500m. The lower portion of the run (Marmottes) has snowmaking on its shaded sector guaranteeing its skiability. Previously one could do a maximum of 1,140m, but that was down from the 2,330m Roc Noir to the now rarely open Ecudets base at a very low 1,190m.
Freeride and on-piste skiable vertical from the top of Mont Valaisan is nearly 1,300m down to Petit Bois, which is something not to be sneezed at. Off-piste routes are on the frontside directly from the chair, or a substantial ‘backside’, accessible via a short bootpack up the ridge. Skiable verticals on the backside back into La Rosiere are around 600m, including a long traverse around to the Chardonnet chair to get back again. This is serious avalanche terrain and needs to be respected!
Check out detail on the La Rosiere ski trail map below.
Ski Lifts
The ski lifts at La Rosiere are a mix of modern chairlifts, along with a couple of older ones and a plethora of surface tows. The vast majority of terrain is served by 6 modern chairlifts. Interestingly, none of the chairs are hooded - a good thing in our view. The older Petit Bois & Ecudets chairs provide a slow journey back up from the lowest parts of the resort. The compact Chardonnet triple chair is an important link with La Thuile, plus the return from the freeride routes of the Mont Valaisan backside. It can be a bottleneck on busy days, so for season 24/25 it has been replaced by a modern, high-speed 6-seater chair.
Surface tows at La Rosiere are almost exclusively on novice and beginner terrain around the village bases. The exception is the two seemingly endless Bellacombe surface tows which provide a storm-proof final link to La Thuile but would otherwise serve no purpose.
Lift Passes & International Link with La Thuile, Italy
La Rosiere has a competitively priced lift pass for its own ski area. For just a few extra €, one can access the combination known as Espace San Bernardo. The Espace San Bernardo lift pass includes La Rosière & the excellent La Thuile ski resort across the border in Italy, creating a total of 160km of interlinked ski trails. La Thuile has a nice range of north-aspect steeper skiing & snowboarding options for more advanced freeriders and can also be accessed by freeride routes from the summit of 2,891m summit of Mont Valaisan via the La Rosiere lifts. From the summit, the descent to La Thuile village is over 8km long over 1,400m vertical. The top half is off-piste then the bottom joins onto a nice intermediate piste trail for the long slide down.
Snowboarders need to be beware of the flat sections and long surface tows between the two resorts.
Check out the ski trail map for the entire Espace San Bernardo (La Rosiere-La Thuile) below.
Snow & Weather
La Rosiere is statistically the snowiest ski resort in the magnificent Tarentaise valley. The annual average snowfall is around 7m but can be a lot higher. La Rosiere's high elevation base generally ensures good snow cover on its sunny south-facing slopes.
During the first Powderhounds visit, an unusual set of weather circumstances turned La Rosiere's snow to wind scoured crud whilst over the ridge (& border) in La Thuile Italy, on a reported overnight snowfall of 20cm, we skied up to 45cm of pristine fresh snow on the deep base. On our second visit at a similar time of year the following season, La Rosiere had a base of 4m & loads of fresh snow. On our third visit in March 2023, we found a mix of sun-softened pistes, and deep, dry powder on the north faces of Mt Valaisan. Such are the vagaries of skiing & the never-ending hunt for POW - Protect Our Winters!
Where is La Rosière France?
La Rosiere ski resort is in the famous upper Tarentaise valley 55km east of Albertville & sits snug on the Italian border below the Petit Saint Bernard Pass.
La Rosiere's closest international gateway airport is Geneva (GVA) in Switzerland. Flights via Dubai or Montreal & European origins can use Lyon Saint Exupery (LYS) airport. Both airports are around 210km or 2½hr drive away. Limited flights from UK & some European origins fly into Chambery airport, the closest to the Tarentaise.
Geneva & Lyon airports are connected by train to La Rosiere's closest main town of Bourg Saint Maurice via Chambery. The train provides the most environmentally friendly method of transport to the area. Search & book train tickets to Bourg St Maurice here. Buses & private transfers provide links between the Bourg St Maurice train station & La Rosiere, 20km to the east.
Anyone driving a rental car to the resort should be aware that the road up to the high-altitude village (1,850m), is a long, winding, often narrow affair with various turn offs & alternatives that GPS navigation systems seem to like taking the unsuspecting tourist on. Take care driving up! If in doubt take the bus or get a private transfer from Bourg St Maurice.
See our Travel To & Around France page for hints, tips & warnings on the best ways to get around the French Alps.
La Rosière Accommodation
The village at La Rosiere is a purpose-built alpine town at a high altitude of around 1,850m, just at the edge of the tree line. In appearance, the village is more reminiscent of a North American resort, which when compared to several nearby French ski resort villages is not such a bad thing! It retains some typical French Alps traits though, like a predominance of self-contained apartments and a fresh food market with stalls selling local cheeses and other delights on certain days of the week! It is a village in essential two parts, both centred on proximity to the main chairlift bases. With views across the valley to Les Arcs & beyond, the village soaks up the winter sun in the best possible way.
Some well-located 'ski in' hotels & serviced apartments are near the main Roches Noires express chairlift. At the opposite end of the village is the Les Eucherts sector, with modern ski-in ski-out hotels & apartment complexes directly adjacent to the slopes, providing an incredibly family friendly village environment. Throughout both of the villages are numerous privately owned apartments & chalets available for holiday rental.
Worth knowing when looking at accommodation at La Rosière is that many (but not all) of the apartment ‘Residences’ only accept 7-night bookings from Saturday to Saturday. Hotels and other apartments are more flexible.
If booking last minute and cannot find anything on the hill, there are a few wonderful, affordable options down in the valley at Séez, Bourg St Maurice & Viclaire.
Search & book all hotels, apartments & chalets on our La Rosière Ski Accommodation Listings page.
For detailed information on the ski resort's best hotels, apartments & chalets, see our Where to Stay in La Rosiere page.
Ski Rentals, Lessons, Guiding & Services
Ski rentals are available throughout La Rosière via our local partners. Receive a discount when you search & book via our La Rosiere Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
If looking for on or off-piste ski lessons, or mountain guiding, you can search, compare & book via our La Rosiere Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Review
After getting 'distracted' in other parts of the French Alps over the last few seasons, the Powderhounds finally returned to La Rosiere again in March 2023. We were wondering whether the lift & terrain expansion improved our view of this intriguing resort & we are very pleased to report that it certainly did. We are frothing to go back aging on a BIG powder day. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read the inciteful, objective, non-biased, independent, quality reviews!
See how La Rosiere compares to the rest of the French ski resorts on the France ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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