La Rosiere v Montchavin

Does anyone on here have any comments to make about a week in La Rosiere versus a week in Montchavin next January?

Several contributors have noted the possible lack of snow on the lower tree lined pistes and the "oily" drag lifts at La Rosiere. Others have mentioned that La Rosiere can be very windy - how often is that?

I am intermediate and my wife is a cautious parallel skier. Any useful comments would be gratefully received to assist us in our choice. :lol:

Hi,

Can only comment on La Rosiere i am afraid, it is a great intermdiate area, with some wide open slopes which are great for flattering your skiing,and the odd technical piste,the tougher skiing i would say is on the La Thuile side.

On the La Thuile side the upper slopes are very good also,with the runs down into La Thuile itself more challenging towards the bottom,there is also an excellent restaurant La Riondet which is located by the side of the main piste into La thuile(on the upper part,which is a road in summer).

As for the "cold" this is more likely to affect you when travelling back to La Rosiere from La Thuile on the last chair over the ridge, due to La Rosiere being at the centre of three combining valley's it can be hit by two different weather systems at once.it can be a beautiful sunny day on one side,but as you get to the ridge there can be a wall of cloud and on the otherside you can have a complete change of weather with strong winds and good drop in temperaure,especially around late afternoon.

The trip over the ridge can be bitingly cold,so would advise a good warm hat which you can pull down over your ears....i sometimes take a woolen hat that doubles up as a balaclava when i'm going and know the weather is changeable(the balaclava also helps with the second job :D :D).

In saying all this though the combined resorts of La Rosiere and La Thuile are a real gem,and being in the location it is can have some excellent snowfall's,you should just keep an eye on the snow forecasts when they start to come out and use them to help you decide where to go.

Hope some of this is helpfull


jon.

La Rosiere-la Thuile area is an excellent linked area with some real testing steeps worth a visit I'd say 8)

I would say head for Montchavin, part of La Plagne. I have skied both areas and Montchavin has I reckon, far more tree lined slopes. It can get a trifle windy in La Rosiere, and the snow has been known to blow away, leaving just the icy base underneath, which would not suit your wife.

i do agree with all the comments re La Ros but I do think I would prefer to stay in la Thuille if i had the option much better choice of slopes and they can be cut off from each other if the weather comes in...you also get the option of skiing in courmayeur and pila for a day for free(part of the lift pass including free bus)

Thanks everyone for your comments so far - if you have any more, please feel free to add them!

We skied in La Ros last year, in lessons, and we didn't have time to ski to La Thuile. Possibly if your wife's not a very confident skier she might not have time to ski over there and back, as the connection between the two is pretty slow and they shut the return lifts fairly early.

The scenery at La Ros was great, and when we went there was plenty of snow (Easter) but the wind was very cold and blasty, and I was pretty fed up with the oily slow, jerky drag lifts in La Ros.

I think possibly you might be better off going to La Thuile instead, as I believe they have better lifts and pistes, but I can't be sure, because I haven't been there myself.

Best Wishes,
Ally

bandit wrote:I would say head for Montchavin, part of La Plagne. I have skied both areas and Montchavin has I reckon, far more tree lined slopes. It can get a trifle windy in La Rosiere, and the snow has been known to blow away, leaving just the icy base underneath, which would not suit your wife.

I like Trifle .... MMMMmmmm 8)