Bormio or Zürs: the long way down, or the way off piste?
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Bormio and Zürs are both quiet, and both steeper than a typical resort we cover. We class each of them quiet, both run from December to April, and on the share of piste steeper than one in four they are a point apart. Our matching puts Bormio second closest to Zürs of all the resorts we cover.
Beyond that they go about it in different ways. Bormio is a historic spa town with a famous top to bottom run, relaxed by our read, under a mountain that climbs a long way above it. Zürs is a tiny, exclusive corner of the Arlberg, a high village with a great deal of marked off piste around it. So the question is whether you want the long way down or the way off the piste. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Bormio | Zürs |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,225 m | 1,720 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 3,001 m | 2,440 m |
| Ski area and lift pass | Its own mountain is 50 km across 12 lifts. Alta Valtellina pass, 200 to 230 km across four separate valleys | The Arlberg, shared with Lech and St Anton, not yet classified in our data |
| Piste we measure around the village | 52.5 km | 75 km |
| Blue and easier | 12 km, 23% of the piste | 31 km, 42% of the piste |
| Black | 4.7 km | 6 km |
| Marked off piste itinerary | 4 km | 40 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 32% | 33% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 26% | 21% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 76% | 74% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Bergamo or Milan | Innsbruck or Zurich |
Zürs takes the village row, the piste rows and, by a long way, the itinerary row. Bormio takes the top and the gentle row. The steep row and the 1,800 metre row are within two points.
Altitude: Zürs higher at the door, Bormio at the top
Zürs's village sits at 1,720 metres, the second highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover and 495 above Bormio's 1,225. On the hill it turns round. The top of the skiing we measure at Bormio is 3,001 metres, 561 higher than Zürs's 2,440.
In between, they meet. Seventy six percent of Bormio's piste is at or above 1,800 metres, and 74 percent of Zürs's. Above 2,000 metres Bormio pulls ahead, 63 percent against 47.
Bormio is snow sure on our measure: 76 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, up to 3,001. Zürs clears the first half of our test easily, but its skiing tops out at 2,440 metres, measured, 60 short of the 2,500 the second half asks for. That is too close for us to call either way, so we make no call. Nobody can promise snow at either.
The long way down: Bormio has the vertical
From the top of the skiing at Bormio to the lowest piste we measure, at 1,196 metres, is 1,805 metres of drop. At Zürs it is 1,053, from 2,440 down to 1,387. Long runs head Bormio's list of what it does best, with racing on the list as well.
Size: Zürs has more on piste, and far more off it
We measure 75 kilometres of piste around Zürs and 52.5 around Bormio, 22 more at Zürs. Only three of the 55 resorts we cover have less than Bormio. Its own mountain is 50 kilometres across 12 lifts, and the Alta Valtellina pass covers 200 to 230 kilometres, but across four separate valleys, with everything beyond Bormio's own mountain reached by transport. Zürs shares its lift pass with Lech and St Anton, so there is more of the Arlberg on the same ticket.
Off the piste, it is not close. Zürs has 40 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the fourth most of the 55 resorts we cover; Bormio has 4. The longest at Zürs, the Hasenfluhscharte, runs 2.3 kilometres with 689 metres of descent. Bormio's 4 kilometres is a single route that drops 1,051 metres, more than Zürs's longest. But it is one route against a network.
The skiing: level on steep, different in where it bites
Thirty two percent of Bormio's piste is steeper than one in four and 33 percent of Zürs's, against 26 at a typical resort we cover. On the measure we trust most across countries, they are level.
12 km blue and easier 23%36 km red 68%4.7 km black 9%
31 km blue and easier 42%38 km red 50%6 km black 8%
Marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste totals: Bormio 4 km, Zürs 40 km.
Where the steep sits is different. These gradients 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. At Zürs the bite is in the blues and reds: the blues average 17.5 percent, joint eighth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, and the reds 24.2, both above the Austrian averages of 16.4 and 23.4. At Bormio it is in the blacks, which average 35.7 percent, the sixth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. Its blues, at 14.6, and reds, at 21.7, sit near the Italian averages of 14.4 and 20.4.
And Bormio is a red mountain. Sixty eight percent of its piste is red, and its 12 kilometres of blue and easier is the least of the 55 resorts we cover. Zürs has 31, which is 19 more.
Who each one actually suits
Bormio suits people who want a town and a spa with their skiing. It is historic and relaxed by our read, with a thermal spa on its list of what it does best, and we class it traditional and quiet. On the mountain it suits confident skiers who like long reds and a few very steep blacks, and anyone who wants the skiing to go high. With so little blue, it is a hard place for a beginner or a nervous improver.
Zürs suits strong skiers who want peace and polish. Our read is exclusive and quiet, and we class it upmarket and quiet. The marked off piste is the draw, and even the easy end asks something of you. Our terrain scores put it ahead of Bormio for improvers and for strong skiers, and level for intermediates. It is not the place for a big night out.
The bit nobody tells you
Zürs looks like the kinder mountain for a mixed group, with 31 kilometres of blue and easier against Bormio's 12. Measured from the gradient, it is not that simple. Only 21 percent of Zürs's piste is gentler than 15 percent, the smallest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against 26 at Bormio. Zürs has more blue, but its blues average 17.5 percent against Bormio's 14.6.
So an improver at Zürs gets more blue runs, and harder ones. At Bormio there are few blues, but they are gentle. If the least confident skier in your group is the one you are planning around, ask which of those they would rather have.
So, which one
you want the long way down, with 1,805 metres from the top of the skiing to the bottom, a spa town at the end of the day, steep blacks and a resort we can call snow sure on our measure. Also if nobody in the group needs much blue.
the off piste is the point, you want a quiet, exclusive village sleeping at 1,720 metres, and the whole group skis with confidence. Also if the rest of the Arlberg on the same lift pass appeals.
On the share of piste above 1,800 metres the two are within two points, so for a group that skis well the deciding rows are the ones it uses: 75 kilometres of piste against 52.5, more blue to warm up on, and 40 kilometres of marked itinerary against 4. Bormio is the right answer when the town, the spa and the long descent are why you are going, or when you want a resort we can call snow sure on our measure.