Like Bormio, but in Austria: the spa town or the high mountain?

Our matching puts Bad Gastein closer to Bormio than any other Austrian resort we cover, and second closest of all the resorts we cover. It is faded belle époque grandeur and thermal spas, grand and characterful by our read, with the belle époque, the spa and the scenery on its list. We class it as traditional, as we do Bormio.

It is near enough the same height of mountain, set lower. From the top of the skiing to the lowest piste we measure, Bad Gastein drops 1,801 metres, against Bormio's 1,805. The whole of it sits lower, by 357 metres at the top and 353 at the bottom. And it is the steeper of the two: 37 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the joint eighth biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 32, and its reds average 25.0 percent, the ninth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against 21.7. Its blacks are a little kinder, 32.6 against 35.7.

There is more of it, too. We measure 107 kilometres around the town, more than its own area's 83, so the measurement probably takes in some of the neighbouring skiing down the valley. There are 41 kilometres of blue and easier against Bormio's 12, and 8.2 of black against 4.7.

The trade is height, and with it the snow call. The town is at 1,000 metres, 225 below yours, and the skiing reaches 2,644, measured. Half the piste, 50 percent, is at or above 1,800 metres, and our snow sure test asks for more than half, so Bad Gastein falls just short where Bormio passes. We do not class it as quiet, either.

If you love Bormio for the mountain and can leave the town behind, Hintertux is the nearest Austria gets. Thirty two percent of the piste is steeper than one in four at both. Its blacks average 35.9 percent, the fifth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, where Bormio's 35.7 is the sixth. And it is mostly red, as Bormio is: 59 percent of the piste we measure, against your 68.

It goes higher. The skiing reaches 3,239 metres, measured, 238 above your top, and 96 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, the most of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. It is snow sure on our measure, and its glacier is open every day of the year. The drop to the lowest piste we measure is 1,752 metres, close to your 1,805. The village, at 1,500 metres, is 275 above yours.

The trade is the town, and the kind end. Our read is snowy and no frills, and we class it as modern, not traditional or quiet; year round glacier skiing and training are on its list, not a spa. The blues average 19.3 percent, the second steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 14.6, and there are only 2.9 kilometres of black, the least of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. We measure 110 kilometres of piste, more than the 62 kilometre glacier itself, and the Zillertal beyond it is four separate areas; the glacier needs a bus from the Mayrhofen side.

Zürs is the pick for the quiet. It is a tiny, exclusive corner of the Arlberg, exclusive and quiet by our read, and it carries the quiet tag we give Bormio. On the share we trust most across borders the two are a point apart: 33 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 32.

It is higher at the door and lower at the top. The village is at 1,720 metres, the second highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover and 495 above your town, and 74 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 76. But the skiing tops out at 2,440 metres, measured, close enough to the line of our snow sure test that we make no call either way. The drop is 1,053 metres, against your 1,805.

What it adds is off piste. There are 40 kilometres of marked itinerary, the fourth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Bormio's single 4 kilometre route. We measure 75 kilometres of piste around the village; the Arlberg it shares with Lech and St Anton is not classified in our data. The blues bite, averaging 17.5 percent, the joint eighth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. We class Zürs as upmarket, not traditional, and there is no spa on its list.