Cable car · Valle d'Aosta
La Thuile - Les Suches cable car
La Thuile's main lift, up to the Les Suches plateau at 2,200 m: the gateway to the Italian-French slopes shared with La Rosière.
Base altitude
1,441 m
Top altitude
2,200 m
Vertical drop
759 m
Length
2,800 m
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Photo: DimiTalen · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Manufacturer
Poma
Year built
1972
Hourly capacity
900 p/h
The Les Suches cable car is La Thuile’s signature lift. This small Aosta Valley resort has built a solid, loyal following among skiers who love the real mountains, a little less tamed and commercial than big neighbours such as Courmayeur or Cervinia.
Built by Poma in 1972 and modernised in 2008, the cable car climbs from the centre of the village, an old settlement that once lived off anthracite mining, to the Les Suches plateau at 2,200 m. From there the large Italian-French ski area of the Espace San Bernardo opens up.
From mining village to ski resort
La Thuile began as a mining village. The anthracite mines that took coal from its mountains for decades left visible traces on the village’s social fabric and architecture, which still feel sober and authentic compared with Alpine resorts built from scratch for winter tourism.
When the mines closed in the 1960s, the valley rebuilt its economy around tourism, without losing the genuine community spirit that still sets it apart.
Skiing into France: the Espace San Bernardo
The jewel of La Thuile’s skiing is the link with La Rosière, on the French side of the Little St Bernard Pass. The Espace San Bernardo, as the cross-border ski area is called, has 152 km of slopes across the two sides. Snow is reliable thanks to the high altitude (the highest point is above 2,800 m) and the favourable aspect of many of the slopes.
To cross the border on skis you only need a valid identity document. Checks take place right on the slopes and don’t hold you up, so the crossing is smooth and almost magical: you change country just by skiing down a run.
Who it suits
La Thuile’s slopes are mainly for intermediate and advanced skiers. There is little for complete beginners, but it is excellent once you have the basics. The longest runs, such as the Maison and the Belvedere, are wide, scenic and well groomed, with moderate gradients that let you build speed and rhythm without tiring.
The Little St Bernard side has the most technical skiing, with steep runs and high-quality off-piste for experts who love fresh snow away from the groomed slopes.
The Rutor glacier and summer
The Rutor glacier, one of the largest ice masses in the Aosta Valley, dominates the background and spills spectacularly down towards the La Thuile basin. In summer it is a destination for alpine excursions and allows a short summer ski season, which mostly attracts mountaineers and top-level skiers.
Summer visitors will find beautiful mid-mountain trails, with the Verney and Rutor alpine lakes within a day’s walk. La Thuile remains one of the most balanced and least crowded ski areas in the Aosta Valley: a shared secret among people who prefer quality to quantity and substance to show.