La Thuile Ski Resort Italy
La Thuile ski resort in Italy is a fun, low key, snow magnet near the head of the Aosta valley. Situated at the end of the road in winter, a short distance from Courmayeur, close to the border with France and surrounded by Mont Miravidi and the Rutor Glacier, La Thuile has all the mountain splendour one could ever wish for.
Loads of beginner & lower intermediate piste terrain, a wonderful off-piste & freeride terrain, reliable snowfall, plus fun challenges for the more advanced & adventurous, makes La Thuile a great ski destination and Powderhounds favourite. Its international link with La Rosiere ski resort in France adds some more spice to the sauce!
Pros & Cons for La Thuile Ski Resort
Pros
- Excellent snow quality & quantity.
- Glorious range of off-piste freeride terrain for beginner to advanced powder hounds.
- Uncrowded.
- Fun tree skiing.
- Child & family friendly terrain.
- Sensational value for money - lifts & accommodation.
- Fabulous views.
- Delectable mountain hut dining.
- Heli-skiing & backcountry access is great.
- International border crossing, plus lift, piste & pass linked to La Rosiere!
Cons
- Piste trails generally not challenging (with some notable exceptions!).
- Some long, flat traverses are not snowboard friendly.
- Dated base & resort facilities.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Village is in deep shade for much of winter.
- No high-end luxury (5-star et al) accommodation in the area (go to Courmayeur).
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
La Thuile is a ski resort of skiing & snowboarding terrain contrasts. A huge area of flattish beginner & lower intermediate terrain above Les Suches is juxtaposed against the fast, steep (and frightening!) world cup ski course immediately below (the excellent combination of #2 Diretta & #3 F.Berthod trails). Long, awkward traverses, particularly for snowboarders, end in fun intermediate cruisers & interesting (read sometimes challenging) off-piste freeride terrain.
Check out the ski trail map for La Thuile below.
The lift system at La Thuile isn't super modern but is perfectly adequate. No crowds & no queues = no need for ultra-modern high-speed lifts. The pick of the lifts (& terrain) is on the north-facing side of La Thuile off the Fourclaz, Belvedere and Petit San Bernardo chairlifts (where you will find skiers from the lift pass interlinked La Rosière poaching the powder!).
The longest run in La Thuile is the 11km long San Bernardo (#7). It is essentially the snow-covered road down from the Petit Saint Bernard pass. Marked intermediate, but really a beginner trail, it realistically is more of a relaxing journey of discovery where, in true Italian fashion, one can link up several restaurants & bars on the way down to La Thuile. With several long flat sections, snowboarders need to avoid it at all costs! Jump onto the bottom of #2 and #3 for a super-fast finish.
The real fun at La Thuile is the off-piste. Nothing too intimidating, but just enough to get your adrenaline pumping. The Powderhounds absolutely loved it. 40cm of super dry powder kind of helped as well! La Thuile is a great location to learn to ski powder due to the huge low-angle off-piste available, particularly above Les Suches & Arnouvaz.
Interlinked with La Rosiere Ski Resort
The La Thuile ski resort is linked by lifts, piste & lift passes with family friendly La Rosière in France to form the Espace San Bernardo ski domain. Whilst La Rosiere has a more sun-drenched disposition, the Powderhounds think that everything is better on the Italian side, but you be the judge! Regardless, the linked ski area creates a total of 160km of piste trails & ski routes over 3000 hectares of terrain. New advanced terrain opened at La Rosiere in season 18/19, forever changing the resort........ for the better!
For detailed information on lifts, terrain and lift passes, see our Skiing & Snowboarding La Thuile page.
Where is La Thuile Italy?
Along with the Dolomites, the Aosta valley is the best-known Italian ski region. La Thuile is in the Valle d'Aosta of far north-western Italy but doesn't have the reputation (or panache!) attributed to the valley’s best known ski resort, Courmayeur, located only 15km away (20min or so by car).
The closest major centre is Aosta, 50km to the east (50min by car). Main international gateway airports are Geneva (GVA) (134km), Turin (TRN) (155km) or Milan Malpensa (MXP) (220km).
Bus transport to La Thuile is available directly from Milan, Turin, Aosta or Courmayeur & can be combined with trains that terminate at Aosta. A free ski bus does regular circuits within the town.
For more information on the best way to get there, see our Travel to La Thuile page.
La Thuile Accommodation
The town of La Thuile is perfectly situated near the base of the ski resort. A range of aging multi-storey apartment blocks are immediately across the road from the ski lifts & runs. What they lack in style is more than made up for in location and facilities. A huge number of shops, bar and restaurants are sneakily located at the base of all the buildings.
Search & book La Thuile ski accommodation.
La Thuile's main town centre is a short 5min walk from the resort base. Hotels of varying quality, apartments, guesthouses, and rental homes are spread along the way. A few excellent ski-in options exist.
For information on the best places to stay, see our La Thuile Accommodation Info page.
Ski Rentals, Lessons, Facilities & Services
As expected of any large European ski resort, La Thuile has all the ski rental, ski school, bars & restaurant facilities one could require or desire. But ............ it does kind of feel a bit tatty & run down; as though it is past its used by date & needs a refresh. Case in point is the 'squat' toilet in the men's ablutions at the base of the Les Suches gondola. Ever tried to take a dump in ski boots in a slippery squat toilet. If it was at a remote mountain hut or rifugio - fair enough; in a ski resort's main base area - definitely not! That said, it does not change the quality of the snow & skiing, which is great.
On mountain restaurants & bars are as good as one would expect from any Aosta valley ski resort.
Ski & snowboard rentals are available via our local partners right at the base of the main gondola. Receive a discount when you search & book via our La Thuile Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
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Nearby Ski Resorts
La Thuile is remarkably close to the superb Courmayeur ski resort & the huge off-piste terrain from Punta Helbronner on Monte Bianco. Other great Italian ski resorts near La Thuile are the Powderhounds freeride favourite, Monterosa Ski & the unheralded Pila ski resort above the city of Aosta. Our Aosta valley secret stash, Crevacol, is a short drive north of the city.
Across the border in France past La Rosiere is the Tarentaise valley with the huge ski resorts of Les Arcs, La Plagne, Tignes - Val d'Isere and the little secret stash of Sainte Foy. The legendary Chamonix is a short drive away via the Mont Blanc tunnel, or perhaps you might ski there via the 22km Vallee Blanche from Punta Helbronner. above Courmayeur. Oh, the possibilities......
Reviews
The Powderhounds visited La Thuile years ago, but it is still fresh in memories because of the awesome powder we found & the lack of people skiing it. See the review links in the left column (or top of page if on a mobile) for our review, more photos & sparkling repartee.
See how La Thuile compares to the rest of the European ski resorts on the Europe ski resort ratings page.
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