LA THUILE

A snowHead

We are off to LA Rosiere at Easter. Way hey!! and the reason I asked about the link is that we will have 4 decent adults, 4 kids between 8-10 of which 2 will be beginners, and 2 with 2 weeks experience.

I would be nice to know in advance specifics on the link as Iwould hate to attempt it and a) Get Stuck or b) Waste our time, The piste map looks like 2 drags running from France to Italy. How long? How Hard? Could we try 1 drag and ski back if we'd had enough. Is recovery easy if the kids fall off, Is it feasable.Ias it worth it. I have avoided La Rosiere in the past coz of all the drag lifts ( my knee surgeon loves to show me to his students) but the 2 new 6 man chairs for nexzt year have swayed me.

All these questions I am sure could be answered by the rep within 5 minutes of getting on the transfer bus, but really Im just excited and want to chat about my holiday.

Also has anyone stayed at Le Roc Noir, and what was it like

A snowHead

Frosty the Snowman,

I have bad knees as well and would do anything to avoid the drag lifts. The Bellecome 1 (1.77km) & 2 (1.12km) links between La Rosiere and La Thuile is OK because the adjacent links are chairlifts. You also ski one in each direction. The associated blue runs are nice, gentle and long. I have filmed the wife in front when skiing and holding a digital camera behind.

There is a red run No 51 on the La Rosiere side next to the Chardonnet chairlift but I couldn't remember any difficult area. That may not be suitable for the beginners. I recalled that there seemed to be groups of crowd deciding whether to go down or not at the top of Chardonnet. My advice is to get one of you ski down to survey the piste to see if it suits the whole group. If my memory serves me right the run could probably graded red because it is not wide as skiers use it mainly for getting from A to B. I can't recall any sudden drop or dangerous side edge at all.

Apart from that it should be enjoyable because the first time I went to La THuile skiing mainly blue slopes at that time I did manage to the top of Bellelcome1 but the link was closed on that day.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

saikee,
Thanks for that

i couldnt tell from my map if the drags went in the same direction, I also didnt notice the little red bit down off the top. I have also tried filming the wife in that fashion but had problems. To start with the subject was too wide, but after 200yrds was too distant. The wife being much braver and fitter is not something that I am yet comfortable with. This was the idea behind teaching the kids to ski. but after 2 weeks they have also moew left me!!.

many thanks again.

Any comments on Le Roc Noir anyone?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Frosty the Snowman, pist,draglift, or hotel. Hotel Bar does mean flavoured vodkas, and can sometimes be heaving or dead.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Helen Beaumont,

Hotel
We are stopping there with 4 adults 4 kids

You'll need to Register first of course.

Le Roc Noir is right in the center of the village, it's getting a bit old now but Ski Olympic work hard to ensure their guests enjoy their ho;iday. You're only 5 mins walk from the main lifts. My son used to work as a ski guide for Ski Olympic, he had only good tjings to say about them. The bar gets very busy, it's the main bar for most of the seasonaires and locals connected with skiing. The link to La Thuille is not a problem, the only time it's closed is when the wind gets up. The Col de Petit Bernard is at 2100 meters and very open so it does get wind-swept, shouldn't be a problem at Easter. There are two drags but you can get to Italy just by using the first one and skiing down to Petit Bernard, the secon lift takes you into the area above Belevedere. It'll become very clear after you've used it acouple of times. Just about all of the skking in La Rosiree is on south or south-west facing slopes so nice and sunny wheras La Thuile's skiing is mainly north facing. Ski Olympic offer ski-hosting so you'll be able to find your way around very quickly. There are some very good mountain restuarants both in La Rosiere and La Thuile which offer terrific value, especially on the Italian side.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

David@traxvax,

Thanks again, We went with Ski Olympic in Jan to Courchevel 1650, and apart from 1 staff member coming in p****d at 03.30 , and climbing into bed virtually naked with one of our party (a young lady who did not know who he was, sounds funny but WAS MOST DEFINITELY NOT), we had a great time and were most impressed. Despite the "incident" we would all (bar1) have gone with them again. On 2nd Jan 05 we wanted to go again but they are only doing 6 night holidays. We are off to La Plagne instead with Silver Ski!!. For the 1st time we are having a 2nd trip, just 2 families to La Rosiere at Easter.

