Like Andermatt, but in France: the off piste travels, the sleeper feel does not

Our matching ranks Val d'Isère only third of the French resorts we cover for Andermatt, but it carries over the most: the off piste, the share of steep piste, the share of gentle piste and the expert trait. Twenty nine percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 27 at Andermatt, and 28 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 29. The blacks average 29.9 percent against your 30.7. And there are 28.7 kilometres of marked itinerary, the second most of the 17 French resorts we cover, the longest running 4.9 kilometres with 917 metres of vertical.

Then it adds height. The village is at 1,850 metres, 406 above Andermatt and the joint fifth highest of the 55 resorts we cover. On our measure 100 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, the joint biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and the skiing reaches 3,205 metres, 283 above yours. It is snow sure on our measure, and the season runs from late November to early May, longer at both ends than Andermatt's.

And it adds size. We measure 158 kilometres of piste around the village, and Espace Killy, shared with Tignes, is 300 kilometres, where Andermatt's pass covers 180 across Andermatt, Sedrun and Disentis. There are 21.8 kilometres of black against your 8.3, and 90 of green and blue for the less confident.

What you give up is the sleeper feel. Our read on Val d'Isère is lively and upmarket, with a party up the mountain in the afternoon and village bars that run late. Much of its best off piste lies out at Le Fornet and the Pissaillas glacier, and that is skied with a guide. There is nothing sleepy about it, and you fly to Geneva, not Zurich.

If the off piste is all of it, Chamonix has more than any other French resort we cover: 44.3 kilometres of marked itinerary, the third most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Andermatt's 21. The longest we measure is the Vallée Blanche, 7.2 kilometres with 1,393 metres of vertical, done with a guide. We tag Chamonix expert, as we do Andermatt, and our matching puts it second of the French resorts we cover, carrying over that trait and the share of gentle piste.

The piste has more bite. Thirty nine percent is steeper than one in four, the joint second biggest share of the 17 French resorts we cover, against your 27, and the reds average 27.0 percent, the fifth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against 22.0. There are 22.9 kilometres of black against 8.3.

The trade is the height at the door, and the shape. The town sits at 1,035 metres, 409 below Andermatt's village. The 3,842 metres often quoted is the Aiguille du Midi, a lift for mountaineers; the piste tops out at 3,222 metres on the Grands Montets, above Argentière. Chamonix's own total is not classified in our data. Seventy percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 76, and on Chamonix we give the figures and have not made a snow sure call either way. The skiing comes in separate areas along the valley, joined by bus and a little train, with 102.5 kilometres of piste measured. It is a real working town, best for expert terrain, mountaineering and town life. A sleeper it is not.

Our matching puts Saint-Martin-de-Belleville closest to Andermatt of all the French resorts we cover, and on height the two are close to twins. The village is at 1,450 metres, 6 above Andermatt's. Seventy five percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 76, so it is snow sure on our measure too, over the same December to April season.

The piste carries over more than you might guess. The reds average 21.9 percent against your 22.0, and the blacks 30.9 against 30.7. We measure 75 kilometres around the village, inside a Three Valleys quoted at 600 kilometres and linked to Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens, with 50.2 kilometres of green and blue against your 26.9 of blue and easier.

What you give up is the thing at the top of Andermatt's list. There is no marked itinerary that we measure, only 6.0 kilometres of black, 20 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, and we do not tag it expert. The skiing tops out at 2,691 metres by our measure, 231 below yours. Our read on it is traditional and quiet, an old Savoyard village that is best for an authentic week and good food. For an Andermatt regular who mostly stays on the piste, that is a fair swap.