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La Rosière celebrates opening of the Mont Valaisan sector which includes five new runs and off piste freeride area

By Skier & Snowboarder on 28th October 2018

by Skier & Snowboarder editor Frank ‘Scoop’ Baldwin

RESORTS have many different names for it – fresh tracks, first tracks, first lift, early birds – the list is fairly extensive. But what they all have in common is that getting up with the lark to hit the slopes while they are empty and untracked is really rather special.

WIDE OPEN SPACES: Empty slopes

I sampled this special time again in the French resort of La Rosière in the Tarentaise Valley last season when it introduced Fresh Tracks for the first-time. The sun was just coming up when I headed up the mountain with Anne-Dorothée Gross, from the resort’s lift company, and Xavier Schouller, MD at Peak Retreats.

For €40 you get a VIP pass to go up on the first lift at around 7.30am with no more than 15 other people. You then get the mountain all to yourself before going for a delicious breakfast (included in the cost) at 9am in a mountain restaurant.

A few centimetres of fresh snow had fallen overnight which made the early start even more worthwhile. As the other skiers and snowboarders in our group of 15 dispersed onto different slopes, we often had whole pistes to ourselves on which we made long sweeping carving turns from top to bottom.

But it was while riding one of the chairs for a run on another pristine slope that Anne-Dorothée revealed an interesting nugget of information. She told me how her 82 year old father-in-law, Alfred Possoz, a lifelong resident of La Rosière, helped plan and build the very first ski lift which opened in the resort in 1960.

HEAVY LOAD: Fredo Possoz and other La Rosiere villagers had to carry the parts for the first lift up the mountain

Alfred, or Fredo as he is known locally, erected the Poletta lift. Since then, he has watched the resort develop and in 1985 another bit of history was made when La Rosière linked with its neighbour La Thuile, just over the border in Italy, to form the Espace San Bernardo area. This has created what is now the 13th biggest ski area in France and the 34th in the world and from this December it has even more to offer skiers and snowboarders with the opening the new Mont Valaisan sector.

Located on the French side of the ski area, to the right of the Redoute Ruinée Fort, the area has five new red pistes served by two detachable chairlifts – The Moulins and the Mont Valaisan. As well as the new runs, the lifts help open up more off piste areas designed to attract freeriders. The Mont Valaisan sector also includes a new accessible high point in La Rosière of 2,800m from which there are beautiful views of Mont Blanc.

As the new pistes have added to the amount of runs available to skiers and snowboarders, La Rosière decided to have the total length of the runs in the Franco-Italian ski area verified by MONTENIUS Consult, an independent and international expert operation. The chosen method was the straight-line distance, which is measured down the centre of the marked slope. The results of the study show that the Espace San Bernardo ski area now has 152km of runs (excluding cross-country ski trails, sledging areas, and permanent ski touring trails).

The opening of the Mont Valaisan sector, when the resort starts its lifts on 15 December, will be one of the highlights of the season and several attractions have been organised to mark the event.

All this activity is in danger of overshadowing another lift improvement in the resort. The Clarines 1 and 2 draglifts close to the base of the village are being replaced by a single draglift which will include an intermediate disembarking point. The lift will also be closer to the existing Manessier draglift.

It’s an exciting time for La Rosière and the Espace San Bernardo ski area in general. To find out more about new attractions in the village and the many different types of accommodation available go to the website at: www.larosiere.net

TRAVEL FACTS

EARLY LIFT: Breakfast after Fresh Tracks was in l’Antigel restaurant

Frank Baldwin stayed in La Rosière with Peak Retreats at Les Cîmes Blanches – www.peakretreats.co.uk. Seven nights in a self-catering apartment is available from £288pp (based on five people sharing a two-bedroom apartment – which can sleep six). This cost includes a return Eurotunnel crossing with a free upgrade to FlexiPlus.

As well as the ski drive option, La Rosière is easily accessible by train (TGV to Bourg Saint Maurice) and by plane from the airports of Chambéry, Grenoble, Lyon and Geneva. The ski area opens from 15 December 2018 to 26 April 2019.

During his stay Frank Baldwin had dinner at the L’Accroche Cœur; Lodge Hemera; and Matsuzaka restaurants and lunch on the mountain at the l’Antigel restaurant in La Rosière and Rifugio Lo Riondet in La Thuile.

Breakfast on the morning of Fresh Tracks was at l’Antigel restaurant.

Ski hire was from Sport2000 Arpin Sport and Frank also enjoyed a spa treatment at the O des Cimes high altitude spa

DOING A SEASON: This is Yoann (on the right) who was my waiter during dinner at the Chalet L’Accroche Coeur in La Rosière during the trip with Peak Retreats. His English was very good, so I asked where he learned to speak it so well. ‘Brixton’ he replied. I then got a short life story and it turns out Yoann is originally from Belgium but ended up living in London working in some of the top restaurants around the Chelsea area. During the winter, Yoann now goes to a different European ski resort each year to work and ski, then during the summer he helps run a bar in Ibiza. I think Yoann has got ‘doing a season’ down to a fine art.

COMFY CABIN: Even when the temperatures are low, you can still enjoy the views eating outside at the Rifugio Lo Riondet in La Thuile. There are several cosy, waiter-served heated cabins where you can enjoy your meal with friends