La Rosiere is a small and relatively unknown resort in the middle of the French Alps. Lying above the town of Bourg St. Maurice it is over shadowed by neighbouring resorts Les Arcs, Tignes, and Val D'Isere, however in my opinion it is one of the most under-rated resorts in Europe.
The village itself is quite small, with limited accomodation and very little night life (only one night club in the whole resort, and when we went in there were three people in it, one of which was the barman!), but if you want to get in some good riding on largely under-crowded pistes then this is the place to go...



Linked with the Italian resort of La Thuile and only half an hour drive from freeride heaven Saint Foy, this ski area offers some of the best freeriding terrain in the Alps, combining open powder bowls, tight tree runs, and wide open pistes.
From the first Chair out of the town you have a number of options. Ride off to the skier's left and the best runs are to be had in and around the forest, which has a number of black runs leading into it and unlimited runs around these. There are also some nice powder bowls before you reach the tree line but be careful, this face is prone to small avalanches as StepOn's Mike De Vries found out but luckily got away!
If you take the skier's right from the Chair you have the largest face of the resort in front of you, with some sick long powder runs and a number of lifts joining up the terrain. Head to the summit known as Col de la Traversette, AKA "The Fort". Under this chair is a lot of varied terrain with some good natural hits and cliff drops, again don't venture to far from the main ski area as you could find yourself stuck in a fucking huge gullie which lies to the left of the face and facing a few hours of hiking to get out.

From this summit you can drop over the other side and descend into Italy. From here there is a button lift into La Thuile, which hosts some nice wide runs but the terrain is generally not as steep. One reason to venture into the Italian side is to check out Col Du Petit St. Bernard, home of one of the most photographed road gaps in France. Anyone who fancies their chances make sure you get a photo and send it to us, we want proof!

For freestyle La Rosiere does have a snowpark but it wasn't yet built when we went. When it is built it comprises a few small to medium sized kickers and I think they may even have a halfpipe. Continue down from the bottom of the park sticking to the left of the piste and there are some more larger hits located above the forest, as well as a ski jump.

Going out at night is very limited but check out Le Roc Noir for late night boozing, located in the town centre. I wouldn't recommend this as a place to do a season, as you might get bored of the ski area and town quite quickly, but if you are living in a close by resort (Tignes, Les Arc, Chamonix, Val D'Isere) it is definitely worth making a day or two trip here, the place is sick!



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