Bad Gastein or La Clusaz: the same steep, at very different heights
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
Of all 55 resorts we cover, our matching puts La Clusaz closest to Bad Gastein. Look at the steep piste and you can see why: 37 percent of the piste we measure at Bad Gastein is steeper than one in four, and 39 percent at La Clusaz, against 26 at a typical resort we cover. Both villages are low, we class both as traditional, and both run from December to April.
Where they part is the place at the bottom and where the skiing sits above it. Bad Gastein is faded belle époque grandeur and thermal spas. La Clusaz is a lively local village close to Geneva. And the resort with the lower village has much more of its skiing high on the hill. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Bad Gastein | La Clusaz |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,000 m | 1,100 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,644 m | 2,458 m |
| Ski area and lift pass | Its own area is 83 km. Ski amadé pass, 760 km across five regions, not all joined | The Aravis, shared with Le Grand-Bornand; its size is not yet classified by us |
| Piste we measure around the village | 106.6 km | 96.6 km |
| Green and blue | 41 km blue and easier, 39% of the piste | 56 km, 58% of the piste |
| Black | 8.2 km | 8.9 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 1.5 km | None in our data |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 37% | 39% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 29% | 38% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 50% | 18% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Salzburg | Geneva |
The steep row and the black row are close. La Clusaz takes the village and the easy rows. Bad Gastein takes the top and the share of piste above 1,800 metres, and that gap is the widest on the table.
Altitude: the lower village has the higher skiing
La Clusaz's village is 100 metres higher. Above the village, everything goes Bad Gastein's way. Its skiing reaches 2,644 metres by our measurement, the fifth highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and 186 metres above La Clusaz's 2,458.
41 km blue and easier 39%57 km red 54%8 km black 8%
56 km blue and easier 58%32 km red 33%9 km black 9%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Bad Gastein 1.5 km.
The bigger difference is in the middle of the mountain. Half the piste we measure at Bad Gastein sits above 1,799 metres; at La Clusaz, half sits above 1,528, a gap of 271 metres. At or above 1,800 metres, the share is 50 percent at Bad Gastein and 18 percent at La Clusaz, joint 47th of the 55 resorts we cover. Above 2,000 metres it is 27 percent against 9.
Neither passes our snow sure test, which asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres and skiing that reaches 2,500. Bad Gastein misses by the narrowest margin: its top clears 2,500, and its share at 1,800 is half, not more than half. La Clusaz misses on both counts. Nobody can promise snow at either, but in a thin winter, it is Bad Gastein that has more of its piste well up the hill.
Size: close, with a caveat
We measure 106.6 kilometres of piste around Bad Gastein and 96.6 around La Clusaz. Bad Gastein's figure is more than its own area's 83 kilometres, so our measurement probably takes in some of the neighbouring skiing down the valley. Take the 83 instead and La Clusaz's measured piste is the larger. Call it close.
The passes differ in shape. Bad Gastein sits on Ski amadé, quoted at 760 kilometres across five regions that are not all joined, and its own area is one of four separate areas down the valley. La Clusaz shares the Aravis with Le Grand-Bornand, an area we have not yet classified, so we quote no total for it.
The skiing: La Clusaz is gentler at one end and steeper at the other
These gradients are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch. French and Austrian grades are not set the same way either, so the measured figures are the fair comparison.
41 km blue and easier 39%57 km red 54%8 km black 8%
56 km blue and easier 58%32 km red 33%9 km black 9%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Bad Gastein 1.5 km.
Start at the easy end, where La Clusaz has more. It has 56 kilometres of green and blue, 8.1 of it green, against 41 kilometres of blue and easier at Bad Gastein. Thirty eight percent of La Clusaz's piste is gentler than 15 percent, joint 11th of the 55 resorts we cover, against 29 at Bad Gastein. The blues are gentle at both: 14.6 percent at La Clusaz, where only one of the 17 French resorts we cover has gentler blues, and 14.9 at Bad Gastein, against a typical Austrian blue at 16.4.
Then the steep end, where La Clusaz is sharper. Its reds average 29.0 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover and close to a typical French black at 29.6. Its blacks average 37.3 percent, the second steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. Bad Gastein's reds average 25.0, the fourth steepest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and its blacks 32.6.
What Bad Gastein has is more of the middle. It has 57.1 kilometres of red, 54 percent of its piste, against 31.7 at La Clusaz. Black is close, 8.2 kilometres against 8.9, and Bad Gastein has the only marked off piste itinerary of the two, a 1.5 kilometre route with 269 metres of vertical.
Who each one actually suits
Bad Gastein suits a group that wants the resort itself to be part of the holiday. Our read is grand and characterful, and the belle époque, the spa and the scenery top its list. On the hill it suits confident intermediates who want a week of red with some bite, and anyone who would rather have more of the skiing high up. You fly to Salzburg.
La Clusaz suits families, which are on its list, and anyone who wants a lively, local village with a weekend feel. There are green runs for the beginners and the steepest reds of the 55 resorts we cover for the strong skiers, so a mixed group gets something at each end. It is close to Geneva, which is its airport.
The bit nobody tells you
La Clusaz's steepness is not spread evenly across the grades. Its blues average 14.6 percent and its reds 29.0: very gentle blues, then very steep reds. At Bad Gastein the blues average 14.9 and the reds 25.0, so the step up is smaller, and there are 57.1 kilometres of red to take it on.
That matters most for the improver who is ready to leave the blues. On these averages, the first red at La Clusaz is a big jump. At Bad Gastein it is a step, with plenty of room to practise once it is taken.
So, which one
you want more of the skiing high on the hill, half of it at or above 1,800 metres against 18 percent, plenty of red, and a spa town to come back to. Also if Salzburg suits your flights.
there are beginners in the group who need green runs, you want a lively local village rather than a grand one, or your strongest skiers want the steepest reds of the 55 resorts we cover. Also if Geneva is your airport.
The two are close on steep share and on size, and the clearest difference between them is where the skiing sits: 50 percent of Bad Gastein's piste at or above 1,800 metres against 18. In a week booked months ahead at two low villages, that is the row to trust. La Clusaz is the right answer for a family with beginners, or a group that wants a livelier village close to Geneva.