Like La Clusaz, but in Switzerland: the family side travels, the buzz stays

Of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, our matching puts Adelboden closest to La Clusaz. Our read is traditional and warm, a classic chalet village linked to Lenk, with tradition, families and World Cup racing on its list. That is two of the three things we tag La Clusaz with.

The easy skiing is very nearly yours. Thirty eight percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, the same share as La Clusaz, and the blues average 14.5 percent against your 14.6. Green is not reliably tagged there, so read its 52 kilometres of blue and easier against your 56 of green and blue.

The change is where the skiing sits. The village is at 1,350 metres, 250 above yours, and 55 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 18. The middle of the skiing, our median piste height, is 1,829 metres, 301 above La Clusaz's. The top is lower, though: 2,356 metres by our measure, 102 below yours, which keeps Adelboden short of the height our snow sure test asks for.

The size needs its full sentence. The pass covers 188 kilometres across five areas that are not all joined, and from Adelboden you can ski 85 without transport, Lenk included. We measure 115 kilometres of piste around the village, more than that linked 85, so our figure takes in some skiing beyond it.

What you give up is the buzz and the bite. Lively is not on Adelboden's list. Twenty five percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, against your 39, the reds average 21.3 percent against 29.0, and the blacks 26.1 against 37.3. There is more black, 12.9 kilometres against 8.9, but it is gentler black. Geneva is one of its two airports, with Zurich.

If what you would change about La Clusaz is the height, Crans-Montana changes it most. It is snow sure on our measure: 79 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, the fourth biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and the skiing reaches 2,868 metres, 410 above yours. The village is at 1,500 metres, 400 higher. Our read is sunny and smart, a plateau with wide views over the Rhône, with sunshine, golf and spa, and families on its list. You still fly to Geneva.

The area is a clean one: 140 kilometres, linked, a figure three independent sources agree on. Around the village itself we measure 85 kilometres, against your 97.

The trade is the easy mileage. There are 22 kilometres of blue and easier, the fifth least of the 55 resorts we cover and 26 percent of the piste, against your 56 of green and blue. The gentle share holds up, 36 percent against 38, and the reds are kind, averaging 19.2 percent. The flip side is the bite: 22 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 39. Neither lively nor traditional is on its list.

Villars looks most like La Clusaz in how its skiing is put together. Most of it is easy, what bite it has sits in the reds, and there is little black. Here 68 percent of the piste is blue and easier, and the reds average 23.6 percent, the second steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, though still well short of your 29.0. Thirty seven percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 38. Our read is family friendly and calm, a relaxed family resort with a view of Mont Blanc, and Geneva is its airport.

The village is at 1,300 metres, 200 above yours, and 25 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800, against 18. But the skiing tops out at 2,074 metres, the lowest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover and 384 below La Clusaz's, so it gains you very little height.

It is also small. We measure 71 kilometres around the village; the linked area is 87, and Glacier 3000 adds 31 more on passes of three days or more. There is 1.5 kilometres of black, the least of the 55 resorts we cover. And it is quiet, not lively, by our read.