Like Engelberg, but in Austria: the steep and the drop, lower down

Our matching puts Bad Gastein closest to Engelberg of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and the first thing it carries over is the village: the figure we hold is the same 1,000 metres. The piste falls 1,801 metres from top to bottom, against 1,997. And it is steeper. Thirty seven percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the third biggest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against Engelberg's 31, and the reds average 25.0 percent against 24.0. There is even a little marked itinerary, as at Engelberg: 1.5 kilometres, against 1.8.

There is more piste to ski. Bad Gastein's own area is 83 kilometres, one of four separate areas down the valley on the Ski amadé pass. Around the village we measure 106.6 kilometres, which reaches beyond that own area, against Engelberg's 46.

What you give up is the height. The skiing stops at 2,644 metres by our measure, 360 below Engelberg's top, and half the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 53. Our snow sure test needs more than half, so Bad Gastein falls just short. The season ends in April. And the mood is different: our read is grand and characterful, faded belle époque grandeur and thermal spas, and we tag it traditional, not expert. You fly to Salzburg.

Our one line on Mayrhofen is a lively Zillertal town with a steep signature run, and the longest piste we measure there is a red of 4.3 kilometres that drops 1,161 metres. Engelberg's longest is a blue of 2.0 kilometres with 356 metres of drop. Top to bottom, Mayrhofen's piste falls 1,763 metres, close to Bad Gastein's.

The shape of the piste is close as well. Thirty two percent is steeper than one in four, against 31. The blues average 12.7 percent, the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against Engelberg's 13.2, and the reds 23.3 against 24.0. There are 14.1 kilometres of black, against 4.5. Its own area, Penken, Ahorn, Rastkogel and Eggalm together, is 142 kilometres, and we measure 90.5 around the town. The Hintertux glacier is on the Zillertal pass, a bus ride from the Mayrhofen side.

What you give up is the top and the bottom. The village is at 630 metres, 370 below Engelberg's, and only one of the 55 resorts we cover has a lower one. The skiing stops at 2,412 metres, 592 below, so although 55 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, Mayrhofen is not snow sure on our measure. There is no marked itinerary, and 28.5 kilometres of blue and easier, the least of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. Our read is lively and welcoming, with nightlife at the top of its list; we tag it lively and family, not expert.

Obertauern is the only one of the three whose season runs into May, from late November, against Engelberg's December to May. The village is at 1,740 metres, the highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover and 740 above Engelberg's, and 100 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,500 metres, against 67. Our read is high and snowy, with ski in ski out and a neat skiable loop.

The shape of the piste carries over: 29 percent is steeper than one in four, against 31, and 36 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 38. The reds average 25.3 percent, the third steepest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and the blacks 37.8, the steepest of all 55 resorts we cover, though there are only 4 kilometres of them.

What you give up is the drop. The skiing stops at 2,304 metres, 700 below Engelberg's top, and the piste falls only 679 metres from top to bottom. Our own description calls Obertauern snow sure; on our measure it is not, because the skiing stops short of 2,500 metres. We measure 73.7 kilometres, the least of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, though still more than Engelberg's 46. There is no marked itinerary, and you fly to Salzburg.