 Poster: A snowHead
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Thinking about booking this for next season. Anyone been to the resort or even the hotel that can provide any comments ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Paul Mason, some friends have stayed in the apartments. They said they were quite good, but a little isolated from the rest of the village.
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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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Paul, Planibel is an appartment complex right by the gondola station, there is a shuttle bus into the village but I think it only runs during the day. La Thuile is not a very big resort but it is a nice old village with a bit of history and some nice restuarants.
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I was in La Thuile for a weekend in April. I would say that in some ways the hotel is ideally placed. You can't get any closer to the gondola. As David@traxvax says, it is a small resort. I would have thought that you could walk anywhere in the village from there in 10-15 minutes maximum. I can't see that you would need to use a shuttle bus, it is a very pleasant place to walk around in the evenings.
We all have different preferences, but I thought it was great little place and would definitely go back again.
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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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Paul, I was in La Rosiere, which links into La Thuile, in mid-March - I had a brilliant holiday but there are a couple of things worth mentioning- them old caveats....
You don't mention what kind of skiier/boarder you are.
The pisted La Ros/La Thuile area can be skiied out in a couple of days by an intermediate- advanced skiier, which can be a bit frustraiting if you're there for longer than that (and you don't need to be going hell for leather to do this- I was with my less-fit-and-heavier-than-he-should-be-father  ) and there's not all that much pisted stuff to challenge a more advanced skiier, which again is frustrating.
Having said that, the area is well-known for good off piste skiing and heli-skiing but becasue of the pretty shoddy snow record this last season there wasn't much of that available when I was there- but if you hit the jackpot on that it increases the skiable area massively.
That's the other point- La Thuile is very low (just over 1400 m I think), and in the week I went, where temperatures were reaching +10 in the sun, La Thuile resembled a pretty unpicturesque mud bath. Having said that the majority of the area is north facing so even though they hadn't had any snow for two months the resort was just about hanging on. In better snow conditions I think it would be fine though. Also, because it links into La Ros which is much higher, ever in bad snow conditions you should have access to some better snow- it just means that the last run of the day might not be so nice.
Also the main La Thuile ski area is well up the mountain from the resort (there is a gondola and chairlifts to get you up there)- and the majority of the runs back down in to resort are fairly steep blacks that can get pretty icy in freeze/thaw conditions. There IS a gondola that you can come down in though and a couple of easy paths so this isn't a major problem.
Eeek, it sounds a bit negative so far- some more good things...... once you get up onto the mountain to the main La Thuile ski area there's loads of beginner/intermediate stuff to cruise and I have to say I have NEVER been to a resort that is so QUIET (it was outside school holidays though). The lack of lift queues was blissful, and makes up for many many niggles! Also because La Thuile is still a largely italian resort and pretty much undiscovered elsewhere it's relatively cheap (and probably cheaper than staying on the La Ros side- but you can still benefit from its ski area). And when you're up on the mountain it has fantastic views of Mont Blanc too.
Also, you can find some FANTASTIC hot chocolates on the mountain and the pizzas in town are pretty damned fine too (hey, these things are important!). As I said, I was staying in La Rosiere over on the French side of the mountain, which was a really friendly french family resort, so I can't say anything for accommodation or apres-ski in La Thuile.
Would I go again? - If I could book last minute to make sure that there were good snow conditions and plenty of nice powder I might possibly go back to the area (although with giants like Val D'Isere and Arcs on the door step it has tough competition). Booking in advance is pretty risky- espacially if you're going at the beginning or very end of the season. Having said that- if I finally grow up and have a family, or I went skiing with a group of beginners/intermediates, it would suddenly become a whole lot more attractive I think.
Whhhhew- sorry for the essay 
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| Quote: |
| The pisted La Ros/La Thuile area can be skiied out in a couple of days by an intermediate- advanced skiier |
Whilst allowing for the fact that you were there in a particularly bad year for the Italian side of the Espace San Bernardo domain, virtually a hundred miles of piste gives you rather more than a couple of days skiing!
