Domaine skiable Risoul - La Foret Blanche, Risoul

As with all resorts in the southern Alps your issue with Both Vars and it's sister resort Risoul is the quality and volume of the snow. This is my second visit to the resort in late Dec / early Jan for a total of 12 days on the slopes and on both occasions snow conditions have been very poor. Although it is usually possible to find sheltered areas in the bowl that maintain a small amount of surface powder cover, for the most part runs become icy and dangerous after only a couple of days of sunshine and the resort really needs a fresh dump every 2-3 days to remain enjoyable. The resort has a huge amount of off-piste to explore, but it is really only safe to do so following significant snowfall. With temperatures often reaching 10 degrees Celsius during the day even after a large dump of powder the piste quickly turns into an ice rink if it is not topped up. Snow management is also very poor in comparison to many other resorts which only worsens the situation. Public transport between Risoul and Vars is laughable in comparison to most other resorts of this size and as a visitor you are left with the unshakeable feeling that the two resorts are making it as difficult as possible to reach one another. We were charged 100 euro for a taxi from one resort to the other at 7pm which was outrageous given the internet states that 40 euro is the average! Bus services are few and far between and those that run later than 12:15 in the afternoon (I'm not joking) are chargeable! Costing at least 9 euros per person for a 10-15 minute ride! A good resort to visit if you are local and know there has been a big dump of powder but probably one to avoid for anything but a last minute holiday with a LOT of snow forecast as a long duration lift pass (more than a couple of days) is a very big risk given how quickly conditions deteriorate. This is further highlighted as this is one of the only resorts I have ever visited that will not refund unused days on the lift pass if the conditions are too poor to actually ride the mountain which was the case for the last 2-3 days of my most recent visit. At this time (January 2019) I really felt that the resort should have been closed for safety reasons as many runs were more tarmac and rock than snow, yet they refused to consider a refund for our remaining days! As an instructor I found this particularly shocking as I felt that the conditions on the mountain made it dangerous for all but the most advanced riders. If I were teaching here I certainly would not risk the safety of one of my own classes in the conditions that the resort seemed to find acceptable. This resort also seems to suffer really badly from it's patrons being unable to queue or even have basic manners. Whilst this is sadly often a problem in France and Italy, we experienced an unusually high number of people queue jumping and battering our skis and boards carelessly. The edges and top of my 2018 Capita Mercury look like someone took a cheese grater to them after only 6 days here. I've given 3 stars for the off-piste available if you are lucky enough to have good conditions but probably a 1-2 star resort if you don't get the powder as the pistes are poorly maintained and not very challenging.

Large skiing area located next to the hotels of Risoul, allowing you to ski from your front door to the ski-lifts and from the slopes back home again. Many slopes, routes, a fun park, rollercoaster and great skiing teachers resulting in a great skiing area!