Kronplatz or Le Grand-Bornand: two family resorts, steep in different places
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Kronplatz and Le Grand-Bornand are in different countries and on different lift passes, so nobody skis one from the other. They end up side by side because they are built the same way. Both are on our list for families, both are small, neither has any marked off piste itinerary in our data, and both run from December to April. Our matching engine puts Le Grand-Bornand closer to Kronplatz than any other French resort we cover.
The difference is where the steep sits, and who in your family has to ski it. Kronplatz is a perfectly groomed dome above the Puster valley, modern and efficient. Le Grand-Bornand is a farming village, rural and friendly, whose own line says it keeps things gentle. Measured, neither mountain is gentle, but they are steep in different places. So this comes down to your least confident skier, and to how much height matters to you. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Kronplatz | Le Grand-Bornand |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,200 m | 1,000 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,266 m | 2,458 m at the top of a lift; highest piste 2,362 m |
| Ski area | Dolomiti Superski pass, not classified in our data | The Aravis, shared with La Clusaz, not classified in our data |
| Piste we measure around the village | 77 km | 85 km |
| Green and blue | 36 km blue and easier, 47% of the piste | 52 km, 61% of the piste, 17.4 km of it green |
| Black | 14.1 km, 18% of the piste | 11.3 km, 13% of the piste |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 43% | 37% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 16% | 32% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 51% | 15% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Innsbruck or Venice | Geneva |
Three rows do most of the work. The gentle row says Le Grand-Bornand is the kinder mountain for a beginner. The height row says Kronplatz has far more of its skiing up high. And the steep row says both have more bite than the 26 percent of a typical resort we cover.
Size: two compact mountains, one a little bigger
Neither ski area is classified in our data, so we quote no total for either. Kronplatz sits on the Dolomiti Superski pass, which spans twelve areas, only four of them joined by lift, and Kronplatz is one mountain of its own on it. Le Grand-Bornand shares the Aravis with La Clusaz.
Measured from the run geometry ourselves, we make it 85 kilometres of graded piste around Le Grand-Bornand and 77 around Kronplatz, about 9 more at the French resort. Both sit well under the 116 kilometres of the median resort we cover. These are weeks for getting to know one mountain well.
The longest runs differ more than the totals. The longest piste we measure at Kronplatz, Ried, is a 4.1 kilometre red with 647 metres of vertical. At Le Grand-Bornand it is Le Var, a 2.4 kilometre blue with 182.
Altitude: Le Grand-Bornand reaches higher, Kronplatz sits higher
At the top, Le Grand-Bornand wins on paper. The highest lift we map there reaches 2,458 metres, and the highest piste we measure starts at 2,362. That lift top is the same height as La Clusaz's and may well be the same lift, so go by the piste: 96 metres above Kronplatz's 2,266, which is the lowest top of the 10 Italian resorts we cover.
Below the top, Kronplatz sits higher, except at the very bottom. Its village is at 1,200 metres, 200 above Le Grand-Bornand's 1,000. The lowest piste we measure is at 942 metres at Kronplatz and 943 at Le Grand-Bornand, so the two start level at the bottom. But half of Kronplatz's piste is above 1,807 metres, and half of Le Grand-Bornand's above 1,482, 325 metres lower. Fifty one percent of Kronplatz's piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 15 percent at Le Grand-Bornand.
Neither is snow sure on our measure, which asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres and skiing that reaches 2,500. Kronplatz clears the first part by a point and misses the second. Le Grand-Bornand misses both. Nobody can promise snow, but Kronplatz has much more of its skiing well up the hill.
The skiing: steep blues at Kronplatz, steep reds at Le Grand-Bornand
Start with the easy end, because that is where a family week is won or lost. Le Grand-Bornand's green runs are properly mapped, 17.4 kilometres of them, inside 52 kilometres of green and blue. Green is not reliably tagged at Kronplatz, so its 36 kilometres is blue and easier. Thirty two percent of Le Grand-Bornand's piste is gentler than 15 percent. At Kronplatz it is 16 percent, the smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover.
36 km blue and easier 47%26 km red 34%14 km black 18%
52 km blue and easier 61%22 km red 26%11 km black 13%
Then the blues. These are average gradients per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so read them as how the week feels rather than a verdict on any one run. Kronplatz's blues average 20.2 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover and nearly level with a typical Italian red, at 20.4. Le Grand-Bornand's average 17.4, a little above a typical French blue at 16.2.
Above the blues, it turns round. Le Grand-Bornand's reds average 28.1 percent, the third steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against 24.0 at Kronplatz. Its blacks average 34.3, the second steepest of the 17 French resorts we cover, against 30.2. Kronplatz has more steep piste overall, though: 43 percent of it is steeper than one in four, the joint second biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against 37 percent, and it has more black, 14.1 kilometres against 11.3.
So at Kronplatz the bite runs right through the mountain, blues included. At Le Grand-Bornand there is a gentle bottom end and then a sharp step up to the reds.
Who each one actually suits
Kronplatz suits a family whose children are past the nervous stage, and anyone who likes groomed piste with some pace to it. Grooming is first on its list of what it does best, and modern and efficient is our word for it. Museums are on its list too, for the rest day. Fly to Innsbruck or Venice.
Le Grand-Bornand suits families with a first timer or a nervous skier in the party, and anyone who wants a quiet week in a traditional village. Families, authenticity and quiet are its list, and our read is rural and friendly. The green runs give a beginner somewhere real to go, and a strong teenager will find the reds a proper test. It is a Geneva trip.
The bit nobody tells you
Le Grand-Bornand's own line says it keeps things gentle, and the measurements only half agree. The green runs and the gentle share bear it out. The reds do not.
For a family, that matters in one particular week: the one when a child moves up from blue to red. At Kronplatz the step is small, because the blues already measure close to a red. At Le Grand-Bornand it is a big one, and a family that moves up quickly will feel it. Plan the week around that step.
So, which one
everyone in the family skis confidently, you want groomed piste with real pitch, more black and far more of the skiing above 1,800 metres, and Innsbruck or Venice suits you. Museums for the day off are a bonus.
someone in the party is learning or nervous, you want green runs and a bigger share of gentle piste, a quiet farming village appeals, and Geneva is your airport.
A family week is set by its least confident skier, and Le Grand-Bornand gives that skier more: 17.4 kilometres of green, 32 percent of the piste gentler than 15 percent against 16, and kinder blues. What you give up is height, and the reds will ask more of everyone else. Kronplatz is the right answer when the whole family is already past the blues.