Like Engelberg, but in Italy: the closest match of all 55 is here

Our matching carries four things over from Engelberg to Courmayeur: the share of steep piste, the size, the marked off piste and the expert tag. Our one line on it is the Italian side of Mont Blanc, made for lunch; our read is chic and welcoming, with off piste on its list beside long lunches and style. We class it as expert, as we do Engelberg, and upmarket, which we do not.

On the mountain the match is close. Thirty two percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 31. The reds average 24.3 percent, the steepest of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against Engelberg's 24.0, which are the steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. The blacks average 36.4 percent, the fourth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, and the blues are gentle, 14.0 percent against 13.2. It is small in the same way: we measure 42.2 kilometres, the least of the 55 resorts we cover, and the resort's own 100 kilometres is, in its own wording, groomed slopes and off piste. There are 3.3 kilometres of marked itinerary, one route with 883 metres of drop, against 1.8. Our guide adds the Skyway Monte Bianco above the ski area, guided off piste including the long glacier descent of the Vallée Blanche, and Chamonix through the tunnel.

More of the piste sits above 1,800 metres, 72 percent against 53, and it is snow sure on our measure, up to 2,715 metres. But the height cuts both ways. The skiing stops 289 metres below Engelberg's top, only 35 percent of the piste is above 2,000 metres, against 44, and the fall from top to bottom is 1,515 metres, against 1,997. The village is at 1,224 metres, 224 above Engelberg's, and the evenings, by our guide, centre on a stone town with a pedestrian street. You fly to Turin or Geneva.

Bormio's skiing reaches 3,001 metres by our measure, 3 below Engelberg's top, and its piste falls 1,805 metres from top to bottom, the nearest of the three to Engelberg's 1,997. Our one line is a historic spa town with a famous top to bottom run, and long runs, a thermal spa and racing are what it does best.

The steep carries over. Thirty two percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 31, and the blacks average 35.7 percent, the sixth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. Its one marked itinerary runs 4.0 kilometres with 1,051 metres of drop, against 1.8 kilometres of itinerary at Engelberg. And more of the skiing is high: 76 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 53, and 63 percent is above 2,000, against 44. It is snow sure on our measure.

What you give up is the easy ground and the expert's feel. There are 12.1 kilometres of blue and easier, the least of the 55 resorts we cover, against Engelberg's 19.6 of green and blue, and only 26 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against 38. The reds are kinder, 21.7 percent against 24.0. Its own mountain is 50 kilometres on 12 lifts, with the rest of the Alta Valtellina pass, 200 to 230 kilometres, spread across four separate valleys. We tag it traditional and quiet, not expert, and our read is historic and relaxed. You fly to Bergamo or Milan.

Cortina has the most marked itinerary of the three, 9.2 kilometres, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against Engelberg's 1.8. Its longest, Faloria to Cortina, runs 4.5 kilometres. It is the biggest of the three on the piste, too: we measure 85.5 kilometres around the town. And it is snow sure on our measure, with 67 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres.

The top needs a caution. Cortina's lifts reach 3,028 metres, the second highest of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, but that is a lift top: the highest piste we measure starts at 2,724 metres, 280 below Engelberg's, and the piste falls 1,509 metres to the bottom.

What you give up is the steep and the expert tag. Twenty five percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 31, and the reds average 21.9 percent against 24.0. We tag Cortina upmarket, not expert; our read is stylish and scenic, Dolomite drama and Italian style, best for scenery, style and long lunches. Our guide adds the Corso Italia, lunch at a rifugio, and three separate areas, Tofana, Faloria and Cristallo, joined by bus or car. You fly to Venice or Innsbruck.