Like Arosa, but in France: the same height, more mountain

Of the 17 French resorts we cover, our matching puts La Plagne closest to Arosa, and it is second closest of all 55 resorts we cover. It keeps the things a family notices first. The village figure we hold is the same 1,800 metres. We tag both resorts family, and our read on La Plagne is a big, gentle area that families love, with beginners and value on its list. And the blues measure all but the same, averaging 15.5 percent against Arosa's 15.4.

Then it gives you more of it. Paradiski, which La Plagne shares with Les Arcs, is 425 kilometres, a figure checked against our own measurement. Around La Plagne we measure 202.5 kilometres, the fifth most of the 55 resorts we cover, with 127.9 kilometres of green and blue against Arosa's 97 of blue and easier. Thirty nine percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against 35, the third biggest share of the 17 French resorts we cover. And more of it sits high: 80 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 65, up to 3,022 metres, 174 above Arosa's top.

What changes is the hard end and the mood. La Plagne has 28 kilometres of black, the fourth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Arosa's 14.5. But those blacks average 25.5 percent, where Arosa's average 32.4, the steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. So there is more black, and it bites less. There is less marked itinerary, 3.0 kilometres against 8.5. Our read on La Plagne is practical and friendly, and we tag it modern: high, purpose built centres for the convenience, with older villages lower down in the trees. And you fly to Geneva or Chambéry rather than Zurich.

Méribel is the other family resort of the three. We tag it family, as we do Arosa, and our read is pretty and friendly: the friendly middle of the Three Valleys, best for families, a central location and chalet holidays. Our guide adds a village built in timber and stone, with low roofs and no towers.

The scale is a different order. The Three Valleys is quoted at 600 kilometres, and around Méribel alone we measure 260.9, the second most of the 55 resorts we cover. There are 156.2 kilometres of green and blue and 29.9 of black, the second and third most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Arosa's 97 and 14.5. The skiing reaches 2,891 metres by our measure, 43 above Arosa's top, and 78 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 65.

What you give up is height at the door and some of the gentleness. The village is at 1,450 metres, 350 below Arosa's. Thirty one percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 24, and the reds average 25.4 percent, the seventh steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, where Arosa's average 21.8. The blues average 17.0 percent against 15.4.

Measured by how much of the piste is gentle and how much is steep, Courchevel is the nearest of the three. Thirty five percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent at both, and 26 percent of Courchevel's is steeper than one in four, against Arosa's 24. It is snow sure on our measure: 71 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,697 metres. And Courchevel 1850, despite its name, is at 1,747 metres, 53 below Arosa's village.

Then there is the size. Around Courchevel we measure 295.5 kilometres of piste, the most of the 55 resorts we cover, with 178.5 kilometres of green and blue, also the most, and 32.1 kilometres of black, the second most. It is Arosa's mountain with more of every colour on it, and the rest of the Three Valleys beyond.

What you give up is the family feel, and some kindness on the blues. Our read on Courchevel is glossy and upmarket, best for luxury, gourmet dining and tree skiing, and we do not tag it family. Its blues average 17.5 percent, the third steepest of the 17 French resorts we cover, against Arosa's 15.4. The skiing tops out 151 metres below Arosa's by our measure. Our guide describes four villages stacked up the mountain, from old Le Praz to the glossy top village, joined by a free bus.