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La Rosiere for beginners?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi All,

I am a snow heads virgin but was hoping you might be able to help.

I am trying to organise a trip for 4 people travelling this January.

3 will be total beginners with a few couple of lessons at a snow centre in the UK and one will have skied for the past 5 years around 3 valleys.

I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on la rosiere? What's the skiing like, the ski schools and the après ski.

Thanks for any help that's given
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Is it that time already?, welcome to snowHeads snowHead

There are some regular visitors to that resort so you'll get some in-depth advice.

Here are some recent threads on the resort, there are loads more posts as it is possibly the most discussed resort on the forum.

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1603956
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1475985
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=62255
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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?
Ray Zorro, What? No mention of this seminal piece
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=406237
Very Happy
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Ahhh, the marmite of resorts.....

Edited to add that you could do a lot worse in selection of resort for a group of beginners. Skiing is fine, good ski schools, and the apres ski will keep you entertained bearing in mind how knackered you will all be....
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Is it that time already?, go to www.larosire.net you'll find lots of information, there's a video that gives views of the pistes and the village. There's 160 kms of pistes in France and Italy, the village is high - 1850metres, so its very snowsure but as a lot of the skiing is above the treeline it can be windy and cold, especially in January. It's a great resort for beginners, the slopes are open and wide and all the ski schools aim to get beginners off the nursery slopes as soon as possible, there are some of the best views in the Alps to be seen, you'll be very close to Mont Blanc and you should aim to get to La Thuile for some Italian ambiance. Both the ESF and Evo2 ski schools are used to Brits and there are English groups, so no problems there. The village is fairly compact with most of the apre centred around the village centre, there's a good happy hour after skiing at Mckinleys and Petit Danois and Bar Fusion are very popualr with live bands appearing so you shouldn't be too bored.
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Thanks for the replies so far! I'll have a read of the other threads when I get 5!

I'll just throw this out there...I know the resorts are different etc but based on the info above...meribel or la rosiere?

The advantage is I cab find my way around meribel but is would be good to try somewhere else. But at the same time I want to snow the others the best skiing has to offer to get them addicted Smile

That's a good point about the cold, I will have a couple of moaners ont hands if it's 'too' cold.

Again thanks for the help so far!!
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Is it that time already?, If they are going to moan about the cold, then going skiing in January is not really the ideal choice of holiday Laughing
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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!
Unfortunately it's the only week of the season I can get off work so that has limited it.

Hopefully they'll be having so much fun they will forget about the cold?! Very Happy
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Quote:

meribel or la rosiere?

For me, definitely La Rosiere. We went there twice, not as beginners but as pretty early skiers, and enjoyed it very much. The views are certainly beautiful and with luck you'll get some sun. It's more snowsure than Meribel, for a start. It will also be significantly cheaper. The 3 Valleys will be wasted on your beginners - and, if you were to go to the 3V, there are several much more suitable venues than Meribel for beginners.

I don't like the Brit vibe in Meribel - but plenty of people do, and if the kind of "apres" you like is being in loud bars all night, surrounded by people speaking English and where half the bar staff couldn't speak French if they tried, you might find La Ros a bit quiet. wink

Make sure your beginners have plenty of layers so they can dress up, or down, for the conditions as required.
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Pam W- your spot on about the price, that's the key reason at looking at other areas, based on lift prices etc and just general costs. A first skiing trip costs a fortune but hopefully they'll all agree its worth it!

It's just things to do in terms of après ski rather than late night bars and clubs.

Out of oysters what other parts of 3v's would you recommend? Last year I stayed in la tania with friends that were there for the season and had reservations about the slopes getting back to resort. The wide greens blues around courch 1850 feel would be ideal for beginners but would as I said getting back 'home' may not be so easy!

Will try my best on the layers front but some people just won't be told! Lol Little Angel
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Quote:

what other parts of 3v's would you recommend?

Courchevel 1650 and lessons with New Gen.

As for evenings, we were in a catered chalet in La Rosiere, with good long dinners and plenty of wine. Once, the youngsters decided they wanted to "go out" but after that they didn't bother. We stayed in the chalet, drank our duty frees with mixers provided by the chalet staff, enjoyed the company of the other guests and had early nights. We skied all day and even the teenagers seemed to have no appetite for partying all night.

We stayed with Ski Olympic - highly recommended.
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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.
Is it that time already?, the blue down into La Tania is fine but, with beginners, I'm not so sure it wouldn't be too challenging IMHO. There is a green Plan Fontaine IIRC, but I didn't ski it when I was there a few years back.

