 Poster: A snowHead
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Advice please. We are planning on booking Club Med La Rosiere in January '23 for family reunion. We have kids in the group ranging from 8 with beginner experience to 17 y/o with intermediate experience. Adults have varied experience.
I have read, that for more challenging runs and wider variety, going across to La Thuile is an option. Can anyone recommend this?
Also, do only families with small kids go there? All reviews show that the resort is less busy than other resorts. In theory this sounds positive but is there something that i am missing?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to the forum @Sollski,
Nothing intrinsically wrong with the location and January weeks are ordinarily the quietest generally for many European locations.
I've been there in January (visiting not stayed) and skied across to the Italian section, not difficult and good variety of slope all across both areas. January can be very cold though (statement of the very obvious in alpine region  ) with high passes like this location having wind flow characteristics that can make it rip-roaringly so. That's not uncommon in other locations, but without the protection of a bowl to ski in it can influence where you go. Getting to travel across there and back can be an endurance on the lifts rather than the skiing itself, make sure you are properly insulated for that eventuality.
I'd not let that put you off, travelling distance across any significant sized ski area is going to carry the same risk, just that there's not alternative route if you encounter this here.
To get around there it's fine for a mixed ability group piste wise, no issues from that perspective, good location at the head of the Tarantaise valley, good places for lunch etc ln Italian side, if cost and availability is good for you it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure generally you're prepared for temperature potential in your equipment/clothing.
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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?
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I've stayed in La Ros with a family of 4, 3 beginners plus me an Intermediate/Advanced and we have also stayed in Clubmed VT. For beginners La Ros is great, on a clear day u get amazing views of Mont Blanc, the snow record is excellent. The only issue we had is that for Inter/Advanced skiing you will want to go to Italy if weather is good and the drag lift over to Italy is long/steep and gets very cold. This meant that we had split days i.e. drop kids off in ski school, I went over to italy, did two runs and came back for lunch, which wasn't ideal. We are considering either VT or La Ros for Easter. The benefit of VT is you have more varied skiing out of the door, although the Clubmed is newer in La Ros and has a pool. If u haven't done clubmed before would recommend food is great, and the on piste location makes getting out/coming back with kids really easy... If u want to know anything else let me know.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Nelson1j, thanks this has been very helpful. Our initial plan was VT but decided not ideal for the younger ones, especially that time of the year. I will keep looking. A
@sli3, thanks for you valued comments. I think we might try later in the season and different location. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Sollski, have you considered CM in Les Arcs 1600 ? Certainly more terrain that's easier to match a mix group immediately around the accommodation and with more adventurous routes without concern too if needed.
Certainly January skiing I really like for the reasons already mentioned, low crowd and step onto most lift without queuing. A nice time but some may not be so keen on usual temperature range.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@ski3, we did briefly consider CM at Les Arcs but can't remember why we crossed it off the list. Might revisit that idea. Thanks
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I’ve been several times to La Rosiere with older teenagers and they liked it including skiing in La Thuile. We also enjoyed it when they were much younger. The club med there is well located and we noticed groups of club med skiiers being taken over to Italy as part of ski guiding sessions. In early season the link to Italy is sometimes shut due to the wind but at that time of year there would be plenty to ski on the french side on the odd day the link was shut. There is also some more challenging skiing on the french side in the new Mont valaisan area and there is a beautiful long run through the forest to the ecudets lift. La rosiere has an excellent snow record and I’d recommend giving it a go.
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I echo what others have written. La Rosiere is an attractive resort, good for beginners and early stage skiers, and for the more ambitious there is the trip across the border. I don't recall the drag lift connection being particularly steep but it was certainly very long.
The only issue is that there are sometimes weather conditions when a cold strong wind is funnelled through the pass. They usually close the connection when it gets bad, but even in La Ros it will feel pretty cold on some of the higher chairlifts.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Sollski, We went to La Rosiere at the end of January/early Feb 2022 and I hope I can answer some of your questions.
The resort is, indeed ideal for beginners and early intermediates with lots wide gentle slopes, even the red pistes are relatively straightforward. The Mont Valaison area gives some more challenging skiing and just about the only moguls you will find in the resort.
When we were there the snow cover was a bit thin, but we encountered no rocks on piste. On a number of days the visability was a poor (this happens in ski resorts) so we spent our time repeating the black Ecudets piste and the red next to it. Without doubt this was our favourite runs of the resort. Not only was the visibity better, but for some reason they were exceedingly quiet. Often with only half a dozen skiers encountered at any time. IIRC there was one patch where the piste narrowed with only a thin sliver of snow between the mud but by and large it was excellent snow all the way down.
For the week before the half term holidays we did find the resort exceedingly busy with the pistes very busy (no where near dangerous though) and unable to get into restaurants at night without booking the day before. But, and this is a big but, with the easing of Covid restrictions and the first time people were able to ski for almost 2 years every resort was very busy. I imagine it will usually be much quieter.
One thing that did concern me about La Rosiere was the number of crossing pistes. There appeared to be very few notices of these; most restorts have chicanes or warning signs in the middle of the piste to slow down skiers. These were largely absent in La Rosiere. So you had to either know the resort well or be constantly on your guard for others skiers crossing your piste at speed.
To get across to La Thuile there is a long drag lift with a very gentle slope. It is not difficult but tedious. The link was closed for two of the days we were there. The return involves a lot of chair lifts. It was a bit weird skiing down the road of the Petit st Bernard pass with chevrons marking the hairpin bends.
Though most of the skiing in La Thuile resembles that in La Rosiere the pistes were much quieter, probably due, I suspect, to much tighter Covid restrictions in Italy than France. For the more adventuous skiers there are some more challenging pistes in La Thuile. In fact many of the runs down to the town are quite steep black pistes. One had a sign at the top advertising that it had a slope of 73% (about 36 degrees). The slope had been bashed smooth and even though the snow was hard packed it was quite easy to ski. Just don't fall, but even if you do the run out at the bottom is gentle.
I think you will really enjoy La Rosiere
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@johnE, thank you for taking the time to do this comprehensive reply. I think we might give it ago
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think we might try later in the season
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Be aware that it will probably be more expensive, and certainly more crowded. The four French school holiday weeks in (last three weeks of February and first week of March are well worth avoiding. The first week AFTER the French holidays is a good one, if you want to avoid the worst of the crowds and have some longer days.
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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.
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@pam w, I think at over £2000 per person for a week cost is not a major concern. However, I just looked and Club Med at La Rosiere appears fully booked for the winter school holiday period
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