After all it is free

We hooked up at the weekend with some people we met at La Ros earlier this year and it looks as though we're going to do a joint trip there again next year after half term.

Frosty the Snowman, as David says, you can take Bellecombe 1 to a blue run - 26 Liaison and then down a wide red - 22 Longet which drops down to the Piccolo San Bernardo Express and then head on down to the Fourclaz lift. Hopefully by the time you get there the new Roches Noir Chairlift out of La Ros will be completed which should cut the queueing down a tad.

I'm looking to go DIY here. Obviously I can see the Ryanair web site for flights, any ideas on cheap accomodation and transfers from Turin.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

There's a couple of ways. You can get a train to Aosta. Across the road from Aosta train station is the bus station where you can get a bus - though I'm not sure if there's a direct one to La Thuile from Aosta. There are trains up to Morgex (and Pre St. Didier?) from Aosta, too though it's not a great service. From there you can get a bus to La Thuile.

If you get a bus from Aosta, you may need to change at Pre St. Didier or Courmayeur to get up to La Thuile.

I can't remember the bus company name, but they're normally blue and it begins with an 'S' (SAP, SAFTA?). The buses up to La Thuile are normally shortened ones (in summer anyway, they may run bigger ones in winter).

I think there is a bus that goes from Turin to Courmayeur and you may be able to get that one and change at Morgex otherwise change at Courmayeur.

NB remember that Turin is called Torino, and the Italian for bus is autobus and train system is Trenitalia.

If you rent a car, you it's autostrada all the way to Morgex (toll), where you come off and head up the side valley. Having a car would enable easier day trips to some of the other resorts if you felt like it, including the Valle Blanche.

Websites:
Turin->Courmayeur
La Thuile buses
Map of Val d'Aosta
Transport links

HTH.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

NB remember that Turin is called Torino, and the Italian for bus is autobus and train system is Trenitalia.

skanky That's really a good advice, I'd would also say, please do not take offence, write down the italian names of towns where you'd intend to go/pass by, and read the signs at least twice.
I once met one evening commuting home by rail, a couple of years ago, a distressed English family, they'd been travelling sincethe early a.m., took a planne to Milan (Milano) then proceed to take the train in Stazione Centrale (Central Station)...Their destination was Livigno, the nearest train stop to Livigno is Tirano, they arrived late in Milan, run for the train, read the sign, and poceed to board the train, only to discover that this particular train destination was Torino, no stops were foresen so they had to go all the way west to Torino and then board a train back to Milano....and then take the commuters train to Sondrio/Tirano instead of the more direct one...I fear that once in Tirano they probably discovered that no Buses were running to Livigno that late (train supposed to arrive in Tirano at 23.00)...
That kind of misunderstanding can really destroy an holiday, especially for a family!
NB Turin (Torino) is located in Piedmont (Piemonte), west of Milan (Milano) which is in Lombardy (Lombardia); Livigno/ Tirano are in Lombardy (Lombardia) roughly north of Milan...
I felt really sorry for them.

snow reports

Anyone stayed at the Planibel hotel complex at the resort? We're going out in January with First choice. My wife does not ski, so I'm hoping that the rooms will be comfortable and that there is plenty to do there. We are staying in the hotel not an apartment.

Stayed there last year.
Good swimming pool and leisure facilities sauna etc.
Food was not to bad and the rooms more than adequate for a ski resort with decent sized public rooms so your not stuck in the room.
In the evening wander down into the town for the nightlife nice bars and at least one disco the kids went into till the early hours, think it’s called La Bricole discopub.
You can ski down to the bottom lift just by the hotel so meeting for lunch not a problem. There’s a bar/restaurant just there so you wont even have to take your boots off!
You’ll have a good time and as long as the wife likes a good read she’ll be fine.

You know it makes sense.

As mentioned earlier, there are also regular buses down to Courmayeur, which is definitely worth a visit one day - esp. by the non-skier. I *think* that market day is Tuesday, but can find out is requested.

If she gets up early enough, she can also have a day out in Aosta or Chamonix. Just change at Courmayeur for Chamonix and Pre St. Didier for Aosta.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thanks chaps...in La thuille as I write - its gorgeous in the summer too! Off to visit a couple of chalets and then sit and watch the world go by with a little vino rosso. Will definately be back for a winter visit after reading this.

Help!!

LA THUILE

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