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We ticked them off the piste map!!!! (yes, an annoying habit I know
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Thought so. That does NOT = skied out!
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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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Okay, fair enough, skiing everything once does not mean skiied out. BUT, when many of the runs are fairly cruisy, rather than challenging, there's not a huge amount drawing you back to ski them all over and over again (apart from the views which ARE great). Didn't intend to be missleading- I was just trying to state my frustration with the place. The fact that many of the runs are cruisy is one of the main reasons that some people LOVE the place.
You're right though, I'd like to try it again with better snow conditions. Most of the pistes were open but, anything off was either avelanche prone or crud.
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Bexen, I would agree with you considering the unusual snow conditions. We went at the end of March to La Rosiere, and tended to stick to the runs that had the best snow. Most was porridge by lunchtime. On one day we had a drop in temps and some fresh snow and we spent all day on 4 runs in the San Bernardo link area and had an absolute ball. I would love, and indeed am going back to la Rosiere as it is obviously a whole different resort with good snow. Perfect for easy, fun off piste for the kids. Even I ventured from the corduroy/Quakers, but with good snow virtually every run could be linked to and from off piste. Not your hard core davidof, philingle stuff but good enough for me. The bidg selling point for returning as you say, is the quietness of the slopes (half term this time to test out my theory).
Self catering would be great in La Thuile as I could eat at La Rascard, for lunch and dinner
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Paul, don't listen to all that Bexen "skiid out in a couple of days" rubbish.
I stayed at the Plannibel Hotel in January, the year before last. As someone else has said on this thread, the Hotel is ideally placed to get onto the snow fast. The village is about 5 to 10 minute pleasant walk. Hotel is your usual big ski type hotel, but great food - especially good choice for the Vegitarians also. Nice bar staff - all round, a very good hotel. We went with Thomsons and thought it excellent value for money. The apartments are almost opposite the hotel, just 50 or som meters towards the village. I spoke to several people who were staying in them and they all commented that they were nice & clean and in good condition + even better vfm.
As someone above said, it is really an intermediate resort, but the skiing in La Thuile (pronounced 'La Tweel') is definately better than La Rosiere which is easier. In January we had -30 degrees with wind chill factor, so it sounds like one of those resorts where the weather can be variable. Hope this helps.
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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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You really shouldn't compare La Thuile to La Rosiere, there is no point, IT'S THE SAME SKI AREA! It's just different, if Bexen believes he can ski out the area in a couple of days then he's missed out on some really good skiing, there are pistes in La Rosiere that can be skied over and over again. Especially from the top of Roc Noir to the Ecudets chair, over 1,200 m vertical descent, Marmottes which is nearly a 1km vertical drop and Marcassin which is south facing and can be skied over and over again. That's without mentioning the off-piste which doesn't get skied out quickly. To get the best from the area, hire a guide or go with a Tour Operator that knows the area and offers a ski-hosting service. Some of the world's top extreme skiers, including Manu Gaidet the current world champion, come from our 'little' area, which at over 150 kms of pistes has more pisted area than Chamonix. There are also areas of La Thuile that are definitely not intermediate territory, getting down any of the Black runs to the village in icy conditions will need more than intermediate skills.
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I'm a She!!
Sorry that everyone's picked up on the negative ponts of my review  . If you look there are plenty of positive ones too- and I started by saying that I had a brilliant holiday .
I skiied everything there was to ski in the (pisted) area in the first couple of days and because the snow was sketchy, especially on the La Thuile side, I wasn't so bothered about going back to some of them, and so didn't get that feeling of 'so little time, so much to ski' that you get in bigger resorts, and i LIKE to have that feeling. You're right though, there are some great runs in the col between La Ros and La Thuile and, as you said David, the area around the Ecudets chair and just above it- was lovely if you hit it at the right time, as were the cruisy runs from the Fort.
