Like Bad Gastein, but in France: the steep reds, without the spa
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
People choose Bad Gastein for the place as much as the skiing. Our own line on it is faded belle époque grandeur and thermal spas, grand and characterful, and the three things on our list of what it does best are the belle époque, the spa and the scenery. We class it as traditional.
The skiing is the part that surprises. The village is low, at 1,000 metres, but the skiing climbs to 2,644 metres by our measure, and half the piste is at or above 1,800. It is a red mountain, and a steep one: 54 percent of what we measure is red, and 37 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the joint eighth largest share of the 55 resorts we cover.
The honest headline: none of the three French resorts our matching puts closest is a spa town, and none has skiing as high. What France matches is the character of the skiing, and a traditional village under it. The resort our matching puts closest to Bad Gastein, in any country, is French.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Steeper than one in four | Reds average | At or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkBad Gastein | 1,000 m | 2,644 m | 106.6 km | 37% | 25.0% | 50% |
| La Clusaz | 1,100 m | 2,458 m | 96.6 km | 39% | 29.0% | 18% |
| Le Grand-Bornand | 1,000 m | 2,458 m at the top of a lift; highest piste 2,362 m | 85.4 km | 37% | 28.1% | 15% |
| Les Gets | 1,172 m | 1,965 m | 99.4 km | 23% | 23.2% | 1% |
La Clusaz: the closest on the steep reds
- VillageVillage
- 1,100 m 100 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,600 m 86 m lower
La Clusaz: 97 km of piste we measure. 56 km green and blue 58%32 km red 33%9 km black 9%
Our matching puts La Clusaz closer to Bad Gastein than any other resort we cover, anywhere, and on the skiing it goes further than Bad Gastein does. Thirty-nine percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, the joint sixth largest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 37. Its reds average 29.0 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 25.0, and its blacks average 37.3, the second steepest of the 55 we cover. If you like a red with some bite, these bite harder.
It is kinder at the easy end than that suggests. Thirty-eight percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 29, and there are 56 kilometres of green and blue against your 41.3 of blue and easier. We measure 96.6 kilometres around the village, 10 fewer than around Bad Gastein, with 8.9 of black against your 8.2. It is a traditional village, as Bad Gastein is, and a lively, local one by our read, with a weekend feel close to Geneva.
The trade is height. The village is at 1,100 metres, 100 above yours, but the skiing stops at 2,458, measured, 186 below your top, and only 18 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your half. That is the biggest gap on the page, and no French pick closes it. And it is not a spa town: you swap the grand old resort for a lively, local one.
Le Grand-Bornand: the closest on the village
- VillageVillage
- 1,000 m the same
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,100 m 586 m lower
Le Grand-Bornand: 85 km of piste we measure. 52 km green and blue 61%22 km red 26%11 km black 13%
Le Grand-Bornand is La Clusaz's neighbour on the same Aravis lift pass, and it mirrors two of your numbers. The village is at 1,000 metres, level with Bad Gastein, and 37 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the same share, joint eighth of the 55 resorts we cover. Its reds average 28.1 percent, the third steepest of the 55 resorts we cover.
It is the quieter choice. Le Grand-Bornand is rural and friendly by our read, a farming village, and we class it as traditional and quiet. For a first week on skis it has 17.4 kilometres of green, with 52.3 of green and blue in all. But its blues average 17.4 percent, steeper than your 14.9. There are 11.3 kilometres of black against your 8.2.
The skiing is smaller and lower. We measure 85.4 kilometres around the village, 21.2 fewer than around Bad Gastein. It reaches 2,458 metres on our measure, the same top as La Clusaz's, and only 15 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres.
Les Gets: the closest on a pretty village, on one linked circuit
- VillageVillage
- 1,172 m 172 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,466 m 220 m lower
Les Gets: 99 km of piste we measure. 55 km green and blue 56%35 km red 35%10 km black 10%
Les Gets is the pick if the village is what you would keep. It is a pretty village by our read, warm and traditional, with charm and tree skiing on its list of what it does best. And it fixes the thing Bad Gastein's pass cannot: Les Gets sits on the Portes du Soleil, twelve villages across two countries on one genuinely linked circuit, sold as 600 kilometres, measured at 580, and put nearer 426 by an independent measurement. Its own sector, shared with Morzine, is 117 kilometres, and we measure 99.4 around the village.
The trade is the skiing you love. Only 23 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 37, and the reds average 23.2 percent. The skiing stops at 1,965 metres, measured, 679 below your top and the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover, and 1 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres. For a steep red skier, this is the wrong way to go.
France cannot give you the spa or the height, so the question is which part of Bad Gastein it can match, and the answer is the skiing. La Clusaz is the resort our matching puts closest to Bad Gastein anywhere: a traditional village at much the same height, a mountain of much the same size, and reds that are steeper still, with more easy ground for anyone who needs it. Go knowing the skiing sits far lower on the hill and the village is lively rather than grand. If you want the same village height and a quieter week, Le Grand-Bornand.