Adelboden or Les Gets: the same kind of village, at very different heights
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Our matching engine puts Les Gets closer to Adelboden than any other resort we cover, and Adelboden closer to Les Gets. Even our own descriptions trade places. Adelboden is traditional and warm, a classic chalet village linked to Lenk. Les Gets is warm and traditional, a pretty village at the gateway to the Portes du Soleil. We tag both traditional and good for families, families are on both lists, and both run December to April.
So this is not a choice between two kinds of holiday. It is a choice between a village on a vast linked circuit and a village with more height and a little more piste we measure around it. Most rows of the table are close. The height row is not.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Adelboden | Les Gets |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,350 m | 1,172 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,356 m | 1,965 m |
| Linked ski area | 85 km from the village, Lenk included; 188 km on the pass, across five sectors not all joined | Portes du Soleil, 580 km measured, 600 km official; the Les Gets and Morzine sector 117 km |
| Piste we measure around the village | 115 km | 99 km |
| Green and blue | 52 km blue and easier, 46% of the piste | 55 km, 56% of the piste, 7.7 km of it green |
| Black | 12.9 km | 9.6 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 1.6 km | None in our data |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 25% | 23% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 38% | 34% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 55% | 1% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Zurich or Geneva | Geneva |
The steep, gentle, easy and black rows are within a few points or a few kilometres. Two are not: the linked area, which goes Les Gets's way, and the height, which goes Adelboden's, 55 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres against 1.
Altitude: the row that decides it
Adelboden's village sits at 1,350 metres, 178 above Les Gets's 1,172. At the top the gap widens. The skiing we measure at Adelboden reaches 2,356 metres; at Les Gets it stops at 1,965, 391 metres lower and the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover.
The middle of the mountain shows it most. Fifty five percent of Adelboden's piste is at or above 1,800 metres. At Les Gets it is 1 percent, the second smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover. Ninety two percent of Adelboden's piste is above 1,500 metres, against 40 percent of Les Gets's, and half of Les Gets's piste sits below 1,463 metres, where half of Adelboden's sits above 1,829.
Neither is snow sure on our measure, which asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres and skiing that reaches 2,500. Adelboden passes the first part and not the second; Les Gets passes neither. Nobody can promise snow. But if your dates are fixed near either end of the season, this is the row to read twice.
Size: a circuit against a home mountain
Les Gets is the gateway to the Portes du Soleil, twelve villages across two countries on one genuinely linked circuit. It measures 580 kilometres. The official figure is 600, an older claim was 650, and an independent count puts it nearer 426. The sector Les Gets shares with Morzine is 117 kilometres, and we measure 99 around the village.
From Adelboden you can ski 85 kilometres without a bus, the main Adelboden and Lenk domain, with Lenk joined by lift. The pass covers 188 kilometres, but across five sectors that are not all joined: Betelberg, Elsigen-Metsch, Engstligenalp and Tschentenalp sit outside the domain. We measure 115 kilometres of piste around the village, more than the domain itself, so our figure takes in some piste beyond it. Plan on the 85.
So around the village Adelboden has a little more, about 15 kilometres more on our measure. Beyond it, Les Gets has far more: 341 kilometres more than Adelboden's 85 even on the most cautious count of the circuit. If your group will spend the week travelling, that is the strongest case for Les Gets.
The skiing: close in shape, Adelboden a little wider at both ends
Adelboden has a little more of both ends. Thirty eight percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the joint fourth largest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against 34 at Les Gets. Twenty five percent is steeper than one in four, the joint third largest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against 23 at Les Gets and 26 at the median resort we cover.
52 km blue and easier 46%49 km red 43%13 km black 11%
55 km blue and easier 56%35 km red 35%10 km black 10%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Adelboden 1.6 km.
At the easy end Les Gets has the green, and it is reliably mapped: 7.7 kilometres of it, within 55 kilometres of green and blue. Green is not reliably tagged at Adelboden, so its 52 kilometres is blue and easier. The blues are close underfoot, averaging 14.5 percent at Adelboden and 15.0 at Les Gets, each kinder than a typical blue in its own country (15.0 in Switzerland, 16.2 in France).
At the hard end Adelboden has 12.9 kilometres of black against 9.6, and 1.6 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the longest of it Skiroute 96 Bergrose, 0.9 kilometres with 228 metres of drop. We have no marked itinerary for Les Gets.
Who each one actually suits
Adelboden suits a family who want a traditional Swiss chalet village with more than half its piste at or above 1,800 metres. Tradition, families and the World Cup are on its list. With gentle blues and a share of steep near the median, it works for improvers and confident intermediates skiing together, and more of its piste sits high. It suits less well a group whose strong skiers want to roam a long way.
Les Gets suits a family who want a charming French village, green runs for a first week and a circuit to explore. Families, tree skiing and a charming village are on its list.
The bit nobody tells you
Les Gets has less black than Adelboden, and steeper. Measured from the gradient, its blacks average 33.2 percent, the third steepest of the 17 French resorts we cover and well over a typical French black at 29.6. Adelboden's average 26.1, under a typical Swiss black at 26.7. The longest run we measure at Les Gets is a red, Arbis, 1.6 kilometres with 478 metres of drop. Adelboden's longest is a blue, Strubel, 1.8 kilometres with 327 metres.
These are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so treat them as a feel for the week rather than a verdict on any one run. But the pattern is clear. The strong skier in a Les Gets family has a few properly steep blacks close by. At Adelboden there is more black, at a kinder pitch.
So, which one
you want more of the skiing up high, a little more piste around the village, more black and some marked itinerary, in a traditional Swiss chalet village. Also if your dates are fixed, or Zurich suits your flights.
the Portes du Soleil is the point and your group will use it, you want reliably mapped green for the first timers and a few steep blacks for the strongest, and Geneva for the flight. Also if you can move your dates.
The two villages are as close as our engine finds for either of them; the height is not. Adelboden has 55 percent of its piste at or above 1,800 metres against Les Gets's 1, and 15 more kilometres around the village, for a family that will ski most of the week close to home. Les Gets is the right answer when the circuit is the reason you are going.