Things to know before you go skiing in La Rosiere

I've just returned from a week skiing at La Rosiere in France and I must say, it was brilliant in every way. The snow was fantastic for a start, (not really something that can always be guaranteed unfortunately), the chalet was ski to and from the door, which really is second to none. Let's face it, who can be bothered hanging around for a minibus to pick you up, (or worse, the ski bus) after a long, exhausting day skiing? Not to mention the fact that you might miss the last bus back, even though you've risked life and limb bombing it down the slopes from the last lift to get to the designated pick up point on time only to find it just left! So you have to walk back in your ski boots! Bugger that!

But I digress...

The weather was perfect (again; not really something you can pre-book before you leave) and finally, we were only a few hours away from Italy where we could ski over for a decent pizza, superb hot chocolate (with a nice touch of brandy) and be back in resort for afternoon tea at the chalet that we didn't have to worry about getting a bus back to.

So what is it that you really need to know about skiing in La Rosiere? Well; unlike many other resorts I've been to, and I've been to a few, this one has 3 ski lifts (actually they're drags) that you don't need a lift pass to use. They just happen to be right outside the chalet I was staying in which was perfect, but it doesn't really matter where you're staying, you can still use them to get your ski-legs back on if you arrive in resort early.
Below is a photo of one of the free drag lifts.

The other important thing to mention, is that if you have a beginner in your group or a child over 5, (anyone under 5 gets a free lift pass) It's not worth getting the full 6 day pass for them. Some beginners might not feel confident to leave the nursery slopes for several days. They might stay on them for the first 2 days and then if they're ready they can buy a lift pass for the last 4 days of their ski holiday. The lift pass office in La Rosiere is a short walk from most hotels and chalets so don't feel obliged to buy a pass on the transfer from the rep. The price will be the same but as I just mentioned you might not need the full 6 days. It's also better to buy the lift pass direct from the lift pass office because, should any of your party sustain an injury whist skiing, or perhaps decide they don't actually like skiing, you can go back to the office with your receipt and claim a refund on the days you no longer wish to ski. The rep will simply tell you to claim on your insurance as he/she will have one huge receipt for all the passes purchased together.

I must point out that this is a general rule and cannot guarantee a refund from the lift pass office at La Rosiere, but I'm pretty sure it works that way everywhere. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It's also worth pointing out that hiring skis direct from the ski shop is a lot cheaper than hiring from your tour operator. This is true of any resort, but in some resorts like Courchevel, you might end up hiring from a shop that's miles away from your accommodation. (I found this out from experience). This can be very inconvenient and not worth the hassle, but La Rosiere is very small and you can walk to just about any shop from almost any hotel or chalet. This includes the lift pass office and main ski school. Which brings me to the subject of Ski School. It's cheaper to go with the guys in red!
ESF. I didn't check out all the prices but our tour operator was charging a lot more than the ski school itself.

Finally, (and I hope you're still awake at this point) eating out is actually quite reasonable. Again, I'm comparing to Courchevel so it's not hard to be cheaper, but it wasn't really that bad. Now, The Dolomites in Italy... well; that's another story.

I hope this blog has been helpful to you. All the details above come from personal experience. Things will change and become up-graded so please don't hold that against me.

I would really appreciate any comments you might have and perhaps you can think of something important that I've missed out so feel free to add it. You might have to click on the "comments" link to get the box up.