Espace San Bernardo, Cross-border ski area between La Rosière, Savoie and La Thuile, Aosta Valley
Espace San Bernardo is a Franco-Italian ski area of 154 km of slopes linking La Rosière in Savoie with La Thuile in the Aosta Valley. On the French side it occupies the south-east flank of the Roc Noir and Mont Valezan, reaching 2,780 m; on the Italian side it runs along the ridge from Monte Belvedere to Chaz Dura. The two halves meet at the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass, crossed on skis by the Bellecombe and Chardonnet lifts.
The area developed its cross-border link in the 1980s, connecting two separate ski resorts into a single destination. This connection allowed both sides to offer visitors a larger and more varied skiing experience.
The area takes its name from Saint Bernard of Menthon, who founded a hospice at the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass to shelter travellers. The 1985 cross-border link was promoted with a logo of stars recalling the European Union flag, and the 30th-anniversary logo pairs green for Italy with blue for France.
The Petit-Saint-Bernard pass road is closed from mid-November to mid-May, so crossing between La Rosière and La Thuile is possible only on skis in winter. Access from Italy runs via the RN26 from Aosta; from France via Bourg-Saint-Maurice and the D1090. The Fort chairlift crosses the ridge to the Petit-Saint-Bernard basin.
The Panoramic Experience, a footbridge on the Col de la Traversette platform at 2,400 m near Fort de la Redoute, was installed in December 2017. It hangs above the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass and looks toward Mont Blanc.
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