Like Cervinia, but in Switzerland: if not Zermatt, then where?

Verbier is known for off piste and late nights, so it is a surprise to find it here. But on the piste we measure, it is the gentlest of the three picks by a distance, and on gentle ground it beats Cervinia. Forty-eight percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the joint largest share of the 55 resorts we cover. Its blues average 11.5 percent, the gentlest of the 55, its reds 20.2 against your 18.1, and only 19 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four.

It has the long run, too. By our measure Verbier's longest is a 7.3 kilometre red that drops 1,055 metres, where Cervinia's longest is a 5.3 kilometre red with 741. It is snow sure on our measure, with 84 percent of the piste we measure above 1,800 metres, up to 3,283 metres. And for the stronger skier in your group there is something Cervinia cannot offer: 25.9 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the second most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against your 8.1.

What you give up is the village and the quiet. Verbier's village sits at 1,500 metres, 550 below yours. The 410 kilometres you will see quoted is the Four Valleys pass, not Verbier's skiing; we measure 97 kilometres around the village, which is its own domain, against your 116. And the evenings are a different sport. Our read is cosmopolitan and lively, with nightlife on its list of what it does best and a late scene that runs into the small hours. Cervinia's drink in the sun and an early pizza is still possible, but it is not what Verbier is for.

Our matching puts St Moritz closest of all the Swiss resorts we cover, and it keeps the two things Cervinia is best known for: altitude and sun. The town is at 1,822 metres, the highest village of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. It is snow sure on our measure, with 97 percent of the piste we measure above 1,800 metres, against your 99, up to 3,266 metres. Our read on Cervinia is high and sunny; on St Moritz it is glamorous and sunny. Both get the light.

What changes is the gradient. Only 28 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 39, and 24 percent is steeper than one in four, against your 15. The reds average 21.0 percent and the blues 16.4. A Cervinia cruiser will feel that by the second day. There is more for a strong skier, with 15.7 kilometres of black against your 8.2.

The shape changes too. St Moritz skis as separate mountains, Corviglia above the town and Corvatsch and Diavolezza further out, and the 350 kilometres quoted for it is a pass figure across them. Its own domain measures about 106 kilometres, close to the 116 we measure around Cervinia.

And the mood turns the other way up. Cervinia sells itself on value next to Zermatt; St Moritz is upmarket by our read, with spas, shopping, the Cresta Run and a frozen lake full of events. For a group with non skiers in it, that is a gift. For a Cervinia regular who goes for the cruising and the pizzeria, it is a different holiday.

If you could bottle the way Cervinia skis, Crans-Montana holds the nearest copy. Like Cervinia it is a red map with soft reds: 59 percent of the piste is red, and those reds average 19.2 percent, under the Swiss average. Its blues average 13.3 percent against your 13.2, and there are 22 kilometres of blue and easier against your 24. Thirty-six percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 39, and 22 percent is steeper than one in four. Our read is sunny and smart, a plateau with wide views over the Rhône, good with families.

The area is the most straightforward in this set: 140 kilometres, all linked, a figure three independent sources agree on to the kilometre, with no pass to upgrade and no crossing to watch.

The trade is height and size. The village is at 1,500 metres, 550 below yours, and the skiing tops out at 2,868 metres by our measure. It is snow sure on our measure, with 79 percent of the piste above 1,800 metres, but it is the lowest of the three picks on both the top and the share. We measure 85 kilometres around the village, the least of the four resorts on this page.