Like Klosters, but in Austria: the manner travels, the gentle reds do not
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
Klosters does not make a fuss of itself, and that is the point. Our read is discreet and pretty, the quiet neighbour to Davos, and we tag it upmarket, quiet and good for families. It is the calm half of a famous pairing: the Davos Klosters pass is sold as 300 kilometres and measured at 224, across six separate mountains, and the one Klosters shares with Davos is the Parsenn, 95.5 kilometres, reached by the Gotschna cable car.
The mountain, in its own figures. Around the village we measure 97 kilometres of piste, 69 percent of it at or above 1,800 metres and reaching 2,808 metres, so on our measure Klosters is snow sure, though the village itself sits at 1,191. And it is gentle. The reds average 17.1 percent and the blacks 21.1, the gentlest of the 55 resorts we cover, and only 15 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four.
The honest headline: none of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover makes our matching's five closest to Klosters, and wherever you go in Austria the reds average steeper than home. A typical Austrian red averages 23.4 percent across the resorts we cover, against a Swiss one at 19.9. What Austria can match is the manner. Lech is a refined family village on the quiet side of a famous pass, and it carries the most of Klosters across.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Ski area | Piste we measure around the village | Blue and easier | Black | Steeper than one in four | Piste at or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkKlosters | 1,191 m | 2,808 m | Davos Klosters: six separate mountains, 300 km official, 224 km measured | 97 km | 24 km | 11.7 km | 15% | 69% |
| Lech | 1,450 m | 2,440 m | The Arlberg; its size is not classified in our data | 175 km | 79 km | 26 km | 33% | 61% |
| Schladming | 745 m | 2,001 m | Ski amadé: its own four linked mountains are 123 km, on a pass of five regions | 134 km | 59 km | 12.9 km | 27% | 7% |
Lech: the closest on the village and the manner
- VillageVillage
- 1,450 m 259 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,811 m 33 m lower
Lech: 175 km of piste we measure. 79 km blue and easier 45%70 km red 40%26 km black 15%
Plus 56 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Klosters is the quiet village beside Davos. Lech plays the same part in the Arlberg: it shares a pass with St Anton and Zürs, and our guide finds it the calm, discreet side of that pass, with St Anton there for the noise. We tag it upmarket and family, two of your three tags, our read is refined, and it is best for understated luxury and families. Oberlech, above the village, is the family favourite in our guide, and hotel spas fill a day off. Zurich is one of its airports, as it is yours.
On the mountain, Lech has more of everything around the village. We measure 175 kilometres of piste against your 97, the third most of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, with 79 kilometres of blue and easier against 24 and 26 of black against 11.7. And for anyone who likes to leave the piste the gap is wide: 56 kilometres of marked itinerary, the second most of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 6.5.
What you give up is the gentleness, and some height. Our matching names the share of steep piste as the biggest difference: 33 percent of Lech's piste is steeper than one in four, against your 15, and its reds average 22.3 percent against 17.1. The village is at 1,450 metres, 259 above yours, but the skiing tops out at 2,440 metres by our measure, 368 below Klosters's top, and 61 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 69. That top is just short of the 2,500 metres our snow sure test asks for, so we leave the call open. And quiet is not on its tags.
Schladming: the closest on the gentle family week
- VillageVillage
- 745 m 446 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,015 m 829 m lower
Schladming: 134 km of piste we measure. 59 km blue and easier 44%62 km red 46%13 km black 10%
Our matching puts Schladming nearer to Klosters than any other Austrian resort we cover, on two things: the share of gentle piste and the family tag. Thirty nine percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the biggest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against your 38, and only 27 percent is steeper than one in four, the second smallest share of the 13 we cover. Its blacks average 25.0 percent, the gentlest of the 13 we cover, and its blues 13.0. Our read is down to earth and friendly, a valley town with floodlit runs after dark, best for night skiing, families and value.
The map is kinder than yours to a nervous skier, with 59 kilometres of blue and easier against 24, in 134 kilometres we measure around the town. Its own area is four mountains linked end to end, 123 kilometres with no bus, on a Ski amadé pass of five regions that are not all joined. A Klosters regular will recognise that kind of pass.
The trade is the height, and the top is the biggest difference our matching finds. The village is at 745 metres, 446 below yours, the skiing stops at 2,001 metres by our measure, 807 below Klosters's top, and only 7 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, the third smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover. It is not snow sure on our measure. The reds average 24.4 percent, well above your 17.1, so the gentle feel comes from the blues and the gentle ground, not the reds. Upmarket and quiet are not on its tags, and you fly to Salzburg.
What Klosters gives you, before the gentle reds, is a discreet, upmarket family village on the quiet side of a famous pass, with a great deal of skiing on the same ticket. Lech does that in Austria, with more piste, more blue and easier, more black and far more marked off piste around the village, and Zurich is one of its airports. Go knowing the reds are steeper, the top is lower and our snow call is open. If a gentle mountain for the children matters more than height, Schladming, which is not snow sure on our measure.