Like Kronplatz, but in Switzerland: the steep blues, or the snow?
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
You love Kronplatz for one groomed mountain done properly. Our line on it is a perfectly groomed dome above the Puster valley, modern and efficient, with grooming, families and museums at the top of its list. We measure 77 kilometres of piste around it, split 47 percent blue and easier, 34 red and 18 black, the fourth most even mix of the 55 resorts we cover. What the family label leaves out is the pitch. Forty-three percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the joint second biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and the blues average 20.2 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. Only 16 percent is gentler than 15 percent, the smallest share of the 55 resorts we cover.
The honest headline: Switzerland is harder to match it in than France or Austria. Our matching puts every Swiss resort we cover further from Kronplatz than the closest French and Austrian ones, and the pitch does not cross the border. The steepest blues of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover are Gstaad's, at 17.8 percent. So the Swiss question is which part of Kronplatz you would keep. Gstaad keeps the steep easy end and the family week. Andermatt keeps a compact, even mountain and moves it higher. Villars keeps the size, in one linked area.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Steeper than one in four | Gentler than 15% | Blues, average gradient | Piste at or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkKronplatz | 1,200 m | 2,266 m | 77 km | 43% | 16% | 20.2% | 51% |
| Gstaad | 1,050 m | 2,149 m | 128 km | 25% | 20% | 17.8% | 15% |
| Andermatt | 1,444 m | 2,922 m | 61 km | 27% | 29% | 15.5% | 76% |
| Villars | 1,300 m | 2,074 m | 71 km | 24% | 37% | 15.8% | 25% |
Gstaad: the closest on the blues and the family week
- VillageVillage
- 1,050 m 150 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,000 m 725 m higher
Gstaad: 128 km of piste we measure. 73 km blue and easier 57%37 km red 28%18 km black 14%
Our matching puts Gstaad closest to Kronplatz of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, on the village height and the family label, and the measurements add the easy end. Gstaad's blues average 17.8 percent, the steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and only 20 percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the smallest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. If your children learnt on Kronplatz's blues, these are the nearest thing to them in Switzerland. There is more of everything, too: 128 kilometres measured around the village, 73.1 of blue and easier and 18.3 of black, against your 36.4 and 14.1. Both resorts have families on their list.
The place itself is a different kind of good. Our read is quietly wealthy, understated luxury with the scenery doing the work, upmarket and quiet rather than modern. Our guide describes a car light village with a promenade, evenings that are convivial rather than loud, and a rest day well filled: winter walks, sleigh rides, hotel spas and a local museum.
The trade is the layout and the height. Gstaad's pass is 200 kilometres across around nine sectors, most of them reached by train, bus or car rather than by lift, so it is not one dome you ski from end to end. The village is at 1,050 metres, 150 below yours, and the skiing around it tops out at 2,149 metres by our measure, 117 below your top. Just 15 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 51, the smallest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. It is not snow sure on our measure. The height on the pass is Glacier 3000, a separate area and, by our guide's account, a proper day out. And the pitch is gentler overall: 25 percent steeper than one in four, against 43. Fly to Geneva or Zurich.
Andermatt: the closest on a compact mountain, moved higher
- VillageVillage
- 1,444 m 244 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,961 m 686 m higher
Andermatt: 61 km of piste we measure. 27 km blue and easier 44%26 km red 43%8 km black 14%
Plus 21 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
If Kronplatz's weak spot for you is its height, Andermatt is the Swiss answer. We measure 61 kilometres of piste around the village, against your 77, with an even mix: its split is the fourth most even of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. Then it climbs. The village is at 1,444 metres, 244 above yours, the skiing reaches 2,922 metres by our measure, 656 above your top, and 76 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres. That makes it snow sure on our measure, which Kronplatz is not.
It also has 21 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the fourth most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, where Kronplatz has none in our data. Our read is reborn and snowy, with off piste and snowfall on its list. The pass is 180 kilometres including Disentis, though the Gemsstock sits outside the linked domain.
The trade is the family week and the bite on piste. We class Andermatt as a resort for experts, not families. Its 27 percent steeper than one in four is the second biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and still well short of your 43. The blues average 15.5 percent against 20.2, and there are 8.3 kilometres of black against 14.1. Fly to Zurich.
Villars: the closest on size, in one linked area
- VillageVillage
- 1,300 m 100 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,120 m 155 m lower
Villars: 71 km of piste we measure. 48 km blue and easier 68%22 km red 30%1.5 km black 2%
Villars is the pick for the family half of Kronplatz. Our read is family friendly and calm: a relaxed family resort with a view of Mont Blanc. It is close on the basics: 71 kilometres measured around a village at 1,300 metres, against your 77 around a village at 1,200. Its own area, Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets, is one linked domain, 87 kilometres of piste and 104 with its ski routes, and passes of three days or more add Glacier 3000.
The skiing is gentle where Kronplatz is not. Thirty-seven percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 16, and 48.1 kilometres of it is blue and easier, 68 percent of the piste. The reds feel much like yours, averaging 23.6 percent, the second steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, against 24.0.
The trade is the hard end and the height. There are 1.5 kilometres of black, the least of the 55 resorts we cover, and its split is the least even of the 55 resorts we cover. The skiing tops out at 2,074 metres by our measure, the lowest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover and 192 below your top, and 25 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres. Not snow sure on our measure. Fly to Geneva.
The thing a Kronplatz family would miss most is the feel of the easy runs, blues with real pitch in them, and Gstaad is the only Swiss pick that keeps it: the steepest blues and the smallest gentle share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, more black than yours, and families on its list. Kronplatz is not snow sure on our measure either, so the snow is not what you were buying. Go knowing the sectors are spread out and joined by train and bus, that far less of the skiing is high, and that the village is quiet money rather than modern efficiency. If it is the height you would fix, Andermatt, as long as nobody needs a family resort.