La Rosiere - ski area

The Espace San Bernardo lift pass brings a real two-for-one ski experience, with the differences accentuated by the north/south orientation of the respective sides of the mountain. On the French side, the greater part of La Rosière’s own terrain lies above the tree line, which brings great views, along with exposure to both sun and wind.

The Secteur Rosière (just above La Rosière 1850 village) offers mostly blue-graded cruising terrain, along with snowcross and slalom runs and a snow park. Snow cover permitting, there’s also an invigorating red-graded (with a black option) drop through the trees all the way down to Ecudets (1176m).

Above Les Eucherts village, things are more varied, with blue and red runs, most of which drop towards the Combe des Moulins below the 2383m Col de la Traversette. The Combe is also a Freeride Zone, with instruction available. Topping it all off is the Fort, a former border outpost and gateway to the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard and the Franco-Italian border.

Photo: Propaganda

In 2018, the resort created a new freeride sector at Mont-Valaisan. Located to the right of the Redoute Ruinée Fort, there are now five new red pistes served by two modern six-seater chairlifts, called The Moulins and the Mont-Valaisan. As well as adding some magnificent red runs and ungroomed blacks, it means that the highest point of the resort is now at 2800m, with spectacular views of Mont Blanc.

The link is via a brief red-graded drop down to a pair of drag lifts, which opens up a wealth of varied skiing below the peaks of Mont Valaisan (2891m), Touriasse (2448m) and Chaz Dura (2579m), along with off-piste (accessible to heli-skiers) below Mont Ouille (3099m). Beyond this plateau-like sector, things become a little steeper on the runs down to Les Suches (2200m) and a lot more so for the final red- and black-graded drops through dense pine and larch forests into La Thuile. On the other hand, we came to love the more leisurely approach offered by the 6.5km-long San Bernardo piste (signed as No. 7) for its wild, away-from-it-all beauty, plus the excellent Lo Riondet mountain restaurant which sits around the mid-point.

Overall, then, there’s enough on the French side to build confidence and fitness (and have a lot of fun) before heading over to enjoy the wealth of great skiing which lies just across the border.

There is also a new Panoramic Experience (Photo Point) and a 'funcross snowzone'.

Ski highlights for all levels

Beginners: Both La Rosière 1850 and Les Eucherts have safe and easily accessible ESF ski-school areas, from which novices can progress rapidly via reassuringly wide blue runs served by smooth, modern chairlifts. This includes the Dahu chairlift, built in 2023 to replace an old draglift, which serves Les Eucherts green runs and nursery area. 

Intermediates: We reckon that the greater part of La Rosière’s popularity stems not from the not-too-tough/not-too-demanding terrain on the French side, but the sense of adventure which rewards those who head across into the Italian sector. In particular, we’d single out the choice long, red-graded descents which feed into La Thuile from either side of the forests. It’s possible to put some real mileage under your skis here.

Experts: Off-piste options include the scenic Combe des Moulins (in the Traversette sector), some slightly more testing routes among the Escudets forest (between La Rosière and Séez) and the steeper drops accessible from Le Fort. The Mont-Valaisan sector, while signposted, is ungroomed, with gradients up to 74%. Meanwhile, on the Italian side, experts should take on the legendary Franco Berthod (No. 3): a 76% gradient straight vertical, regularly used for Alpine World Cups.

Ski schools and guides

As with most French resorts, the École de Ski Français (ESF) provides group lessons in English but offers private clinics and off-piste and heliski days for experts too. Evolution2 (+33 479 401 980) offers ski and snowboard tuition plus a host of other adventure activities, including first tracks ski tours starting from €50. Origin Alpes (+33 621 645 711), meanwhile, specialises in backcountry and heli-skiing excursions.

Photo: OT La Rosière

Lift system

Heavy investment in recent years has produced a capable and modern lift system using chairlifts, except where there are sound reasons (including environmental considerations) not to. In fact, the only really unavoidable drag lifts you’ll find here are those serving beginner and slalom areas/snowparks.

The exception is the celebrated Bellecombe units which provide the link over into Italy. But don’t be put off: although quite long, they’re also pretty flat, which allows you plenty of time to admire the surrounding scenery—and for the return journey there’s a chairlift.

Terrain park 

As befits a modern family resort, La Rosière offers a comprehensive range of fun facilities. Above the main La Rosière 1850 village, for example, are the Snowcross des Zittieux, the Snowpark de la Polenta plus a Stade de Slalom. Head a little higher and below the Col de la Traversette, you’ll find the long, snaking Boardercross du Fort, which we spotted from the Fort chairlift and just had to try. The Italian sector, on the other hand, takes a more traditionalist approach to its skiing, including some undemanding cross-country trails.

Photo: OT La Rosiere

Snow reliability and snowmaking

Around 30km of La Rosière’s slopes (and 35km of those above La Thuile) are equipped with artificial snowmaking to help maintain optimal snow conditions. It doesn’t sound like a high proportion, but given the high altitude of the terrain (which ensures low overnight temperatures), lack of cover isn’t generally a problem. However, La Rosière’s mostly south-facing slopes, combined with occasionally gusty conditions, mean that the best snow quality is often to be found on its Italian side.