Andermatt or Bormio: the same height on the hill, two very different weeks
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Andermatt and Bormio sit at the same height on the hill. Of the piste we measure, 76 percent is at or above 1,800 metres at each, and half of it sits above 2,122 metres at Andermatt and 2,098 at Bormio. Both run from December to April, both are snow sure on our measure, and our matching puts Andermatt closer to Bormio than any other resort we cover.
So the snow is not the question. Everything around it is. Andermatt is a snowy sleeper in the middle of Switzerland, reborn and up and coming by our read, with off piste first on its list of what it does best and expert the only trait we tag it with. Bormio is a historic spa town with a famous top to bottom run, traditional and quiet, with long runs, thermal baths and racing on its list. One gives you marked off piste and a pass that reaches further on skis; the other gives you steeper piste and a town. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Andermatt | Bormio |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,444 m | 1,225 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,922 m | 3,001 m |
| Linked ski area | 180 km on the Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis pass, 120 km for Andermatt and Sedrun alone; the Gemsstock sits outside the linked area | 50 km on Bormio's own mountain; the Alta Valtellina pass covers 200 to 230 km across four separate valleys |
| Piste we measure around the village | 61 km | 52.5 km |
| Blue and easier | 27 km, 44% of the piste | 12 km, 23% of the piste |
| Black | 8.3 km | 4.7 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 21 km | 4 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 27% | 32% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 29% | 26% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 76% | 76% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Zurich | Bergamo or Milan |
Andermatt leads on piste, on easy ground, on black and, by a distance, on marked off piste. Bormio leads on the steep share and the top. The 1,800 metre row is a tie.
Size: small at both doors, and only one pass reaches far on skis
Around the village, both are small. We measure 61 kilometres of piste around Andermatt, and only four of the 55 resorts we cover measure less. Around Bormio we measure 52.5, and only three of the 55 resorts we cover have less. That is about 9 kilometres between them.
Beyond the village they part company. Andermatt's pass covers 180 kilometres across Andermatt, Sedrun and Disentis; the operator also publishes 120 for Andermatt and Sedrun alone, and the Gemsstock sits outside the linked area. Bormio's own mountain is 50 kilometres across 12 lifts. Its Alta Valtellina pass covers 200 to 230 kilometres, but across four separate valleys, and everything beyond Bormio's own mountain needs transport.
So for a week on one mountain the two are close. For a group that wants to keep exploring on skis, Andermatt takes them further.
Altitude: level in the middle, Andermatt higher at the door, Bormio at the top
Andermatt's village is at 1,444 metres, 219 above Bormio's 1,225. At the top it turns round: Bormio's skiing reaches 3,001 metres by our measurement, the third highest of the 10 Italian resorts we cover and 79 above Andermatt's 2,922. In between, the two are level: 76 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres at each, 64 and 63 percent above 2,000, and 36 and 34 percent above 2,200.
Both pass our snow sure test, which asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres and skiing that reaches 2,500. At Andermatt, 76 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, up to 2,922 metres, and snowfall is on its list of what it does best. At Bormio it is 76 percent, up to 3,001. Nobody can promise snow, but on these figures it is not the thing to decide on.
Bormio does have the bigger drop. From the top of its skiing to the lowest piste we measure, at 1,196 metres, is 1,805 metres of drop, against 1,488 at Andermatt.
The skiing: Andermatt has more room, Bormio more bite
At the easy end, Andermatt has more. It has 27 kilometres of blue and easier piste, 44 percent of what we measure. Bormio has 12, the least of the 55 resorts we cover, or 23 percent, and 68 percent of its piste is red. Neither has much gentle ground: 29 percent of Andermatt's piste is gentler than 15 percent, and 26 percent of Bormio's.
27 km blue and easier 44%26 km red 43%8 km black 14%
12 km blue and easier 23%36 km red 68%4.7 km black 9%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Andermatt 21 km, Bormio 4 km.
At the steep end, Bormio has the bigger share. Of the piste we measure, 32 percent is steeper than one in four, the joint third largest share of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against 27 percent at Andermatt, the second largest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. The reds are level, near enough, averaging 21.7 percent at Bormio and 22.0 at Andermatt; the blues average 14.6 and 15.5. These are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so read them as the feel of the week rather than a verdict on any one run.
Andermatt has more black, 8.3 kilometres against 4.7, and much more marked off piste itinerary: 21 kilometres, the ninth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against 4.
Who each one actually suits
Andermatt suits strong skiers who want to leave the markers. Its 21 kilometres of itinerary is the fourth most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and the longest, the Guspis-Route, runs 5.5 kilometres with 1,170 metres of vertical. It suits people who plan a trip around snowfall, and people who like to find a place while it is still up and coming. With 27 kilometres of blue and easier, it also gives the less confident in a mixed group more to do. Zurich is the airport.
Bormio suits people for whom the town is half the holiday: a historic spa town, relaxed, traditional and quiet by our read, with thermal baths for tired legs. It suits strong piste skiers who want steep blacks and a long way down, and groups who are all happy on red. It is not the place for a beginner, with 12 kilometres of blue and easier. Fly to Bergamo or Milan.
The bit nobody tells you
The resort we tag expert is not the one with the steeper piste. Bormio's blacks average a gradient of 35.7 percent, the sixth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover and well above the Italian average for a black of 30.2. Andermatt's average 30.7, steep in their own right, the third steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover against a Swiss average of 26.7. There are only 4.7 kilometres of black at Bormio, so the steep comes in short doses, but it is there.
Andermatt's expert label lives off the piste, in those 21 kilometres of itinerary against Bormio's 4. So a strong skier who wants to stay on the piste will find Bormio the sharper week. One who wants to leave the markers will find far more to do at Andermatt.
So, which one
marked off piste is the point, you want a pass that reaches Sedrun and Disentis, and the less confident in the group need more blue to work with. Also if Zurich is your easiest flight.
the town and the thermal baths are half the holiday, everyone in the group is happy on red, and the strong skiers want steep blacks and a long way down.
The height on the hill is level, and Andermatt gives the group more of nearly everything else: 27 kilometres of blue and easier against 12, 8.3 of black against 4.7, 21 kilometres of marked off piste against 4, and a pass that goes further on skis. Bormio is the right answer when the town, the spa and the steeper blacks are why you are going.