Love Saalbach-Hinterglemm? Where to go next for the circuit, the nights out or the family week

If the best day of your Saalbach week is the one where you roam the whole circuit and never ski the same run twice, the Three Valleys is the bigger version of that day, and Méribel sits in the middle of it. Around Méribel alone we measure 261 kilometres of piste, the second most of the 55 resorts we cover and 69 more than around Saalbach. The Three Valleys as a whole is quoted at 600 kilometres, a figure we have not measured ourselves.

The snow is the real change. The village is at 1,450 metres, 447 above Saalbach's, and the skiing tops out at 2,891, measured. Seventy eight percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against Saalbach's 19, which makes Méribel snow sure on our own test.

The skiing is gentler, and there is more of every kind. There are 156 kilometres of green and blue, the second most of the 55, and 31 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against Saalbach's 42. French and Austrian grades do not line up, so the measured share is the fair comparison. For the strong skiers in the group there are 30 kilometres of black, the third most of the 55, against Saalbach's 12.

The trade is the mood after the lifts close. Méribel is pretty and friendly, and what it does best is families, chalet holidays and a central spot in the Three Valleys. We do not class it as lively. If your group books Saalbach for the evenings first and the skiing second, take the next route instead.

Ischgl keeps the two things Saalbach is famous for, big skiing and a big night, stays in Austria, and puts both much higher. We class both resorts as lively, and our one line on Ischgl is big, snow sure skiing and legendary nights out. The village is at 1,377 metres, 374 above Saalbach's, and the skiing tops out at 2,868, measured. Ninety percent of its piste is at or above 1,800 metres, the second highest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and the season runs from late November to May, longer at both ends than Saalbach's.

The trade is the blue. Ischgl is a red mountain: more than half of what we measure is red, and there are 43 kilometres of blue and easier against Saalbach's 122. In all we measure 152 kilometres around the village, 40 fewer than around Saalbach. A group of confident skiers will not notice. A group with a nervous beginner will.

What surprises Saalbach regulars is that Ischgl's reds are kinder. They average 20.7 percent against Saalbach's 27.8, and 34 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 42. The hard end is bigger, though: 27 kilometres of black, the fifth most of the 55, against Saalbach's 12.

If you go to Saalbach for the Hinterglemm end of things, the easy blues and a family that skis together, Arosa is where we would send you next. It is in Switzerland, a family resort in a gentle, sunny bowl, and the village is at 1,800 metres, almost 800 above Saalbach's. The skiing reaches 2,848 metres, measured, and 65 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800, so it is snow sure on our test.

On the ground it is a similar size and much kinder underfoot. We measure 183 kilometres around Arosa against 192 around Saalbach, and one cable car joins it to Lenzerheide in a single domain of 225 kilometres, a figure three sources agree on exactly. Only 24 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against Saalbach's 42, and the blues average 15.4 percent against 17.8. Swiss and Austrian grades are not comparable, so trust the measured share over the colours. For a family with one nervous skier, that gap matters more than any total on a piste map.

The trade is the evenings. We do not class Arosa as lively. There is less blue and easier, 97 kilometres against Saalbach's 122, though the strong skiers lose nothing: 14.5 kilometres of black against 12.