A good idea PistePaul. Here is my take on
La Thuile, others may like to differ but I really rate it.
La Thuile, The stuff you will not find online
I thought I would like to give you my personal overview of La Thuile. I have been 3 times, twice for a week at Feb half term and once with a school party for a day during Easter. I reckon I know it pretty well but it is obviously my take on the resort. I will break it into two parts, The Town and the skiing.
The Town.
All the stuff relating to history etc you can find online so I will not go into all that. The town is basically in 2 parts, The Planibel complex and the village itself. The Planibel complex is a ski based complex built about 1980 and contains The Planibel itself, a 4 star hotel about 25mtrs from the lift complex and also about 125 Apartments too, adjoining the main building. The complex contains a butcher, baker, a few bars, a nightclub, some sports shops, a SPAR type "supermarket" and a couple of restaurants. The main "activity centres" are The Kings Pub and The Folles Du Cage, the two main apres areas. All the instructors and TO's go to the latter, which serves good food and drink but after 1600 every day provide lovely Italian snacks for free to go with your beer. It also shows all the sport and has the 6 Nations on during Jan/Feb so we will be able to watch Wales get beaten again! The Kings is where the nightclub is and provides lively bands quite late into the night so they tell me! There are 3 Ski hire shops but the best is definitely the one under the gondola station, (sorry its name escapes me). The village is about 5 minutes walk away and has a better choice of shops and far more bars and restaurants. It's also the only place with ATM's, there are two. It's well worth a visit with some cute narrow streets and older buildings from bygone times. It also has a divine chocolate shop. Chocolate lovers beware.
Skiing
Overall the La Thuile ski area has 160kms of piste, 110kms of that around La Thuile and the rest over in France at La Rosiere. I will break the ski area up into 4 distinct areas. Base, Les Suches, Chaz Dura and La Rosiere.
Base (1450mtrs) This is all about 30 mtrs from the Hotel. There is a gondola and 1 six man chair to Les Suches, and another 2 man chair to black 35 (you can see it from the Hotel) and its adjoining blue. There is also a learners area with a magic carpet, and of course a ski school and lift pass shop. All the runs, that is 2 reds, 4 and 6 come back here. Despite what you may have heard or read these 2 reds are not difficult. Red 4 is the San Bernado Pass road to La Rosiere and it has 1 "tricky" area about 2 kms out of town but this is quite wide. You do need to keep your eyes open or else you could find yourself on Black 3 which is the steep with a gradient of 73%. That is quite interesting if icy! Red 6 is a little different in that it is really the rat run home, through the trees, narrow and often with Ski school groups or learners on it. You have no options to ski home other than to take one of these two reds.
Les Suches (2200 mtrs). Up the gondola or the Bosco Express 6 man chair brings you to the main ski area. It contains the big ski school, and several nice restaurants spread around. Ski down to either the Chalet Express chair from Bosco Express to go half way up and access about 5 or 6 local blues or the Chaz Dura Express from the gondola right to the top of the Chaz Dura to access 2 reds back down to join all the blues or across to La Rosiere. This area is where most people and certainly the ski schools operate. It is above the tree line. From this area you can ski home either via red 4a or black 1 to red 4 or Black 2 or 3 which also leads to red 4 close to the town. To get to red 6 you either have to take black 5 or the traverse, or go up the Chaz Dura express to get at the wide open reds and blues to the left of the gondola.
Chaz Dura (2600 mtrs). This is nearly the top of the mountain. There is one lift, the Chaz Dura that takes you a little higher but it is not often open. From here facing down the mountain you can access the two reds into Les Suches and the blues in the bowl below, an off piste black or just dive around anywhere as its all safe off piste. Go left at the top and down a narrowish red gets you access to the lovely empty reds and blues and some great off piste in the trees leading to red 6 to the south of Les Suches, or the ability to go around the mountain to the north to get at a couple of reds and a black and home on red 4 (about 4kms) or across to La Rosiere.
La Rosiere. (2400 top, or 1850 village). You need to get the first lift and plan to be away all day to get the best out of this. There are 2 ways to get there both accessed from the top of Chaz Dura via the top of the Fourclaz Express. Hear right from there down a red and bomb, especially boarders as it gets a bit flat, then either up the Toriasse Belvedere and then a blue or The Belvedere and a blue. Then up an old two man chair to the Col de la Traversette (the border). There is a fort here reputed to be where the Italians tried to halt Hannibal (that's the only history in this). There is a couple of red runs from here, either to come home or into the Kite Area. However an easy blue past a lovely mountain restaurant (have lunch or a break here as the views are spectacular) brings you into La Rosiere and a huge wide blue about 700 mtrs wide. There is a series of reds and blacks below the village and a good jump area. Despite many reports the crossing is only usually closed in high winds (like most mountain passes). You need to leave La Rosiere NO LATER than about 1500 to ensure you get back. There is no taxi service as its about 70kms by road. Getting back will prove interesting for my boarder friends. After getting back to the fort on a couple of chairs and a long blue you come back into Italy on a steepish red followed by a 2 button lifts totalling 3km. You can just take one but and then red 4 but the last time I did this the boarders had to walk a bit. Its Ok if the snow is hard though.