As for the extensive off piste terrain- the guides I spoke to in the bar said that they thought it wasn't worth paying for guiding or heli-skiing 'cos of the off piste conditions. I don't doubt that in good conditions it's a first rate resort- and friends that were working out there for the season said that there was plenty to keep them going (even though they were initially disappointed when they were first posted there). I just landed in a week where temperatures were high and snow running off the mountain.
I don't think people should go there expecting the 3 Valleys that's all, but then many people don't want that anyway.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Bexen, apologies for gender misidentification, this year was a poor year for skiing on the Italian side which is where a lot of really good off-piste is to be found. In fact, La Thuile closed by the 15th April whilst La Rosiere was open until 1st May with some better skiing conditions in april than in March.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Paul Mason, Mrs L stayed at the Planibel on a medical "conference" in Jan 04. She rated it pretty highly, especially the location. I haven't been to La Thuile personally, but I do like the sound of La Thuile / La Rosiere!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bexen, Good post which has produced some interesting viewpoints. Must have touched a nerve as some replies are quite lengthy. Glad you had a good holiday; they are always the best types to have.
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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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| Bexen wrote: |
| ...I wasn't so bothered about going back to some of them, and so didn't get that feeling of 'so little time, so much to ski' that you get in bigger resorts, and i LIKE to have that feeling...I don't think people should go there expecting the 3 Valleys that's all, but then many people don't want that anyway. |
You're right about horses for courses. We had a similar debate about Megève / St Gervais. You may find Manda a soul-mate. She claimed to have skied everything worthwhile there in a couple of days, at which others (me and ise that I remember) were a tad incredulous!
Anyway, thanks for putting forward the good and the bad as you see them. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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laundryman, I cant quite put my finger on it; but there is definately "something" about this combined resort. La Rosiere is very French. The lifty at the poma is very French, ski off the top of the lift and down to a restaurant or bar and you can have Pollenta with Rabbit. The drinks, the food , the language, the sking; everything is SO different, but really all its 1 resort. Call it quaint if you like, but there IS something about it, and i still cant put my finger on it.
PS Dont think I would have liked it half as much without the 2 new lifts
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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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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| PS Dont think I would have liked it half as much without the 2 new lifts |
Yeah, Mrs L complained about a couple of long drags which I guess the chairs replaced!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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The negative side to this area is that it is hard to remember where you are. I went into a restaurant and politely asked for a coffee and was surprised at the quizzical look. Then I realised that I was in France and I had spoken Italian. Then I realised I had said "goodnight" rather than "good morning".
Lesson learned, from then on it was back to pointing and grunting.
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We skied La Thuile from La Ros last Christmas. On Boxing Day it was almost our own private resort, lift queues were exactly nil, never a queue of even 1 person all day. The snow was perfect, the sun was shining, almost impossible to beat. We skied there 5 days in all, only 1 of the 3 areas was open, but we were still finding new places to ski every day, mostly variations on the runs or links between runs, or diversions after finding our kids who had skied off piste and needed digging out.
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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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We went to Gressoney one year (on a Phil Smith/Ski Company course/holiday), the only problem being no snow in Gressoney (in January) so we bussed to La Thuile/La Rosiere where there was loads of snow (comparatively at least). We parked the bus at La Planibel and accessed the lifts from there. Looked OK to me. As said a walk into the town, but not far and bang on the lifts to access the skiing. The area was fine, perhaps not great for the higher expert but a lot of good stuff and some very good restaurants. I t should be an easy transfer from Turin., motorway most of the way then maybe 25-30 mins up a windy road (though it was a few years ago now)
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An addendum, if the new lifts have replaced the 2 drag lifts that take you back to Italy from the French side then hooray. Drag was the operative word for what was a long slow journey
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Colin, they haven't been replaced the 2 new lifts are Roches Noir and Les Echerts in La Rosiere.
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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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Colin, Its really only one drag if you want to add 10 mins to the journey as you can get off and ski a nice rundown to a choice of 2 4man fast quads with covers (mmmmmmmmmm)
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FAQ
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