Like Lech, but in Switzerland: the family mountain travels, the polish does not

Our matching puts Arosa closer to Lech than any other Swiss resort we cover, and the reason is the shape of the week. Both are family resorts by our read. Both are big: we measure 183 kilometres of piste around Arosa, against Lech's 175, the most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and it all sits in one area, Arosa Lenzerheide, 225 kilometres across two valleys that a single cable car joins. There is more easy skiing, 96.6 kilometres of blue and easier against Lech's 79, again the most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover.

The reds feel much the same, averaging 21.8 percent against Lech's 22.3. And the blacks bite: at 32.4 percent on average they are steeper than Lech's 30.8, and the steepest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. The village is at 1,800 metres, 350 above Lech's and the second highest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and it is snow sure on our measure: 65 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, up to 2,848, which is 408 above Lech's top.

The trade is the polish and the powder. Our read on Arosa is gentle and sunny, a family resort rather than an upmarket one. There are 14.5 kilometres of black against Lech's 26, only 24 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 33, and there are 8.5 kilometres of marked itinerary against 56. It is Lech for a family that mostly stays on the piste.

Davos is the pick for the Lech skier who goes for the snow and the serious runs. No Swiss resort we cover has more black: 20.7 kilometres, close to Lech's 26. There are 13.3 kilometres of marked itinerary, fifth of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, though under a quarter of Lech's. Its share of gentle piste, 31 percent, is exactly Lech's. And more of its piste sits high than Lech's: 78 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, up to 2,808, and the town sits at 1,560.

The trade is the calm. Davos is a busy, practical town, with trams and supermarkets, and a louder freestyle side on the Jakobshorn. It is neither upmarket nor a family resort by our read, and it feels nothing like Lech village. The skiing is also spread out: of the separate mountains on the pass, only the Parsenn (95.5 kilometres) really belongs to both Davos and Klosters, and reaching the rest takes public transport or a car. Measured across the same ten lift areas, the official 300 kilometres comes down to 224 by our count, and the piste around the town itself to 145.

The black runs are kinder than Lech's, too: 25.8 percent on average against 30.8, and even a shade under the 26.7 of a typical Swiss black, and 23 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 33. Davos gives you plenty of black and plenty of snow, in a town rather than a village.

If what you would miss most is the feel of the place, Crans-Montana is the one to look at. The resort sits at 1,500 metres, 50 above Lech and the nearest of the three to its height. Our read on it is sunny and smart, the closest of the three to Lech's refinement, and it is known for families, for golf and spas and for wide views over the Rhône from its sunny plateau. The ski area is a clean 140 kilometres, linked, with three sources agreeing to the kilometre.

It also has the biggest share of high piste of the three: 79 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, the fourth biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, up to 2,868, which is 428 above Lech's top.

The catch is size and shape. We measure 85 kilometres of piste around the resort, just under half of Lech's, and most of it is red: 22 kilometres of blue and easier, which only four of the 55 resorts we cover fall below. Those reds are gentle, averaging 19.2 percent, so they suit a family that already skis, but leave a family learning from scratch short of room. There are 12.9 kilometres of black and 3.2 of marked itinerary. Crans-Montana is a smart, sunny week on a smaller mountain.