Having skied both places, I'm with pam w, La Ros will be less expensive and probably have more runs suited to your group with good progression options that will allow you to ski back to the resort. They used to have a Rolling Stones tribute band that played in one of the bars quite regularly - really quite good! Plenty of other places to go out for a week's stay.
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Is it that time already? wrote:
..meribel or la rosiere?



A.U.S.T.R.I.A. Toofy Grin
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I would definitely say La rosiere for your group. What accommodation are you looking at? We stayed in the cimes blanches appartments in Les Eucharts area and they are very nice. There is a lovely pool/spa area which the beginners might enjoy if their legs are aching after learning to ski all day! We prefered the les eucharts area as it hardly has any traffic and is only a 10 min walk along a tree lined path from the main part of the resort.
We used ESF ski school for our children which was ok. I think I would be inclined to try Evo 2 if we were to go back there. We only opted for ESF as they had more in the way of childcare after lessons and from your post I'm assuming you are taking an adult group.
It was very cold in La Rosiere in January so balaclavas are essential.
We really enjoyed skiing over to la thuile and the snow cover there was very good. The fontaine froide run (red) in la rosiere is a good one to try (for the non beginner).
My son was in his second week of skiing and made lots of progress on the blue runs in la rosiere.
I wouldn't say la rosiere is big on apres ski - one of the reasons we liked it. It is a very family orientated resort so the main apres ski attractions were the pool/spa, small ice rink in les eucharts (I think), bowling, nice creperie and few restaurants/bars. We were happy with that but if you want to party the night away there are better places to go!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
To be fair that is the type of après ski were after, just something to keep us occupied really.

As for accommodation, were currently looking at catered chalets, just to see what kind of experience that is like. The company I have been looking at is ski beat, they se to have fairly good feedback and offer competAtive prices with the added advantage of the ski train option with transfers sorted by them!

But any recommendations or other companies would be welcome...Pam, I'll have a look at ski Olympic to see what they offer.

I think I've had a rather closed mind on other areas until now as i have 'grown up' skiing in 3V's for the past 5 out of 7 years. But would be great to try abother resort for a change etc.

Again thanks for all the feedback and advice!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Is it that time already? wrote:
The company I have been looking at is ski beat, they se to have fairly good feedback and offer competAtive prices with the added advantage of the ski train option with transfers sorted by them!


Oh No! He mentioned Ski Beat Shocked
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Is it that time already?, Check our Ski Olympic as mentioned above. Very good.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Anniepen...care to elaborate??
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Is it that time already?, one of our longest-running and most expansive threads http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/search.php?mode=results - if you can get through all 24 pages..... respect Very Happy
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Is it that time already?, If you need to ask, you really don't need to know......some things are better left unsaid
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Thanks for the word of warning.

I'll do a bit of digging but seems there are plenty of unhappy customers.

Had a quick look at ski Olympic and seems quite a good setup and prices seem reasonable etc....thanks for the recommendation!

Anyone got any chalet companies to recommend?

From the feedback it seems this may be a good area to go to!

Apologies for bringing up the apparent dreaded words of ski beat.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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Is it that time already?,

Are you driving, we are going the weekend of 29th Jan to La Rosiere. There are 12 of us going. We are driving on the Friday 28th ( Chunnel free with club card vouchers ) Stopping at Formula 1 in Chambery on Friday evening, 32 euro for three person room, then up early and into resort to ski Saturday.

Staying at La Balcons de La Rosiere ( booked direct on their website ). Google La Balcons de la Rosiere, they do thyem at a few resorts, we used the Val Cenis ones last year. They do smaller appts if only four of you. ( cheaper than booking through a TO )

Worked out last year it was £75 per head for four of us in a diesel Mondeo for fuel and tolls.

Works out cheaper than flying and hiring a car.
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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!
http://www.les-balcons.com/presentation/les-balcons-de-la-rosiere.html
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Is it that time already?, just a suggestion, but La Rosiere has quite a decent snow record (height/location) so, although a bit of a gamble, it might be worth holding off booking to see whether any good offers come along. For example, First Choice have quite a few catered chalets from £570, HB F & T with a 2 for 1 lift pass offer. It may be that in another month, they could start to reduce prices. Always a bit of a risk holding on, I know.
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Just looked appt for 4 on 15th Jan 2011 is 552 euro or for 7 person 774 euro for example
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Is it that time already?, Ski Olympic are a super company, their first chalet was in La Rosiere and they still use it. For a very local experience you could try www.morealps.com or www.amountainchalet.com MoreAlps is my son's company, he has 5 chalets in the village and Tim and Rebecca who run A Mountain Chalet live in the village all year round. They all discovered La Ros when working for Ski Olympic back in the 1990s, so the village certainly worked it's charm on them, we have a chalet in the village which we lease to a Tour Operator, Bura Snow so have a look at www.burasnow.com for good value hoidays, our chalet is in a great location in the vieux village very close to a ski-bus stop and near enough to walk into the centre for an evbening out.


Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Tue 9-11-10 15:25; edited 1 time in total
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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.
Tim: Preferably won't be looking at driving, but the prices look good. But train is a serious option as takes you that much closer to resorts and therefore far cheaper transfers.

I'll have a look into the appts...just to clarify is that pp or per room?

Thanks for you advice!

Chasseur: late deal is something I'm considering as I have seen the reductions offered in prior years, but I'm gettim pressure from the rest of the group as they want setting booked!

Have to say this organising lark isn't easy lol I've just found with the big tour operators ie Thomson/crystal etc are fairly useless in branches etc as they don't no much about skiing etc and as yet haven't had the patience to stay on hold to speak to someone.
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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
Just got to say I hadn't noticed the OP's user name and I thought folk were (amusingly for those of us who've been around a while) musing "is it that time already?" Laughing

davidl, your link is spelled incorrectly
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Is it that time already?, go to www.larosiere.net for a complete list of apartments, you'll also find some special offers, there are usually 'white weeks' in January when if you book through the Tourist Office's centralised booking facility you can get free lifts passes or other deals. If you're looking at the train, which is a good option, especially the night sleeper form Paris then you need to get booking asap you may already be too late as the special deals called PREMS are booked very quickly. Go to www.sncf.fr for information, there's an English version of the site and it's fairly straightforward.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Is it that time already?, La Rosiere is a good choice for a group of beginners. I haven't skied 3V but I would imagine that the skiing might be a bit boring for the person who has skied there for 5 years. I'm not an adrenaline junkie by any means but certainly found that the most exciting thing about La Ros was getting over to La Thuile. I have heard good things about both ESF and Evo 2 as mentioned bysnowymum.
We also stayed in Les Eucherts (Cimes Blanches) which was really lovely from a family perspective but very little apres atmosphere for which I guess you would have to pop along the road to main part of village (~ 20 min walk irrc)
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Is it that time already? wrote:
..meribel or la rosiere?


La Plagne
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Boredsurfing wrote:
Is it that time already? wrote:
..meribel or la rosiere?


La Plagne
rolling eyes Laughing

Probably another one worth considering to be honest. Of the 3, considering your group mix, I'd still say La Ros, although I suspect La Plagne would suit you better personally.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Is it that time already?,

Nope those prices are per appt, so for 4 pax = 552 euro divide by 4 = 138 euro each Very Happy Very Happy
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La Plagne is good for beginners - but the sheer size of the area might be a bit intimidating for beginners - La Rosiere is "manageable"
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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For those prices that will definitely be worth a look,
Could even push the boat out and go for the 7 ppl appt which hopefully have 2 bedrooms!

It's now looking like a choice between that and ski Olympic. As for resort, that's been thrown wide open.

Are there any of the chalets that ppl can recommend other than those above that are ran by ski Olympic?

Again thanks for the help everyone.
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Is it that time already?,


Look at the Balcons web site it will tell you how many bedrooms, i think the 7 pax one has at least two
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Is it that time already?, Hi I would recommend More Alps, one of our best ever chalet holidays, think Dan and Sarah are great hosts, they will do transfers, grab a flight and they will look after you.

Lessons, Evolution 2 were superb we did a group lesson and some private ones.

The resort is good for learners.
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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!
Is it that time already?,We've used La Ros to introduce a diverse group to skiing with both adult and 10-12yr old beginners. It was a success all round and we've been back on three further occasions. We did take the precaution of going at Easter for warmer weather though...

Can recommend More Alps too- Dan and Sarah are great
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Ditto to radar, & glenshee skier, We are returning for our 5th trip at christmas. Cost was a major factor; one will spend far less on a La Rosiere holiday than on larger resorts. We will be taking experienced skiers, intermediates and beginners. It does have its problems, but in 4 previous trips we have had 4 fantastic holidays. No experience of More Alps but did have a superb holiday staying with davidl, in the days of Trax Vacations. Our food was sublime and we tlaked to some More Alps folks who were similarly impressed.

As said though, if in january and the wind blows take some chuffin good clothes with you.
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Frosty the Snowman, thank you for the kind words, might see you there at Xmas.
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