Like Bormio, but in Switzerland: the mountain travels, the old town does not

Our matching puts Andermatt closer to Bormio than any other of the 55 resorts we cover, on the height of the skiing and the size of the area. It is a snowy sleeper resort in the middle of Switzerland, reborn and snowy by our read, with off piste, snowfall and up and coming on its list.

On the height of the piste it is level. Seventy six percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres at both, and Andermatt's skiing reaches 2,922 metres, measured, 79 below your top. It is snow sure on our measure. The village sits a little higher, at 1,444 metres, 219 above Bormio's town.

It is also a little bigger, and it joins up. We measure 61 kilometres around the village, about 9 more than around Bormio, and the pass, including Disentis, covers 180 kilometres linked by lift, though the Gemsstock sits outside the linked area. Bormio's pass is spread across four valleys. There are 27 kilometres of blue and easier against 12, 8.3 of black against 4.7, and 21 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the ninth most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Bormio's single 4 kilometre route. The longest, the Guspis-Route, runs 5.5 kilometres with 1,170 metres of vertical.

The trade is the town and some of the bite. We class Andermatt as expert, not traditional or quiet, and there is no spa on its list. Twenty seven percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 32, though that is the second biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. Its blacks average 30.7 percent, the third steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against your 35.7. And the drop is shorter: 1,488 metres from the top of the skiing to the lowest piste we measure, against 1,805.

If the part of Bormio you love is the long way down, Engelberg has more of it. Our one line on it is big vertical and serious freeride near Lucerne, and our read is down to earth and snowy. The skiing reaches 3,004 metres, measured, 3 above Bormio's top, and the drop to the lowest piste we measure is 1,997 metres, against your 1,805.

The piste feels familiar too. Thirty one percent is steeper than one in four, against your 32, the biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. Its reds average 24.0 percent, the steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover and steeper than your 21.7; its blacks average 31.0 against your 35.7. There are 4.5 kilometres of black against 4.7, and 19.6 of green and blue against 12 of blue and easier. The real draw sits off the map: the Laub and Steintäli freeride descents appear in none of these piste figures.

The trade is a lower base and even less piste. The village is at 1,000 metres, the lowest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover and 225 below your town, so only 53 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 76. It still passes our snow sure test. We measure 46 kilometres of piste, less than around Bormio, and the two sides of the valley are joined by a free ski bus, not a lift. We class it as expert, not traditional or quiet.

Crans-Montana is here for the reader who goes to Bormio for the baths as much as the skiing. It is the only Swiss resort we cover with a spa on its list, alongside golf, sunshine and families, and our read is sunny and smart, on a plateau with wide views over the Rhône. It has a long run, too: the longest piste we measure there is a 4.0 kilometre black with 843 metres of vertical, where Bormio's longest is a 2.0 kilometre red with 394.

There is more skiing, in one place. We measure 85 kilometres around the village, about 33 more than around Bormio, in one linked area of 140 kilometres that three independent sources agree on. The piste sits high: the village is at 1,500 metres, 275 above yours, and 79 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,868, which is 133 below your top. There are 22 kilometres of blue and easier against 12, and 12.9 of black against 4.7.

What goes is the bite. Twenty two percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 32, the reds average 19.2 percent against 21.7, and the blacks 27.1 against 35.7. We class it as family, not traditional or quiet.