I liked this place. Some old infrastructure but interesting terrain and great food. Toilets need some work!
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We have such fond memories of skiing La Thuile for the first time so many years ago. Deep powder with no one else skiing it. Fabulous long pistes that also felt deserted out wide. Tree skiing in the larch. Back then the ski lifts were aging gracefully but the town felt like it had reached its peak and was sliding a little backwards.

Fast forward to January 2025 and what has changed? During a warm season La Thuile and the interlinked La Rosière had amongst the deepest snowpack in Europe. The off-piste was skiable and all the piste trails were open allowing for full 1,200m vertical descents. That was why we came, and perhaps why you should too.

Whenever we ski the Espace San Bernardo combination of La Thuile & La Rosiere one thing is increasingly highlighted. Whilst we reckon that La Thuile is the quieter, colder, slower, and perhaps better alternative to its French partner, La Rosiere is leaving it behind in terms of quality ski lifts. The ski lifts in La Thuile have continued to age, with little to no new infrastructure installed. La Rosière seems like a modern Disneyland in comparison. Does it matter? Not really, unless it is an exceedingly cold day. Aside from the early crowd at the base gondola there are no lift queues here, so the lift system copes well despite its feeling dated. The two long stick platters coming back from France could do with replacing, however the benefit of the surface tows are their ability to run in all weather. if you are staying in Italy, avoiding getting stuck in France overnight is possibly a good thing!

The village retains its dated style and can feel cold regardless of the air temperature given it’s shaded for much of the day during mid-winter. Paying for day-parking sucks, but such is the way of the world. Thankfully lift passes still offer exceptional value as they include sunny La Rosiere and its beautiful lifts & terrain.

Away from a few staples in the village, if you have the coin, we reckon the place to stay is high up in the resort on the ‘summer road’ (the resort’s longest ski trail in winter) at the posh Re delle Alpi Hotel. Awesome location. Allows for superb skiing first thing the morning down to the village before lifts start spinning. The restaurant serves high quality, small portions and is pricey, but so delicious.

The budget way to ski the resorts of the Aosta Valley is to stay centrally and do day trips. Villages like Morgex, Pré-Saint-Didier etc. have lots of options available, often at short notice. On this visit to the Aosta, our group stayed in a self-contained apartment amongst ancient stone dwellings on the outskirts of Morgex, all within walking distance of the local markets, bars & restaurants.

There are loads of fantastic places to eat on the mountain at La Thuile but a few shockers too. A good example is the Offshore Bar. Superbly located in the most ‘remote’ part of the resort, whilst the food is good, the service, facilities and overall vibe is reason enough to avoid it. The ambiguity over the total on the bill is a final straw. Maybe just get a beer and sit outside on a sunny day taking in the view …. if you can get served that is! Regardless of where you choose to eat, it is worth knowing that if you seek a sit-down lunch, reserving a table or early arrival is advisable, and that service can be ponderously slow at many venues during busy times (probably goes without saying!).

The many squat toilets throughout the resort are something that simply MUST change. They are still present in the base facilities and at many of the mountain restaurants. One can reasonably expect such an arrangement at a remote rifugio or similar, but they have no place in an international ski resort. We wonder how many people have struggled dealing with the squatters whilst wearing alpine ski boots on the wet, slippery tiled floors? Perhaps we need another Powder Paws rating specifically for the number, quality & accessibility of toilet facilities?

La Thuile isn’t a perfect ski resort, and regardless of its ‘fraying at the edges’, we do adore skiing here. The mix of terrain, deep snowpack, long piste runs for all abilities, the improved link La Rosière, easy access backcountry and a few good mountain restaurants provide a lot of enjoyment. On powder days it is sublime. For a cruisy day on-piste it is magnificent as well. Combining the two is ski excellence for a budget price. Just remember to eat lunch early if you haven’t booked a table!

See our thoughts on the pros and cons of this ski resort via our La Thuile overview page.
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Skied into La Thuile from the backside of La Rosiere's newish Mont Valaisan lifts in March 2023 and must say that it improves this combined ski area immensely. The new lifts & terrain are what the resort needed to round out its offering to cater for all abilities. Love it.
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Not fair to offer a review for a ski area that was severely limited due to lack of snow. La Thuile is a gorgeous area with a tremendous amount of terrain but when I visited (February 2023) the southern Alps were in the midst of a disastrous drought. Snow was largely man-made, they hadn't had any real snow in 6 weeks, some trails and lifts were closed and there was absolutely no off-piste skiing in the 19 days spent in the Aosta Valley region. A few observations:

1) Great terrain - very large area with what appeared to be some wonderful long runs if they had snow. The groomers were packed and icy on a bluebird sunny day. Mid-week crowds were not bad. The upper stretches of the mountain had some fine-looking bowls and chutes. If you start near the top and take the run down the mountain to the base area you will have some serious ear-popping vertical.

2) Lifts were an interesting mix. Mostly new but some slow fixed-grip double chairs were a throwback. Most of the lifts were modern and fast.

3) Skiing over to La Rosiere for lunch at the fort near the top of the ridge was a treat, beautiful views abound. Unfortunately, the snow was melting on the French side and made for a spring soup in places. Not their fault, just another sign of the dreadful snow year of 2023.
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Visited Jan 2019. Uncrowded, great snow, happy vibes.

Quiet town (we’re happy with that), but enough to keep you amused! The Planibel Residences Hotel is in an excellent location and self-catering rooms help the budget and variety for meals, especially for families. You also get a great view of the hilariously kitsch apres entertainment in the village square from some balconies.

Note: plan your trip back from La Rosiere with plenty of time in your back pocket. As a boarder it can be pretty brutal, and we got a bit lost first time round!
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La Thuile is a medium size resort that is linked up with La Rosiere in France. If it snows, La Rosiere is tracked up pretty fast but La Thuile stays fresh and untracked (for some reason the locals there aren't into off-piste , so good news for the powder seeker). Okay nightlife in La Rosiere where-as in La Thuile it's not existing. The part that links the both resorts is flat and windy so be aware. You can also heliski from out La Thuile. Pistes towards the village are steep and north facing, so you can go fast here. but they can get very icy too.
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La Thuile - love it.

Was there for fresh powder, the top hadn't even opened but we were able to get multiple lines prior to it opening.

The powder was AMAZING. Even though other powder skiers were there the fresh lines were available ALL DAY.

Very impressed with the lay out. It meant that there was a good place for all levels of skiers to enjoy the powder and have an amazing experience.
Found that the steeper, higher areas were generally skied fall line which meant that there was fresh powder lines for everyone.

LOVED IT.
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Some great snow and safe terrain equals a lot of fun at La Thuile.  Most of the skiing is above 2,000m in rolling terrain that is terrific to explore.

The low key town is slightly separate from the main late '80s style ski resort village area. Wonderful off-piste, a bit of tree skiing in larch and pine forests, some long steep runs back to the resort base, friendly beginner terrain and a linked lift pass with the adjacent La Rosière ski resort in France (with associated border crossings!) give La Thuile enough diversity to ignore the old lifts and dated infrastructure.

On a powder day, La Thuile is awesome. Start early and fresh lines will be available all day. Don't be afraid to do some exploring, particularly on the north-facing terrain from the Belvedere.

La Thuile is definitely worth the visit, but with one caveat. Some snowboarders will find a few of the long flattish traverses a chore, they were slow enough on skis!
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