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La Thuile for Christmas?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
We are a group of 3 families with kids and we are considering going to La Thuile ( Planibel apartments) for Christmas week. Previously we spent Christmas weeks in La Plagne and Tignes. Is La Thuile worth considering in early season? Or would it be a risky choice in terms of snow?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I've stayed in La Rosier 3x over Xmas and skied over to LaThuile most days. Snow was good on the first 2 weeks and pretty good on the 3rd which was a very bad year everywhere for Xmas snow. That year only about 2/3rd of the LaThuile runs were open and no resort runs but the rest were good. I would book for there again without too much worry.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Thank you.. to be honest that is my worry that we will end up with no resort runs open..if it is a bad year
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We did La Ros at Xmas in 2017 and if anything we got too much snow... La Thuile link was often closed due to that and we got caught up in a snowmageddon event when coming home to UK...

La Thuile should be fine as there is a lot of skiing to be done above the Les Suches gondola station which is at 2200 m - so even if home runs not so good you can always go down in bubble. La Ros riskier in that respect as they only have chairs up from La Ros / Les Eucherts so you are reliant on home runs being open...

The whole area was very quiet which was nice - especially Italian side as they tend to stay home with their nonnas for Xmas (they will all turn up around Friday 27th onwards)
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Bella2015, La Thuile is well worth considering. I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to ski the resort runs because they are not the best (a pancake flat one [No. 7] which is bizarrely graded red, a black [No. 2] and an 'orrible red halfpipe [No. 6] which can be absolutely miserable). Planibel Apartments are reasonable value and right by the lifts. There's a review on here somewhere. Should be nice and quiet too. And the hot chocs are great.
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Piste 6 is great fun, get loose. The blacks were icy, once was enough.

It's a very quiet resort, probably less than half the skier density of La Rosiere though we did go over most days. That was w/c 21 Jan.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Hmm thanks all. Still thinking..the prices are good but not massively cheaper then in the French high resorts where we usually go at Christmas.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Food quality and value on the Italian side will be much better than the big French areas and it will be dead in comparison, would be a nice place to spend Xmas week as a family I would say.
Or for better skiing go a bit further down the Aoste to Champoluc or Gressoney
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@Bella2015, that week was one of the worst Xmas weeks on record so I wouldn't expect that. Being north facing they do tend to hang onto any snow they get.
Of course it dumped NY week rolling eyes
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Note La Thuile also has quite extensive artificial snow making, so not so much of a risk in that respect.

I wasn't seeing artificial at all when I've been there, because there was so much natural stuff.

Also they seem to piste it well.

Lots on La Thuile on here, if you do a search:
e.g.
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=3258222

IMO: Seems good for kids/families; Planibel needs freshening up but still good value, esp. the restaurant help-yourself.

I'd forget the criterion that beginners need resort home runs if I were you. La Thuile hasn't really got any such. That doesn't mean it's no good for beginners. Far from it.

There a learner area at resort level, and the main bubble goes up to a sort of plateau where there are many more learner and learnerish slopes and restaurants. End of session, go back down in the bubble to resort level.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Fat George is right...
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I love Italy, and La Thuile is a great resort when conditions are good.

But Christmas this year was not good.

The run up to Christmas day it was rainy and warm with storms, and there was a lack of snow in the village. In the Valley temps were approx 18degrees (obviously a bit less in La Thuile). The resort was almost entirely closed leading up to Christmas. Only the blue runs above Les Suches were open. The lifts up to Col de Fourclaz and Chaz Dura were not open and neither was the pass.

When the resort and pass did open on Christmas day the snow was icy and not great (though the sun was out in force)....it was just too warm!

I have also skied some of the best conditions at La Thuile with glorious weather and a great amount of snow!
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
La thuile never been at Xmas, but just after. The red number 6down to resort is awful.............. nearly gave up skiing all together on that one. Also the blues I think are quite steep, the first one off the lift is enough to pack in your poles too. Very steep and lots of learners having meltdown at the top. If you or your kids are nervous it may be worth looking elsewhere. Resort wise there is a bit going on, but nothing like your big French resorts. I wouldn’t have found enough to do with the kids when they were younger. You can ski to la ros, but this gets closed often, the moment there are slight adverse conditions. It’s enough and as a couple for a short 4 days we enjoyed it. Don’t think Id go back in all honesty.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Bella15:

If my memory serves me right:
* No need for alarm about weeping and screaming kids, provided you take note of which pistes are bizarrely graded by La Thuile and avoid those particular ones when with kids.
* From La Suche bubble, you can get to and use 'Chalet Express' and 'La Combe' chairs without much difficulty. From there kids can spend all day going down and up on runs 11, 14, 15, 16 and 'Chalet Express'/'La Combe', and never experience anything other than mild gradients or utter flatness. Avoiding anything as steep and forbidding as, say, Mount Hemel, is quite possible. At the end of the day go down in the bubble, also easily accessible on mild gradients from above.
* I saw and spoke to some English families with small kids while I was there. No-one said they didn't like it, and some said they kept coming because the whole thing was very child-friendly. The Planibel gets lots of kids who nearly all seemed to me to be having a good time.

Just my opinion there.

On the other hand, if you like a challenge, La Thuile can offer that too.

Lots of adverse comments about poor old No. 6 and somebody should defend it. If you time it right, so that there's likely to be fewer people on it - i.e. first thing, last thing, lunchtime, then doing 7/20/19a/18/6 from Chaz Dura from top to bottom in one hit is quite a blast. A friend and I know it as a goodie, and once it was so good we did that 3 times running. On the other hand if it's crowded with strugglers and stragglers, it's not such fun. Does take quite a while to work your way back up to Chaz Dura, though. When it's not crowded, at some point it's a virtual guarantee that a diminutive Italian, too young to drive a Ferrari, will pass you in a racing tuck no matter how fast you're going.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Bella2015 wrote:
We are a group of 3 families with kids and we are considering going to La Thuile ( Planibel apartments) for Christmas week.


Read very carefully about the exact type of accommodation you will be booking at the Planibel ..... the four 'bed' apts may be ok for a couple of adults, and a couple of kids but little more. Ignoring the outliers read all the measured reviews of the place ...... ask yourself why it's 'cheap'.

Quote:
Is La Thuile worth considering in early season? Or would it be a risky choice in terms of snow?


Anywhere could be 'risky' early season, but it's reasonably high and is as good a bet as many.

When we went on both occasions, the first time early Jan and the second over new year, it was mostly hard and scraped and the resort runs were shut ..... gondola back down.

La Thuile often crops up as a cheapie when looking for a last minute deal, I can't see myself ever going back, even if for some reason I did the 'Planibel experience' would not be an option.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Ok .. mixed reviews here. So decided that La Thuile is worth trying but maybe another time. Looks like we are sticking to Tignes this year ( where we have already been twice for Christmas)
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Other Aosta Valley resorts have a lot to offer and are well worth considering. Likely to be much cheaper than Tignes.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@dw832, we went to Pila
last February. Loved it, but in December will probably stick to high French resorts
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