EcoSki is proud to be partnering with the family friendly French ski resort of La Rosière to encourage skiers to travel by train this season by offering an exclusive discount.

The Tarentaise resort is offering 15% off ski passes to anyone who arrives by train this winter — and we are pleased to be offering 15% off all purchases (whether of new skiwear, rental or purchases of pre-loved items) across the whole EcoSki website.

It all makes perfect sense. La Rosière sits in the Tarentaise Valley and is easy to reach by rail – the train station in Bourg St Maurice is a 30-minute drive away. Despite this, most skiers still choose to fly which is costly in both carbon emissions (fly-drive is around eight times more ‘expensive’ in CO2e) and takes longer. On a good day, the journey from Geneva to La Rosière takes 3 hours and 10 minutes but on a Saturday, often far more.

To encourage skiers to arrive by train, La Rosière is offering skiers 15% off their next ski pass when they choose to travel by rail, and EcoSki is offering those skiers 15% off all purchases (of new or pre-loved) and off skiwear rental, too.

EcoSki founder Rachael Westbrook is very proud to partner with La Rosière on their “Voyage Vert” eco-friendly travel initiative.

“The idea behind EcoSki was born in La Rosière so it makes absolute sense to join forces,” she says. “The resort is continually striving to operate more sustainability and reduce its environmental impact and is on track to be awarded Le Flocon Vert this season, which shows its dedication to the environment and makes it even more special to me.”

With its friendly atmosphere, sunny south-facing position and well-planned ski area featuring an abundance of green and blue slopes, La Rosière is EcoSki’s favourite family friendly ski resort

Evolution 2 teaching a group of children with Esprit Ski

Rachael says: “I love everything about that place, my husband and I have taken our three children every year since 2018. We love the central ski lifts which make it so easy to get around, as well as the variety of skiing from lovely wide nursery slopes to blacks and off-piste when we’re feeling more adventurous — the ski school Evolution 2 were brilliant with my children and I’m eternally grateful to them for helping them become so confident on skis.

“We have also made great use of the medical centre, too — I dislocated my shoulder in spring 2023 and they were absolutely fantastic.”

La Rosière shares 154km of slopes with La Thuile in Italy, nearly half (45%) of which are greens and blues. The connection offers a fun day out for skiers either side of the pass — and the south-facing pistes, well-planned lift network and panoramic views make La Rosière’s skiing very family friendly. For older teens and more adventurous skiers there are 11 black runs and some good off-piste — something for which the Tarentaise Valley is known — as well as paragliding and snow-kiting for the even more adventurous.

Why is La Rosière so good for families?

La Rosière is one of 42 ski resorts in France accredited as FAMILLE PLUS, a mark of quality that assures parents there will be entertainment, accommodation and activities for all ages and budgets and that, crucially, the highest standards of professional childcare are available.

Children under five ski for free and the lift pass for kids aged five to 12 is substantially reduced — over the 2022/23 season, a six-day kids pass was €195 (an adult’s pass costs €260), making it one of the cheapest lift passes in the Tarentaise Valley. There are similar discounts for beginners and families of four and the Ecole de Ski Français runs clubs for children from between 18 months and 12 years old so the whole family can make the most of their time in resort.

Inghams offers a range of accomodation in La Rosière and can help families plan to make the most of their holidays and take advantage of the best discounts by pre-booking lift passes, ski lessons and any number of extra activities, because the resort is not just for young kids — teenagers and adults have plenty to do, too. As well as the vibrant apres-ski scene, there’s ice-skating, cinema, climbing wall, the X-Treme Luge monorail sled, outdoor laser tag and paintball — all of which are covered by the Xperiences pass which includes six and a half days’ skiing, non-skiing activities and free cancellation insurance (valid up to two days before arrival).

UK ski company Esprit Ski has been operating La Rosière to UK families for decades and says it is one the most popular resorts it offers to Brits — even offering its own ski school for children up to the age of 12.

Esprit Ski offers its own ski school for kids aged up to 12

Anne Williams, marketing director of Esprit Ski and Inghams said: “If you could design the perfect family friendly resort, La Rosière wouldn’t be far off. With everything on your doorstep from the sunny slopes, genuinely child-friendly ski schools and a handful of smartly-styled après bar-restaurants popping up, everyone is happy.

“The combined ski area with La Thuile is big enough to keep the more adventurous family skiers entertained — plus you can pop to Italy for a pizza at lunchtime — while it also has just the right amount of progressive beginner slopes, too. Once your children are a little bigger and ready for the larger slopes, there is a decent choice of blue runs, great for building confidence.”

Sustainability

While La Rosière is easily accessible from the UK by car and plane (Chambery, Grenoble and Lyon airports are the closest), the resort is trying to encourage rail travel by giving a 15% discount on ski passes and offers on accommodation for families who choose to arrive by train. EcoSki is offering a 15% discount, too. Bourg St Maurice is just 20km away — an easy 30-minute transfer with plenty of public transport options.

La Rosière offers incentives to skiers who arrive by train

As Rachael mentioned, the resort is on the cusp of attaining the Flocon Vert (the green snowflake) — a label developed by not-for-profit organisation Mountain Riders for its commitment towards sustainable tourism. Some of the initiatives in place as part of this commitment include the planting of 1500 trees over the next three years, a drive to achieve “Net Zero” [will link to our glossary] by 2037, reducing energy consumption, waste and improve the carbon footprint of its snow-making.

These initiatives are of huge importance to EcoSki founder Rachael Westbrook.

She says: “Ski resorts have a long way to go before becoming ‘environmentally friendly’ and properly preserving their fragile natural environments but these are a great start — we love the reductions offered to skiers arriving by train, especially, as this is such a big part of the carbon footprint of UK ski holidays. The more we can do, the better.”

To find out more about La Rosière’s eco-friendly travel initiative, visit larosiere.net