Like Gstaad, but in Austria: old grandeur, or more snow?

Our matching puts Bad Gastein closer to Gstaad than any other resort we cover, in any country, and the reasons are easy to feel. It is an old place, grand and characterful by our read, known for its belle époque grandeur, now a little faded, its thermal spas and its scenery. Gstaad's hotel spas have an Austrian cousin here. The village is at 1,000 metres, just 50 below Gstaad's.

The skiing is laid out the way you are used to. Bad Gastein's own area is 83 kilometres, one of four separate areas down the valley on a pass that is not all joined, so a week here also means moving between mountains. Around the village we measure 107 kilometres. It goes higher than Gstaad's local skiing: the top is 2,644 metres by our measure, 495 above, and half of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, against your 15 percent. That falls just short of snow sure on our measure, but it is a different proposition in a thin winter.

The trade is the gentle end and the gloss. Bad Gastein is steep: 37 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the third biggest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against Gstaad's 25, and its reds average 25.0 percent, against 22.5. There are 41.3 kilometres of blue and easier, against your 73.1, though the blues themselves are kinder, averaging 14.9 percent against 17.8. And it is traditional by our read, not upmarket: faded grandeur rather than quiet money.

If Gstaad's one weakness is the snow, Sölden is the Austrian answer. We measure 135 kilometres of piste around the village, close to your 128, with 76.8 kilometres of blue and easier and 19 of black, both close to Gstaad's 73.1 and 18.3. Even the blues feel the same, steep at an average of 17.3 percent against your 17.8.

Then it climbs. The skiing reaches 3,306 metres by our measure, the highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover and 1,157 above Gstaad's local top. Its two glaciers link into the rest of the mountain, so the height Gstaad keeps for a day trip to Glacier 3000 is here every morning. Eighty-nine percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, which makes Sölden snow sure on our measure. The village is at 1,368 metres, 318 above Gstaad, and the season runs from late November to May.

What you give up is the hush, almost entirely. Our read on Sölden is sporty and lively, nightlife is one of the things it is best for, and the village is long, with a road running through it. If you go, stay up in Hochsölden, above the road and nearer the snow, and treat the bars as optional. The mountain is a shade steeper, too: 30 percent of it is steeper than one in four, against 25.

Mayrhofen shares one thing with Gstaad that the others do not: our read has both down as family resorts. It is a lively, welcoming Zillertal town, and the shape of the skiing will feel familiar. Its own domain is 142 kilometres, on a valley pass of four separate areas, and the Hintertux glacier is a bus ride away, much as Glacier 3000 is from Gstaad.

For children and nervous skiers, the blues are the kindest of the three picks: they average 12.7 percent, the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and 32 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against Gstaad's 20. For the confident teenagers, the longest piste we measure is a 4.3 kilometre red that drops 1,161 metres. The skiing tops out at 2,412 metres by our measure, 263 above Gstaad's local top, and 55 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres. That is far more high piste than Gstaad has, but the skiing stops below the height our snow sure test asks for.

The trade is three things. The town is at 630 metres, 420 below Gstaad, the second lowest of the 55 resorts we cover. There are only 28.5 kilometres of blue and easier, the least of the Austrian resorts we cover, so the gentle blues run out quickly. And it is lively, with nightlife high on its list. A good family week, but a noisier one than you are used to.