Like Argentière, but in Switzerland: how close can you get?
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
Argentière is the serious skier's corner of the Chamonix valley, and its regulars are not there for the size of the piste map. Low key and serious is our read of it, and the three things it does best are experts, off piste and a quiet base. The measurements back that up. Of the piste we measure around the village, 59 percent is steeper than one in four, the biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and even the reds average 28.9 percent, the second steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. The skiing reaches 3,222 metres, 83 percent of it is at or above 1,800 metres, and the season runs from December to May.
The honest headline: no Swiss resort we cover comes close to that steepness. The biggest steep share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover is Engelberg's 31 percent, and none of them is both quiet and expert by our reading. What Switzerland can give you is the rest of Argentière, split across two places. Engelberg keeps the shape of the week: a small, serious mountain with a big vertical and a season into May. Andermatt keeps the off piste and the height at the door. Engelberg is the one to book.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Steeper than one in four | Marked off piste itinerary | Piste at or above 1,800 m | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkArgentière | 1,252 m | 3,222 m | 44 km | 59% | 9 km | 83% | December to May |
| Engelberg | 1,000 m | 3,004 m | 46 km | 31% | 1.8 km | 53% | December to May |
| Andermatt | 1,444 m | 2,922 m | 61 km | 27% | 21 km | 76% | December to April |
Engelberg: the closest on the shape of the week
- VillageVillage
- 1,000 m 252 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,028 m 247 m lower
Engelberg: 46 km of piste we measure. 20 km green and blue 43%22 km red 48%4.5 km black 10%
Engelberg works on the same idea as Argentière: not much piste, under a mountain that goes a long way up. Big vertical and serious freeride near Lucerne is how we sum it up, with off piste, a glacier and freeride on its list, and we class it as expert, as we do Argentière. It keeps your season too, December to May.
The family likeness is the vertical. From the lowest piste we measure to the highest, Engelberg drops 1,997 metres, against 2,163 at Argentière. The skiing reaches 3,004 metres, 218 below your top and the fifth highest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. It is snow sure on our measure, narrowly, with 53 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres. And it is nearly the same size on the map: 46 kilometres of piste measured around Engelberg, against your 44. Its own area on the Titlis is 70 kilometres; Brunni, across the valley, is a free ski bus away.
It is also as steep as Switzerland gets on our measure. Engelberg has the biggest share of piste steeper than one in four of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and the steepest reds, averaging 24.0 percent against a typical Swiss red at 19.9. Set against Argentière, though, 31 percent is a long way from 59, and there are 4.5 kilometres of black against your 14.7. There is far more gentle ground as well: 38 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 17.
The off piste is where our figures fall short. Marked itinerary comes to 1.8 kilometres in our data, against your 9, but Engelberg's real draw is the Laub and Steintaeli freeride descents, which appear in none of our piste figures. Judge it on the piste map alone and you undersell it.
The other trade is the village. It sits at 1,000 metres, 252 below yours and the lowest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and we read it as down to earth and snowy rather than quiet. You fly to Zurich rather than Geneva.
Andermatt: the closest on off piste and height
- VillageVillage
- 1,444 m 192 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,961 m 314 m lower
Andermatt: 61 km of piste we measure. 27 km blue and easier 44%26 km red 43%8 km black 14%
Plus 21 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Our matching puts Andermatt closer to Argentière than any other Swiss resort we cover, and for an off piste skier the draw lies beside the piste. It has 21 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, against your 9, the fourth most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. The longest, the Guspis-Route, runs 5.5 kilometres with 1,170 metres of vertical by our measure. Off piste and snowfall are on its list, our read is a snowy sleeper in the middle of Switzerland, reborn and up and coming, and we class it as expert.
The height carries over better than at Engelberg. The village is at 1,444 metres, 192 above yours, and 76 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,922, which is 300 below your top. It is snow sure on our measure. The pass covers 180 kilometres with Sedrun and Disentis, all linked, though the Gemsstock sits outside the linked area; around the village we measure 61 kilometres of piste.
The trade is the gradient. Twenty-seven percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the second biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against your 59 percent. The blacks bite, averaging 30.7 percent against your 31.8, the third steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, but there are 8.3 kilometres of them against your 14.7. The season ends in April, not May, and we do not tag Andermatt quiet. Zurich is the airport.
Argentière's promise is a small, serious mountain with a lot of vertical, a season into May and skiing that asks something of you, and Engelberg is the only Swiss pick that keeps all of it: the biggest steep share and the steepest reds of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, skiing to 3,004 metres and freeride descents that are the reason to go. Go knowing the steep share is 31 percent, not 59, the village is lower and down to earth rather than quiet, and the best of the skiing is off the map. If you want your off piste marked and the village higher, Andermatt.