Cortina d'Ampezzo or Kronplatz: one pass, and a surprise on the gradient

Size: close on paper, and neither joins the other

Both resorts quote their own areas at about 120 kilometres, and we have checked neither. Our own measurement, taken from the run geometry, finds 86 kilometres of piste around Cortina and 77 around Kronplatz, about 9 more at Cortina. Easy piste is near level, 38 kilometres of blue and easier against 36.

The shape differs. Our one line on Kronplatz is a perfectly groomed dome above the Puster valley, which is to say one mountain. Cortina's is several: Tofana rising from one edge of town, Faloria and Cristallo over the valley, joined by bus or car rather than by lift. Kronplatz is the more compact week. Cortina is the more varied one, and the more spread out.

Altitude: Cortina is the high one, by a long way

The villages are level. The skiing is not. Cortina's lifts reach 3,028 metres by our measure, the second highest top of the 10 Italian resorts we cover. Kronplatz's skiing tops out at 2,266, the lowest of those 10, and 762 metres below. That 3,028 is a lift station, but even Cortina's highest piste, which starts at 2,724, is 458 metres above the top of Kronplatz.

The snow follows the height. Cortina counts as snow sure on our measure: 67 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 3,028 at the top of the lifts, and its highest piste, at 2,724, is high enough on its own. Kronplatz does not. Just over half its piste, 51 percent, is at or above 1,800 metres, but its skiing tops out at 2,266, below the height our measure asks for. More than half of Cortina's piste is above 2,000 metres, against 29 percent at Kronplatz. Nobody can promise snow, and plenty of good weeks are skied on lower mountains than this. But if you are booking at either end of the season, Cortina is the safer bet.

The skiing: Kronplatz is the steep one

Grooming and families top Kronplatz's list of strengths, so this may surprise you. On our measure it is one of the steepest resorts we cover. Of its piste, 43 percent is steeper than one in four, the joint second biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover. At Cortina it is 25 percent, against 26 at a typical resort we cover. Only 16 percent of Kronplatz is gentler than 15 percent, the smallest share of all 55 we cover. At Cortina it is 36.

Who each one actually suits

Kronplatz suits confident skiers who like steep, well groomed piste on a compact mountain. Our read on it is modern and efficient, with grooming, families and museums among its strengths. A family of good skiers, or one with teenagers who want to go fast on corduroy, will get a lot out of it. A family with a nervous beginner should read the next section first.

Cortina is the choice when the holiday matters as much as the skiing. It is a stylish old town under the Dolomites: aperitivo hour on the Corso Italia, the evening stroll of the passeggiata, and lunches in the rifugi that are a reason to go in themselves. It suits couples, families of every age and anyone bringing someone who will not ski. Beginners start on the gentle Socrepes slopes, while the stronger skiers can go looking for the itinerary.

The bit nobody tells you

Kronplatz's blues average a gradient of 20.2 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. The average Italian red is 20.4. In other words, a typical blue at Kronplatz measures within a whisker of a typical red elsewhere in Italy. Cortina's blues average 15.3.

For a confident skier it hardly matters, and on a smooth, groomed piste it may even be a pleasure. For someone in their first week off the nursery slope, the blue that is meant to be the next step can feel like two. If your group has an improver in it, that is the single most useful number on this page, and it points to Cortina.